I Tried TikTok's Viral Ghost Painting Trend For Halloween — Here's How It's Done

A new TikTok trend is offering an artful approach to Halloween decor. Made popular by content creators like adairbosserman and bekmarsden, the craft project encourages TikTok users to refurbish thrifted paintings by adding in ghosts, bats, and other markings of the spooky holiday.

Though there are no set rules for the trend, the majority of artwork under #GhostPaintings features human and animal figures transformed into ghosts in white sheets. Any other supernatural details appeared to be spontaneous additions conceptualized by each painter. As a certified Halloween enthusiast (among friends, anyway), I decided to test out the trend for myself and see if creating a custom piece of Halloween art is really as easy as it seems online.

With my earbuds in and my Halloween playlist on full blast, I headed to the nearest thrift store in search of forgotten treasure. The selection was, admittedly, pretty sparse. Just as I was about to leave empty-handed, however, I came across an 8" x 12" frame encasing a print of a shepherd and his sheep overlooking the sea. With most TikTok videos centering on vintage paintings and haunting portraits, I knew I'd hit the jackpot.

After taking my $5 thrift-store find home, I cut the back of the frame open and carefully removed the print. The embossment on the bottom corner of the print suggested it was around 100 years old, so I definitely felt the need to give this painting some love. Next, my sister and I got to work with a set of acrylic paints and brushes in varying sizes. To avoid any creative differences, we sketched out our ideas for the alterations on a separate sheet of paper: ghosts, foreboding clouds, a miniature graveyard, and pumpkins galore.

Finally, it was time to go in with the paint. Tentatively, we added some fall foliage, the obligatory ghosts included in the original TikTok trend, and a few personal touches we felt gave the piece an autumnal vibe. Aside from waiting for the paint to dry so we could pop it back into its frame, the project was relatively easy to execute. Any mistakes could be covered up by more paint, and since we did our best to maintain the original design of the painting, we didn't have to worry about adding too much or too little.

A few hours later, we had a unique piece of art to complete our Halloween decor, and I felt my childhood passion for painting reawaken. Plus, the project was accessible, fun, and affordable. While my home is far from a haunted mansion, this DIY artwork will definitely add to the supernatural ambiance all season long. If you're looking for even more spooky decor, you can also DIY your own giant spider or go the sweet route and add a cute ghost pillow to the mix.

Ahead, see a step-by-step guide on how to create your own thrifted ghost painting and take a peek at some of our favorite Halloween paintings on TikTok.