Scary Halloween costume ideas

Halloween is coming, and it’s time to get spooky! And you’re gonna need the perfect costume to get your fright on. And your kids will want to join the fun, too! With so many terrifying options out there, what should you choose? A classic, tried-and-true costume? Something unique? It’s so hard! Lucky for you, we fashioned a list of scary halloween costume ideas that’ll scare even your most fearless friends. You’ll find a ghoulishly delightful blend of classic, unique, and creative Halloween costumes in our recommendations below. Believe us when we say these are the best Halloween costumes to chill your friends to the bone. People will be screaming about how great your costume is! Keep reading to find the right costume for you and your kids this year!

Scary costumes for kids

Kids have two goals on Halloween. First and most importantly, get as much candy from as many houses (or trunks) as you can. And second, run around impressing the neighborhood in an awesome costume. Not every kid wants to be a cute pumpkin or a cool dinosaurs for Halloween, though. Some kids just want to be scary little ghosts and goblins, and we totally support them. Halloween is the one time of year you can transform into someone or something else. Why not let the kids have some fun and get a little spooky? Well, they can get as spooky as they want with these scary kid halloween costumes!

This list contains some inspo for some seriously scary halloween costumes for girls. These reaper costume, ghost costume, and zombie costume speak to our spooky souls, and they’ll speak to yours, too!  We can’t leave the boys out, so we included ideas for some frighteningly fun boy halloween costumes. Nothing says scary like clowns, werewolves, and zombie baseball players! No candy bowl will be safe from children wearing these creepy costumes this year. But no need to worry about that! Your neighbors will be delighted to give your kids candy when they see them in these scary costume ideas!

3 Scary Halloween Costumes for girls If You Dare

Whoever said that girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice was wrong. At least, it’ll seem that way once your little girl puts on one of these scary halloween costume ideas for girls. Step aside, cats and cheerleaders! You’ve got nothing on these seriously spooky girls costumes. These reaper, ghost, and zombie costumes perfectly coordinate for the ultimate girls Halloween party! These are also super easy Halloween costumes to put together, so she can give maximum scares with little effort!

The Coolest Grim Reaper Costume

The grim reaper costume transforms your little girl into a harvester of souls, ready for her next victim. The plastic scythe comes with the outfit, so your daughter has everything she needs to scare her friends. After all, reapers can’t do their job without a scythe! Chains also adorn her frayed dress and cape. They’re not just stylish, they’re also incredibly eerie! Who knows what the chains represent? Only the reaper knows, and she’ll never share her secrets. All we know is that they make her the talk of the party.

Reapers are also usually skeletons, but your little girl isn’t one! (Unless you’re a family of skeletons, that is.) Well, she doesn’t need to be one! The grim reaper costume includes sleeves and tights with bones printed right on them. Pretty spooky, right? What’s more, the bones glow once the lights go out! What’s making her bones glow? Is it the souls she’s snatched throughout the party? Or has she enchanted them with an unknown power? Either way, she’ll light up the night! Once your daughter puts this costume on, be careful crossing her path. You may just meet the business end of her scythe and become a ghost.

Beautiful Ghost costume For Girls

Where there’s a reaper, spirit friends are sure to follow. Looks like your daughter became one of those ghosts for Halloween! This ghost costume adds so much more flair than a simple sheet with holes cut for eyes. Her look consists of a frayed dress with a layered, shredded skirt. The outfit features a flowing tattered cape and hood, undoubtedly chilling to behold. It makes you wonder, “why are her clothes so battered? What happened in her past life?” (Honestly, she probably just fought the other girls for the best candy. It adds to the eeriness of her costume, though!)

The chains that wrap around her remind her she’s bound to this world, wandering the earth endlessly. But those chains won’t stop your little girl from floating to all the best treats at the party! You and your daughter can take this spirit outfit any direction you want, especially with the right makeup. Add some white paint and dark eye rings to make her as pale as–well, a ghost! Add some fake blood to make her look dangerous. No one will mess with her as she hovers around the snack table. No one except for a zombie girl, maybe.

