It’s that time of year again—the air is crisp and cool, and the leaves on the trees have changed color to rich reds, oranges and yellows. Welcome to America’s favorite season: fall. There are so many reasons to love the onset of autumn. Just think: pumpkins, sweater weather, apple cider, scary movies, and of course, Halloween. There’s something special about the way Halloween allows us to revel in spookiness, embrace our darker sides, and play with our identities. And what better way to do that than with spooky tattoos to inspire your next piece?
1. A bunch of hocus pocus
Roxy Ryder, a tattooer with a gift for making every piece she does look extremely cute—or, as she says, ‘kawaii’—turns the iconic witch movie’s title phrase into something sweet in printing the title the words on little candy hearts. And how adorable is that baby ghost?
2. All about Fall
This piece by Santa Barbara-based artist Jake Vantiger makes a quintessential Halloween pumpkin—better known as a jack-o-lantern—the focal point of the spooky tattoo. A bat, a blood red crescent moon, and brown autumn leaves tie it all together.
Like this design? Shop Inkbox’s pumpkin tattoos
3. The most haunted of houses
We love a good grayscale Halloween piece. Kasey Smith of Good Luck Tattoo in Santa Cruz, California, has created a brilliantly intricate haunted house scene, complete with barbed wire, a black cat, a ghost, bats, pumpkins, and a tombstone. Impressive AF, don’t you think?
4. Feeling batty
Flying birds are a common theme for collarbone tattoos, but for those who prefer pieces of the spooky variety, these gothic bats in flight, done by Jazmin Murphy at Blue Violet Tattoo in Colorado, are a much better fit.
5. Witch, please!
What’s a good Halloween without any witches, right?! Especially because there’s something so elegant about this traditional blackwork tattoo from Bethany Whitehead at Reign Supreme Tattoo Studio. This badass witch comes complete with a pointy hat, broomstick, and some tattoos of her own. Not to mention that winged eyeliner. Such a babe.
Like this piece? Shop Inkbox’s witchy tattoos here
6. We can live like Jack and Sally
Talk about couple goals. If you and your partner are both obsessed with Halloween, getting matching The Nightmare Before Christmas pieces is a great way to solidify your love in ink. Jack and Sally are fan faves for spooky season lovers and Disney lovers alike. Here, the characters are brought to life by Drew Shurtleff at The Ink Hub Tattoos in Oklahoma.
7. “We all float down here…”
If you’re a horror buff or a Stephen King fan looking to turn people’s heads with your tattoo, look no further than this Pennywise ink by Kim Davies at Youngbloods Tattoo Studio in Australia. This iconic character is recognizable by pretty much anyone, even if they haven’t seen the It movies.
8. Calling all spirits
Ah, the notorious Ouija board planchette. Autumn is the perfect time to break out your Ouija board and try to communicate with spirits…if you dare, of course. And what’s especially great about this design by Sean Scoular—an artist who mostly does blackwork tattoos at Bold & Gold Art in Edinburgh—is the clean dot-and- line work in the leaves and flowers around the planchette, which really bring the piece together.
Like this design? Shop Inkbox’s “Zozo” tattoo
9. A very Pusheen Halloween
Who doesn’t love Pusheen the cat? Here, we see the little cartoon cutie take on spooky season with a smile. And the artist behind this tattoo—Isobel Morton in Birmingham, United Kingdom—has a bit of a penchant for tattooing sweet Halloween scenes, including this other cat in a pumpkin.
10. Eerie elegance
If the neotraditional style is more your thing, check out this thigh piece by Chris Green, an artist based in Manchester, United Kingdom. The skull is especially creepy thanks to its few remaining teeth, but the framing also gives it an air of elegance.
11. Ghouls just wanna have fun
Ghosts are allowed to dress up for Halloween, too, right? Simple, bold black line tattoos are great for the minimalist who still wants to show off their love for Halloween.
Like this piece? Shop Inkbox’s ghost tattoos
12. Mean Girls and spooky season collide
Get in loser, we’re going shopping getting buried. It’s hard not to love the dark humor of this tattoo by Megan at Avenue Tattoo in Oklahoma. The wittiness, sparkly coffin, smiley skeleton, and spiderweb all work perfectly together to create an awesome design that’s hilarious to boot.
13. Running out of time
The Grim Reaper says your time is running out! With an hourglass in hand, this deathly spirit, is a reminder of our own mortality. We love all the creepy little details from the holes in the Grim Reaper’s cloak to his dark, extra pointy fingers. And fittingly enough, this spooky tattoo was done at Frankenstein Tattoo in Brazil by artist Diego Manson.
If you liked our post 13 Spooky Tattoos to Get You in the Halloween Spirit, be sure to check out 15 Space Tattoos That Are Out of This World.