If you prefer going the scary versus sexy route for Halloween, there’s no shortage of scary Halloween costume ideas. If you’re feeling extra creative, you might even be able to combine the two. Pole-dancing werewolf, anyone?
For a few, like Michael Myers, you’ll be able to get away with just wearing a mask and an easy costume. But from creepy clowns and zombies to characters like the Demogorgons, you’ll need a little more time to perfect your makeup or source all the items to make your spooky cosplay sing.
Whether you want to scare trick or treaters or just make yourself jump when you look in the mirror, these scary Halloween costumes for adults should do the trick. Or the treat. Whichever gets us more Butterfingers.
30 Scary Halloween Costumes
1. Jason Voorhees Costume
All you need is a little bit of makeup or $12 for a plastic mask from Spirit Halloween for this scary Halloween costume from Friday the 13th. It’s great if you want people to know that if you don’t do people in, your mom sure will!
2. Cruella de Vil Costume
Cruella is the villain we all secretly want to be. Make her look as deranged as you’d like, just don’t let your dog see you leaving the house in this getup.
3. Chucky and Bride Of Chucky Costume
Don’t forget to lay perfectly still when adults come into the room. Oh wait. We are the adults.
4. Undead Bride Costume
Planning a wedding is so exhausting, it can really take the life out of someone. And don’t even get us started about dancing all night in heels!
5. Squid Game
You can finally re-use that Juicy tracksuit you begged your mom to buy you for months in the mid-2000s! Splatter a green one with some fake blood to be one of the unlucky players.
Or, check out any of these other Squid Game character costumes. And we thought Chucky was a terrifying doll.
6. Plague Doctor
This is the perfect disturbing Halloween costume if you don’t feel like doing elaborate makeup or faking smiles during small talk about retirement funds. Grab your mask here!
7. Midsommar May Queen Costume
Trying to loop your boo into a scary couples costume? All they have to wear is a plain t-shirt. Hopefully your Halloween party isn’t in a hut. Or on a cliff.
8. The Other Mother Coraline Costume
Coraline claims to be a kids movie, but even Neil Gaiman’s daughter eventually confessed the book scared her and isn’t really for children. Dressing up as the Other Mother is a pretty easy scary costume.
All you need is a bit of face paint, black lipstick, and some large buttons for eyes. Use eyelash glue to get them to stick. And significantly less painful.
9. Candyman Costume
Candyman is back. Steal the hook from someone dressed as Captain Hook for the full look.
10. Scary Pumpkin Costume
Don’t think pumpkins are scary? Check out this creepy Halloween costume. And our abysmal carving skills.
11. Mummy
Wrap your head in gauze, pop in a special effects contact lens, and add a touch of bloody makeup for that full why’d you wake me up while I was busy decaying look. Bonus points if you can get Brendan Fraser to come to your Halloween party.
12. IT’s Pennywise
Haven’t seen the sun in two months? No one will be able to tell with this scary costume! The only thing that could make it scarier is by making it a “sexy” Pennywise getup. We don’t need that kind of role play.
13. Monster-In-Law
Your mother-in-law might be scary enough on her own, but add a little green face paint in the spirit of the holiday. We’re sure she’ll love it.
14. Carrie
Carrie is the perfect scary Halloween costume for the vengeful. Bonus points if you also wear it to your high school reunion.
15. Pinhead Costume from Hellraiser
For the Pinhead look, all you have to do is go to an acupuncturist and ask them to just…leave the needles in. You’ll be so relaxed you might not even make it ot the party.
16. Joe Goldberg from You
The good news is that you probably already have plain jeans, tees, and jackets in your closet. The bad news is that people can absolutely still recognize you with a blue cap on. Smear a little dirt on your shirt from all those graves he’s had to dig. It’s not notworking for his physique…
17. The Joker Costume
Which Joker version will you be? Heath Ledger’s? Jack Nicholson’s? That one in the Bicycle card deck? Whichever creepy clown costume you choose, you’ll be sure to frustrate your nemesis. It’s not your fault she never wins the costume contest!
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18. Purge Costume
There are so many scary Halloween costumes that can come from this movie. Use a mark or draw on some neon makeup for a less sweltering effect.
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19. The Shining Twins
Nothing says “besties” like a matching blood-covered dresses and a blank stare. No one will ever know that you just dropped the whole tray of cherry Jello-shots.
20. Possessed Max Costume from Stranger Things
We’re not sure which is worse: Getting taken over by Vecna or having to listen to the same song on repeat for what feels like eternity. To recreate this version of Max, naturally have red hair or get a red wig, color your eyebrows red, and order a pair of TTDeye’s gridding white contact lenses.
Max wake up! We’re at the party.
21. Vecna Costume
On second thought, maybe listening to a lot of Lady Gaga isn’t so bad.
22. Beetlejuice
Be the ghost with the most this Halloween. Or, let’s be honest, the ghost who really need a bath.
23. Donnie Darko’s Frank Costume
Why are you wearing that silly six-foot-tall bunny costume?
24. Demogorgon
After seeing Vecna, the Demogorgons feel almost tame. Until you locked in a room with them. They seriously never stop talking!
25. Billy the Puppet Costume from Saw
Sure, we’ll play a game. Wait, is it Monopoly?
26. The Nun Costume
Adding the cat is just the next logical step when creating a scary group costume.
27. Skeleton Costume
When you say you work hard but party harder.
28. Zombie Costume
Brains. And beauty. And brawn. Who says your scary Halloween costume can’t have it all?
29. Witch Costume
Most witches aren’t evil. Except for the one that stole the other’s shoes. But we still would rather keep on the good side of this being.
30. Creepy Clown Costume
This scary clown costume is disturbing on more levels than we can count. What comes after four?
When she's not behind the keyboard or holding a microphone in her hands, you can find Leah having deep philosophical conversations with her tiny dog, letting bags of kale go bad in her fridge while she goes out in search of happy-hour priced sushi, and watching so much true crime TV that she's pretty sure she could actually get away with murder at this point. Follow her on Twitter for the jokes and on Instagram for the "aesthetic."
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