8 Spooky Houseplants to Liven up Your Indoor Halloween Decor

Along with your favorite Halloween decorations like faux spider webs, jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, and skeletons lurking around your home this October, why not add to your spooky decor with a few frightfully fun plants? Several varieties of indoor plants offer hauntingly beautiful black blooms, spidery leaves, twisted stems, and monster-like shapes. They will give your indoor display a botanically ghoulish touch. Of course, you can enjoy these easy-to-grow, yet fascinating oddities from the plant world any time of year in your home (a few can even be grown outdoors, depending on where you live), but their otherworldly appearances seem especially fitting around Halloween.

Emerald Ripple Peperomia

A close up of a Peperomia Caperata. — BETTER HOMES & GARDENS / PHOTO BY CHIANG RAI / GETTY IMAGES

With a little imagination, the dark reddish, crinkled leaves of ‘Burgundy’ emerald ripple peperomia look like ghoulish body parts. Each leaf sits on the end of a red stalk, giving the entire plant an alien lifeform look. Keep this creature in bright but indirect light and moderate humidity. And be careful not to overwater, or it might add some withered, black, and slimy leaves to the mix.

Batflower

The weird but wonderful batflower has blooms that look like they’re from another planet. Each cluster of small, dark purple flowers is topped off with a set of purple “wings” that stick out like they’re about to take flight. Long, purplish “whiskers” hang down from the cluster, almost to the soil. The blooms are sure to contribute a macabre accent to your Halloween decor. Place your batflower in bright but indirect light in a space with moderate humidity (it will appreciate a daily misting) and keep the soil evenly moist.

Mangave ‘Desert Dragon’

Featuring long, narrow, gray-green leaves covered with brownish-purple spots, Mangave ‘Desert Dragon’ sprawls from the soil in a low, spider-like heap. This fast-growing succulent needs bright, direct light and regular watering, but if you neglect this task, ‘Desert Dragon’ will live up to its name and be just fine until you can give it another drink. It’s hardy to Zones 9-11, so you can try it outdoors if you live in a warmer region.

Toad Plant

It would be more accurate to call this one “giant smelly starfish flower” rather than toad plant (Stapelia gigantea), but either way, it’s a terrific succulent that most anyone could grow in a bright, warm windowsill. Pollinated by carcass-loving insects in the wild, these plants produce large, five-point flowers that reek of death. It’s not uncommon for flies to lay eggs on the flower surface and the resulting larvae may be seen wriggling around the center of the flower!

Old Man Cactus

Resembling Cousin It from the Addams Family, this cactus gets its name from the long, white, wispy-looking “hair” surrounding the entire plant. But watch out for the sharp spines hidden in that fuzzy beard! This guy likes hot, bright, dry conditions, so place it in a south-facing window in direct sunlight and water sparingly when the top inch or two of soil in the container feels dry.

‘Black Star’ Calla Lily

A close up of black calla lillies. — BETTER HOMES & GARDENS / PHOTO BY AYIMAGES / GETTY IMAGES

Need a bouquet fit for a corpse bride? ‘Black Star’ calla lily’s striking, funnel-shape flowers are such a deep, rich purple color that they appear black. As houseplants, they grow best in bright, indirect light and need regular watering to keep the soil moist. These bulbous plants will go dormant in November, but should come back to life again the following spring.

Air Plants

Tillandsias (aka air plants) already seem preternatural because they have no roots to speak of and grow without soil. But a few varieties look especially creature-like, with fuzzy or twisting leaves that look like tentacles. They’re especially fun to add to spooky figurines as hair. Because air plants don’t need a pot to grow in, you’ll have more flexibility when incorporating them into your Halloween decor. Just be sure to keep them in a bright place out of direct sunlight and soak them in water once a week for about a half hour to keep them hydrated.

Raven ZZ Plant

ZZ plant grows glossy, almost leathery leaves along its slender, gently arching stems. ‘Raven’ is a newer variety with leaves that are so dark that they look almost black. Its hue works perfectly with Halloween color schemes, especially as a backdrop to orange pumpkins and gourds. ZZ plant does best in bright, indirect light. Water it when the soil feels dry, but it won’t mind if you neglect it for a while.

After the rest of your Halloween decorations have been packed away, you can continue to enjoy these plants around your home. They’ll blend in with your other houseplants with ease and continue to add a little moodiness to a room. You could also display them outside in the spring and summer to accent other container plants (they’ll look especially striking paired with black succulents). However you choose to show off these exciting plants, they’re sure to create unusual and eye-catching displays to die for.