1. Light the Scene

Providing plenty of illumination ensures that your 

visitors can see where they’re walking, helping to avoid missteps and falls. 


2. Secure the Footing

Clear your walk, steps, and stoop of any obstructions that could trip youngsters focused more on tricks and treats

than watching where they’re going. That means moving potted mums and jack o’lanterns out of the way, and 

hammering down any nail heads protruding out of your steps.

If you have a concrete stoop, which can get slippery when wet, apply friction tape ($16 for a 60-foot roll of 1-inch-

wide tape) to ensure stable footing.


3. Tighten the Railings

If your porch railings are wobbly or broken, family members and friends may know not to lean too heavily on 

them, but Halloween visitors won’t. So fix the problem. It’ll make your home safer for guests all year round.


4. Eliminate Fire Hazards

Don’t put real candles into your carved pumpkins or paper lanterns. Instead, pick up a bulk pack of LED-bulb faux

candles, which emit a yellowish, flickering, battery-powered light that looks amazingly similar to the real thing — 

without the danger.


5. Secure your Property

To prevent burglaries and Halloween pranks make sure to keep all windows and doors (other than your main 

door) locked shut. Motion detector lights are great deterrents any time of the year.


6. Set the Scene

In addition to spooky items like cotton cobwebs and half-buried skeletons, consider a few safety-related scene-

setters. You may want to pop open the screen or storm door so it doesn’t get in the way when there’s a big group 

of kids congregated on your stoop.

You’ll also want a working doorbell, so if yours is broken, get a handyman to fix it — or install a wireless doorbell 

in its place. 


7. Enhance Street Safety

Four times as many child pedestrians get killed on Halloween night than a normal night. Limit the danger as 

much as you can by clearing parked cars off the curb to allow better visibility. For for high-traffic roads in

Halloween-intensive neighborhoods, consider posting an adult in the street with a hand-held traffic control light to

 help maintain safety.