Spooky Christmas Villages: Haunted Houses and Creepmas Scenes

A spooky Christmas village is a miniature town of lighted haunted houses, small figures and accessories, set up for the winter holidays rather than only for Halloween. Lemax Spooky Town and Department 56 Snow Village Halloween are two Halloween ranges that suit it. Add snow, black bottle-brush trees and a few creepmas touches to carry the scene into December.

What a spooky Christmas village includes

A spooky Christmas village usually starts with three or four lighted buildings, then grows piece by piece. Haunted houses sit at the center, with figures, fences, trees and lampposts filling the gaps between them. A backdrop or a facade can make a shallow shelf look deeper.

Most spooky village pieces are sold for Halloween, and that is part of the appeal for creepmas, the habit of carrying Halloween style into Christmas that Culture OC describes as a growing trend. A haunted village dusted with snow fits that mood exactly, and it is one of the few creepmas decorations that can stay out from October to January.

Spooky village collections from Lemax and Department 56

Lemax and Department 56 both make large haunted village ranges. The table sets out what each one includes.

Department 56 and Antique Trader both trace Snow Village Halloween to that 1998 Haunted Mansion, whose original version had a rotating screen that sent ghosts and witches drifting past the windows. Department 56 also lists retired Halloween pieces for collectors, so a village can mix new and older buildings.

For a village built around one film, the Department 56 Halloweentown pieces are covered in our Nightmare Before Christmas figures guide.

Turning a Halloween village into a creepmas scene

A Halloween village becomes a creepmas village with a few winter swaps rather than new buildings. Keep the haunted houses and change what surrounds them.

• Lay down snow. A white snow blanket or loose village snow hides orange Halloween ground cover and makes the houses read as December.
• Swap the trees. Black, white or frosted bottle-brush trees work better than autumn trees. One tiny lit tree in the town square signals Christmas straight away.
• Retire some pumpkins. Leave a few jack-o’-lanterns for the spooky side and move the rest into storage.
• Add a Krampus figure. A small horned figure fits the Alpine folklore side of the season. Our Krampus decorations guide explains who he is.
• Change the light color. Purple or cool white light behind the buildings shifts the mood from Halloween orange to winter night. See purple Christmas lights for options.

A village also pairs well with a dark tree nearby. Our guide to Halloween Christmas trees covers trees that bridge both holidays in the same way.

Safe lighting for a spooky Christmas village

Safe village lighting starts with the label: use lights tested or listed by a recognized testing laboratory, as the CPSC and the NFPA both advise. The NFPA also advises turning Christmas tree lights off before going to bed or leaving home.

Check every village light set and power cord before the display goes up, new or old. The CPSC says to check each set for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires and loose connections and to throw out damaged sets, and the NFPA says to replace any string with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections.

Small figures, fences and trees are easy for a toddler to pick up. The CPSC advises keeping toys with small parts away from children under three, so build the village on a high shelf or mantel if young children visit.

Storing spooky village pieces after the holidays

Spooky village pieces last longer when each one goes back in its own box or in a padded, divided container. Keep the original boxes for anything you might resell later, since collectors often ask for them. Wrap figures separately from buildings, coil each light cord loosely, and store adapters with the pieces they power.

For more ways to dress the house in the same spirit, start with our goth Christmas decor guide.