How to Make Wooden Tombstones

The second year we made our haunted house, we switched to wood for our tombstones. These are a lot more durable, but you need someone who can handle a saw to cut out your headstone shapes. We used 1/2-inch plywood for the headstone and nailed a piece of 2" x 4" along the bottom edge for the base.

In hopes that we would have these wooden tombstones for several years, we spent a little extra money and painted them with marble-textured spray paint (use a gray primer on your wood first). The finishing touch was painting on the creative epitaphs with black acrylic paint. Once all of the paint was dry we sprayed them with a clear acrylic sealer.

We helped these tombstones stay in place outside by using rebar (metal rods available at most hardware/home improvement stores). We drilled 1/2-inch holes on each end of the 2 x 4 base. We then stuck a piece of 12-inch piece of rebar into each hole and pounded them into the ground.

- - Go to the Main How to Make Tombstones Page.

- - Go to the Main Create Petrifying Props Page.

- - Go to the Main Haunted House Page.

- - Find more Halloween fun HERE.