( CNN ) -- Silhouettes , vintage oil portraits , one-of-a-kind finds , bird imagery , lots and lots of patina -- sounds like a `` Country Living '' cover of flea market finds and Etsy artwork , right ? It absolutely is , said Sara Morrow , the features director for the magazine -- but it 's also the modern way to decorate for Halloween . `` That elegant look , with , like , a slightly creepy factor , '' she said , is dramatic -- maybe a little more than plastic spiders and faux-cobwebs . `` The cabinet of curiosities , the ravens , the silhouettes , '' she said , `` even without Halloween , I feel like that Victorian look has become a huge trend in decorating , almost year-round . '' `` You might hang a bunch of these oil portraits on a gallery wall in your home . You do n't know who they are , you do n't have any connection with them , but they 're this window to what came before , '' she said . `` And some of those portraits can be downright creepy , too . '' Halloween provides adventurous decorators with the perfect opportunity to tinker with trends . Halloween decorations like raven figurines , candelabras , Edwardian-portrait zombie holograms or even feathered wreaths are part of the larger movement toward decorative items that feel more genuine , more authentic , more personal , she said . `` A lot of shops , like Michael 's and Target , are selling products , especially holiday decor , that hark back to the early 1900s , '' Morrow said . `` People want to feel connected to the past that way . '' Eschewing creepy green witch hands in candy bowls or gigantic plastic skeletons for something elegant and glitter-free does n't necessarily mean Halloween decor has lost it 's scream factor , Morrow said . The holiday has simply grown up a bit , and donned a more classic look . `` Halloween has always been a huge holiday for us at Country Living , '' she said , `` but it seems over the years it 's become more of an adult holiday than it ever has before . People are n't just looking for cutesy , cartoon decorations and costumes . '' So what is hot these days ? Skulls of any sort , Morrow said , birds -- the creepier the better -- bat silhouettes , wreaths and black lace . Even the humble , snaggle-toothed jack-o'-lantern is getting a makeover . `` It 's amazing the things you can do with pumpkins when you think beyond carving , '' Morrow said . `` In the past couple of years for Halloween , we 've explored all sorts of different no-carve ideas . We 're huge fans of painting pumpkins . '' `` We 've done everything from painting a pumpkin a really beautiful sagey-green fall color and using a stencil to paint your door number on the pumpkin and putting it on your porch , '' she said , to decoupaging pumpkins with fall leaves . So how can you add your own twist to Halloween ? Here are other lessons from this week 's Open House contributors : . Make it fun for kids and adults . `` We love Halloween around our house because , for us , it 's the official kick-off to the holiday season . Having said that , however , we have four tiny granddaughters , so all of our decorations are little-kid-friendly ! My porch decorations ( as well as the owl party favors ) center around cute Halloween friends and my favorite fall elements : Pumpkins , hay bails and mums ! '' -- Robin Gay . `` I balanced the kids ' requests for spooky Halloween decor with my desire to keep things sophisticated . '' -- Sarah Macklem . `` I chose the ( styrofoam ) pumpkins because they last longer . With styrofoam pumpkins , you can decorate early and use the decor year after year ... as a mom on a budget , I definitely love that . '' -- Jessica Kielman . Tell a spooky story . `` My favorite piece ( s ) are the skull photos since they are from our vacation . My son loved visiting the ossuary on the outside of Prague and he is thrilled that they hang in our dining room for Halloween . '' -- Julia Konya . `` I looked at the vintage typewriter , the table and old door and thought to myself , 'There are many holiday stories that can be told with these three pieces . ' For Halloween , why not honor the great writer , Edgar Allen Poe ? After that I began reading ( `` The Raven '' ) . The object was to place the reader inside the poem ... the raven rapping at the window , the narrator lamenting over his lost love , Lenore , all while trying to preoccupy himself with a book of forgotten lore . '' -- Melinda Hartzog . CNN 's Alicia Stewart contributed to this report . CNN intern Cydney Fisher produced this gallery .
Halloween decorations need not be only plastic spiders , pumpkins and witches . They can also include a variety of other things like candy or fruit that is edible to the human eye but poisonous for animals ( e.g. apples ). iReporter : ` ` Halloween can be really fun , home-grown entertainment '' For the next Open House assignment , show us how you decorate with orange .