Zombie School Girl costume To Get You Ready For Halloween

If your daughter is a fan of Monster High, she’d probably love to be a zombie school girl! Once she puts on this zombie school girl costume, she’ll have a hunger like she’s never known before. Her shirt, coat, and skirt are all ripped up from clawing her way to the party. She’s not going to the party to meet new friends, though–she’s going there to meat new friends! But you told her not to gnaw on the other kids, so she’ll have to settle for the snack table.

We mentioned the costume comes with a shirt, skirt, and a coat, but it includes another important piece of clothing. Her costume comes with a little tie! You can’t have a school girl uniform without a tie, right? What does a zombie look like? It features blood stains on it, too, just like the rest of her clothes. Gotta keep things uniform, right? A pair of bloodstained socks come with the costume, completing the set. You’ll also want to add makeup to this look. If she doesn’t look undead, she’ll just look like a normal school girl with blood on her clothes. (That’s creepy in its own right, but not what we’re going for here.) Be sure to add lots of fake blood around her mouth to complete the zombie look!

Who says girls should get all the fun in their spooky halloween costumes? Boys want to join in the fun, too! No worries, delightfully devilish friends. Our recommendations will give them everything they need to be their best and most terrifying selves this year.

The Scariest halloween Costumes For Boys

Boys love nothing more than scaring the socks off people while trick or treating. Running around terrorizing people for their candy on Halloween is every boy’s dream. And they’re going to need the best costumes to pull that off. These boys halloween costumes will give your champ a chance to live out that dream this year! Costumes like these clown, monster, and zombie themes make trick or treating extremely fun and easy. Watch as the candy piles into your son’s bag as he scares your neighbors!

The Creepiest Killer Clown Costume For Kids

The killer clown costume ranks high on our list, giving off major Killer Klowns from Outer Space vibes. This guy won’t make you laugh, he’ll make you scream with fear! The costume comes with a full jumpsuit, just like a real clown would wear. This one has blood stains on it though. I wonder where those came from? Maybe they came from the saw blade collar that’s included in the costume. It looks really sharp, so be careful! You wouldn’t want your clown son to slice you, would you? (Don’t worry, it’s actually really soft.) 

Not only will your son get the jumpsuit, but he’ll also get the creepy clown mask in this set! Once he puts the mask on, everyone will scream about how scary good his costume is. And those teeth look as sharp as the blade on his neck! Plus, the costume takes nearly no effort to put on! Just zip up the suit, throw on the mask, and your champ is prepared to scare! He’ll have a great time roaming the streets with his good friend in the werewolf costume!

Scary monster costume For Boy

If your son is a little on the wild side, he’s gonna howl with joy at the scary werewolf costume! This costume comes with all the things he needs to become the animal he wants to be. Most of the costume parts are covered with fur, which is necessary to become a werewolf. After all, what’s a werewolf without his full fur coat? (Very cold, probably.) The costume also features a terrifying wolf mask. Its face bears a devious grin packed with sharp-looking teeth. Those chompers could bite through even the toughest candy! 

He’ll also swap his shoes for a pair of fuzzy wolf feet. Werewolves don’t need shoes anyway! His new wolf feet will be much better for running. He’ll need to race as fast as he can to get the very best candy! And his hands will transform once he dons the soft wolf gloves. The gloves come with sharp-looking claws, though, so be careful! No one will dare steal his candy when they see those long nails of his. (They won’t actually hurt you, though.) The only ones who are brave enough to stay close are his trusted trick-or-treat buddies, the clown and the zombie.

The Most Terrifying Zombie Costumes You Can Get

Does your son love sports? Does he also love zombies? Well, now he doesn’t have to choose between his two favorite things this Halloween! The baseball zombie costume is a perfect choice for kids who have a passion for sports and for scary things. This costume comes with a bloody shirt and pants. The shirt is pretty ragged from digging himself out of his grave. But it was worth it! You can’t play sports when you’re buried, after all. The set includes a long sleeved shirt to go under the t-shirt, adding to the authenticity of the look.

Of course, you can’t play baseball without a hat! The costume comes with one to show your baseball player means business. It seems there was an accident on the field though–your son got a baseball lodged in his head! He doesn’t seem to notice it, though. You’ll also get long socks in the costume, just like the pros wear! These ones have blood splattered on them. Looks like the baseball zombie had a quick snack before going up to bat! Speaking of bats, the set doesn’t come with one. You’ll need to supply your own bat for your little undead sports star.

