How to Build a Spooky Halloween Terrarium

Create a simple but spooky Halloween terrarium or fairy garden. All you need is a container, a few organic components, and miniatures.

Terrariums and fairy gardens are a fun and easy way to add a little green to your home decor. This Halloween terrarium is a fun twist on the trendy craft. They’re great because they don’t need much attention, but you could swap out the decor seasonally if you felt like it.

I created this one to be a bit spooky with a witchy house on a hill overlooking a graveyard.

You might also want to check out my other Halloween ideas.

Halloween fairy garden/terrarium tips

Terrarium or fairy garden?

Are you building a terrarium or a fairy garden? A terrarium is usually in a glass container with a lid, but technically it can be open.

A fairy garden is any tiny garden with plants and accessories to attract fairies. So technically mine is both. You can call it whichever one you prefer.

Shopping for miniatures

You can find miniatures in lots of different places. Check local thrift shops for doll furniture and accessories. Check the gardening section of dollar stores and my favorite craft stores, Michaels and JoAnn.

You can also DIY your accessories with things you have around the house. Paper, cardboard, sticks, and rocks are easy to cut, glue, or paint.

Using your fairy garden year-round

When Halloween is over, you can simply change out the accessories and display your fairy garden for the rest of the year too. (Or if it fits your aesthetic, enjoy a spooky terrarium year-round!) I made a DIY fairy garden terrarium for Kenarry with a little popsicle stick cottage.

Halloween terrarium tutorial

Supplies

• large bowl or container
• small river rocks/gravel*
• charcoal*
• potting soil with peat*
• sheet moss*
• Halloween miniatures: house, trees, and tombstones

*I purchased a terrarium kit at Calloway’s Nursery last year and used half for another project, but I also found the exact same kit on Amazon.

Instructions

1. Assemble the terrarium base.

Putting together a terrarium is pretty easy. The goal is to create a mini-ecosystem where small plants and moss can grow with minimal light and water. The setup is simply layering the main “ingredients” and then adding decorations.

Fill the bottom two inches of the container with small river rocks or gravel.

Sprinkle the charcoal over the rocks, if you’re using it. I did my first terrarium without and my second one with, and I can’t tell much difference. Both have few plants and are misted with water weekly.

Add the potting soil on top of the rock/charcoal layer. Pat the soil down a little so it stays in place, but don’t pack it down tightly. I used my hands to pat it into a hill shape on one side that tapered down to a fairly flat space.

2. Cover the top with a layer of moss.

The final step of the organic/messy part is to add the moss. I tore mine into small-ish pieces of different sizes and then ran them under the kitchen sink to soak them. Then I placed them on top of the soil, overlapping edges as needed and filling in any gaps with loose little bits.

3. Set up a mini scene.

After setting up the organic foundation, it’s time to add the Halloween miniatures.

I had an idea of what I wanted the terrarium to look like, so I was thrilled when I found exactly what I needed at Michaels and Jo-Ann. For the stair steps, I picked a few smooth, flat rocks from my backyard patio.

I placed the rocks first, poking them in the gaps between the moss to create a curved stair-step section from the flat area to the top of the hill.

I inserted the base of the trees into the moss and wiggled them in so they sat pretty solidly.

Then I set the house and the tombstones on top of the moss. To care for the moss, mist it with water in a spray bottle once or twice weekly when it feels dry.

I love that this project turned out pretty much exactly as I imagined! Terrariums are easy to put together and so flexible. You could add other plants or different types of moss. If you have different decor or natural items, create any fall or spooky Halloween scene.

This spooky terrarium is pretty low maintenance. It looks great, stays green forever, and thrives with just a light misting of water here and there. You could easily make several smaller ones to add to a shelf for a witchy cabinet of curiosities aesthetic.

What’s next? Try these other fun and creative ideas on One Mama’s Daily Drama:

• 6 Brilliant Pumpkin Carving Techniques
• Easy Fall Bunting Embroidery Pattern
• DIY Fall Porch Decor Tutorial