Death by fact-check : Halloween and the horrors of Election Day collide as front lawn is turned into a funereally funny GOP graveyard

Get the Full StoryHalloween is set to nearly coincide with a far scarier event this year: The 2024 election. The battle for our country will follow the year s spookiest day by less than a week, and far more fears are centered on that day than the holiday that precedes it. Those of us who watched our fears come to life in 2016 are nursing stress acne and ulcers in the lead-up to this year s election, as we dream of our first female president but quietly dread a repeat of our nation s most embarrassing election. There s a real chance Donald Trump could win this thing, and that s more terrifying than any lawn decorations, no matter how ambitious. So this year, why not go for a blend of these impending dates? No lawn is complete in the lead-up to an election without a politically themed sign, and with Halloween so close to the big day, why not combine the two? A glorious blending of ghouls and government awaits, so long as you re willing to put in the work. Image via me, featuring the great and mighty Shoba The idea came to me in a work meeting, when one of my co-workers suggested I attempt politically-themed Halloween decorations. I was intrigued by the idea, and spurred along by a recent TikTok I d seen I masterminded an approach to my new lawn decor. Now I sit, about a week out from that decision, with a mini graveyard on my front lawn, dedicated to the poor souls about to lose their livelihood thanks to the power of democracy. A quartet of tombstones currently blasts my blatantly political nature to my neighbors, and I could not be prouder if I tried. I chose the three most obnoxious far-right politicians I could think of Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Marjorie Taylor Greene but had I the time, they d be joined by dozens more. Ted Cruz absolutely deserves to be buried this election cycle, but his eulogy will have to wait. Halloween is right around the corner, and the election s only a few days beyond, but just in case you too are intrigued by the idea of this seamless blend of horror and political nightmare, here s how I approached my roughshod decor. I am not a wealthy woman, so I started with a trip to the Dollar Tree, where I bought my quartet of tombstones, along with a few other bits of Halloween lawn decor. I then took an X-Acto knife to the engravings, shaving away at I ll be back and Trick or Treat to make space for my own inclusions. Image via the Dollar Tree I learned a lesson halfway through this process, which means your approach can be far easier than mine. In order to make the names stick out, I cut them out of cardboard I knew that old TV box was cluttering up my basement for a reason and I d suggest using any remaining cardboard for an additional purpose. Rather than carefully work to paint the background black, and then add layers of Mod Podge to create a barrier, just glue some of that cardboard over the tattered remains of Halloween phrases. That gives you a nice flat surface to work with, and as a bonus, you re not at risk of damaging your styrofoam. Once your cardboard is in place, you ll want to paint the whole thing black before affixing your names. There are literally dozens of politicians from whom you can choose, from Trump himself to sniveling sycophants like Mitch McConnell, Katie Britt, or Elon Musk, so feel free to branch out just make sure to leave plenty of space for the cause of death. That s where the humor s really at. You can get nice and creative here, leaning on relevant news stories to truly make those tombstones pop. I went with death by fact-check for Vance, and a nice simple trampled by donkeys for Greene, but had I the time I was partial to blown away by a Democrat hurricane for the latter. Image courtesy of my front lawn You can also reference anything from those Jewish space lasers to Trump s mounting felonies, just make sure it s appropriate for little eyes. I was incredibly tempted to lean on Trump s infamous Access Hollywood quotes, but I didn t want to make enemies of my neighbors, so I refrained. The cause of death is where you re really going to save time here. You can also use this method for the names, if you re in a rush it takes time to cut all those letters out of cardboard but just know it won t pop quite as much. I used hot glue to write out all of the causes of death another perk to the cardboard back you ll be adding so it had some texture to it, then painted over them in color-appropriate acrylic to make sure they could be read from afar. Add a few layers of Mod Podge to keep everything as safe as possible from the elements, and you have some grave delights on your hands.

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