Being scary on Halloween isn’t just for the children, though. Adults love scaring the heck out of each other, especially on Halloween. Check out these adult halloween costumes below to get some ideas and be the scariest you can be! 

Scary womens halloween costumes

Ladies, this is your sign to embrace your creepy side and wear a scary costume this year! These scary halloween costume ideas for women will shock and surprise anyone who sees you at the next big Halloween party. They’ll say “what happened to the woman I used to know?” Too bad, y’all–she’s dead now (at least for tonight). Move over, old self–a new woman is in town, and she’s badder than ever.

Whatever you decide to become for Halloween, you know it needs to be downright terrifying. There are so many options to choose from! Creepy clowns, spooky scarecrows, dreadful dolls–all scary choices. But which do you go with? Good news, girls! We’ve put together a brief list of horrifying costumes you could wear this year. And they include–you guessed it–clowns, scarecrows, and dolls. Horror movies from the last few years influenced this section a lot, so it’ll be easy to get into character! And you know they’re scary if people made movies about them, so these are tried and true!

Scariest Clown Costumes To Make You Scream And Run In Terror

Taking inspiration from the It movie, you’ll get maximum scares with scary clown costumes. For real though, who isn’t terrified of clowns? This scary clown costume will petrify anyone who wasn’t scared of them already. The costume features a bloodstained black-and-white dress adorned with red pom poms. Clowns are already creepy enough, but seeing one covered in blood just screams danger. The set also comes with leggings (bloodstained, of course). The mismatched patterns add a bit of playfulness to an otherwise spooky costume. Gotta look good while you’re on the hunt, right?

You’ll also get a headband with a bloody clown hat on it. And, of course, it’s got blood on it. (Seriously, did you expect any parts of this to not have bloodstains?) We recommend stuffing the hat with tissue to keep it upright. You’ll also need makeup to really sell this look! We took the liberty of creating a Pennywise-inspired makeup tutorial for this costume. It includes step-by-step instructions that you can follow at home, as well as halloween makeup recommendations. If you want a balloon for this costume, you’ll need to get one separately, as balloons aren’t included. We highly suggest getting one to complete the costume! 

This Scary Scarecrow Costume Will Haunt Your Dreams

Even more recent than the It movie was Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and starred a horrifying scarecrow. Scarecrows were already kinda creepy, but this really cemented it for us. If you find them terrifying, too, you should try out the creepy scarecrow costume. It features a patched-up tattered dress with a burlap-printed collar. Nothing says scarecrow like burlap! (Don’t worry, it’s not actually burlap, so there’s no itch.) There’s also straw poking out from the dress, making you look like you’ve been abandoned in the cornfields. Talk about a haunting origin story! No wonder folks will be scared of you–you’re out to get revenge for them leaving you to waste away.

It also comes with a patchy hat. Bits of fabric hang down from the hat, making it look like there’s straw tucked under it. The costume also includes a rope belt and a rope necklace. Maybe these ropes are what you use to restrain your victims? Who knows? No one who’s encountered you has lived to tell the tale. Like the last costume, makeup is a key factor for this look. We recommend makeup similar to this influencer’s look. You could also go over the top with lots of fake blood! Fake blood always makes things scarier!

There’s Something Very Scary About This Doll Costume

A more classic take on the “scary inanimate object that moves on its own” theme, dolls fit the bill. Dolls are officially one of the creepiest things to ever exist. If you’ve ever had an old porcelain doll or seen Annabelle, you know what we’re talking about. If you want to channel this creepy energy yourself, the scary doll costume is the perfect choice. The costume comes with a dirty-looking, bloodstained dress. A stitched red heart decorates the top of the dress, reading “feel lonely.” The scariest dolls are always the ones that have been abandoned and left to rot. They’re out to get you for making them suffer.

You’ll also get a pair of stitched leggings with this costume. They even have “revenge” written on them, so you know what you’ll be after when you wear this! The set also comes with hair accessories that look like sewing pins. These work best if your hair is put up. We recommend pigtails for the childlike doll look! If you want to make this costume even scarier, go all out with terrifying makeup. We wrote a tutorial for this look as well, complete with makeup product suggestions. 

These ghastly gals gave us the heebie jeebies! But we’ve still got more to cover in this list. We gathered some spooky mens Halloween costumes for the frightening fellas who wanna freak out the whole town!

Scary halloween costumes for men

Alright guys, it’s time to get spooky! Say goodbye to the funny and cool costumes of yesteryear. Scary costumes are where it’s at! These scary halloween costume ideas male are a surefire way to make your friends shriek! Seriously, nothing is terrifying quite like demon nuns, vampires, and shadow demons. We put all these costumes in this list because they all have something in common. What is that, exactly? They all dwell in the darkness, unable to see the sun. Good thing Halloween is at night, so you can unleash your true spooky powers and petrify all your friends and family.

Not only that, but these costumes make for great last minute halloween costumes. They’re all super simple to put on and take minimal effort to get maximum scares. Let loose and try something that might be unlike you. Something dark, something sinister, something that’ll scare even the hardiest and most fearless person. You know you want to!

How To Be The Scariest Nun On The Block

This nun costume gives us the same chills that the demon nun gave us from the Conjuring series. It comes complete with the gown, making you look like the real deal. It’s very comfortable, so you can terrorize and frighten with ease! And of course, we can’t forget the headdress. It’s the most recognizable part of the nun’s outfit–you can’t be a nun without one! 

What truly makes this costume horrifying is the mask that comes with it. The face is pasty white, almost undead-looking. At least, it should look undead–the nun’s been possessed by a demon, after all! The black eyes are a true sign of something sinister and otherworldly. Those aren’t eyes you want to stare into for too long. And just look at those teeth! They’re so sharp, and they’re stained with blood. You’ll laugh at how easy it is to scare people with a face like that! The mask also features an upside-down crucifix on the forehead, a reminder how something once sacred became twisted and vile. You’ll need to supply any other accessories for this costume, like religious items or decorations. Adding these provides contrast for how corrupt this poor nun has become. The twisted nature of this costume shares a lot in common with the next costume on our list, the vampire.

Vampire Costume For The Stylish Man

There’s something elegant yet terrifying about the classic vampire costume. If you want to wear something scary that’s tried and true, this is the option for you! The costume features a white shirt with an attached red vest. Vampires should always wear red–it’s a perfect way to hide any blood drips from their meals! There’s also a frilly collar on the vest. It’s enticing at first, but anyone you lure in with this will soon meet a frightful fate. 

The costume also includes a long, flowing cape. Vampires need to be able to hide in the dark, and this long black cape will do just the trick. This set also comes with a vampire cane for you to flaunt your elegance before you strike. Who knows where it goes when you transform into a bat, though. (Seriously, how does any of that work?) The outfit does not include pants, though, so you’ll need to provide your own. We recommend either black or maroon pants to pull off this look. The costume doesn’t come with vampire fangs either, but you can find sets of vampire teeth here. Once you don this costume, you’ll feel the urge to slink into the darkness.

Shadow Demon Costume For Halloween Is A Hit

No creature dwells in the darkness quite like a shadow demon. This shadow demon costume is perfect for any guy who wants to effortlessly scare his friends with a simple outfit. The costume consists of a bodysuit you can easily step into and zip up. It’s breathable and see-through, making it super comfortable to float around the party scaring the souls out of your guests. After all, you can’t spook people if you can’t see where you’re going!

The costume features a black-and-white design of a chilling spirit with hollow eyes. If you stare into them, you’ll fall into a trance and be at the mercy of his bidding. This costume is perfect for dark settings. The black parts of the costume blend in with your surroundings, making you truly look like a floating apparition! Once you hop into this costume, you’ll be consumed by the shadows, never to escape. The only way you can bear the darkness is if you lure others into it with you. That way, it feels a little less lonely.

Spooking and scaring will be super easy with creepy costumes like these. We hope this list gave you some inspiration so you can spice up your Halloween festivities. If you scare a lot of people for their candy, be sure to share some with us! If you want to try some scary inflatable costumes, check out this list! These will truly terrify your friends and family. Happy haunting!