If you’re expecting an October baby, or looking to name a new pet or fictional character, we have curated the best spooky names just for you. Choosing a scary name for your little one is like crafting a little masterpiece of macabre. So grab your cauldron, dust off your spell book, and let’s brew up some bewitching baby names…or pet names.. or character names!

  • Arachna – Arachna is an urban superhero with spider powers of mysterious origin.
  • Banshee – Screaming spirit
  • Barnabas – First name of vampire from the television series and film Dark Shadows
  • Beelzebub – Another name for the devil
  • Bellatrix – Evil death eater in the Harry Potter series of books and films.
  • Betelgeuse – Scary spirit from the film of the same name.
  • Blair – Reference to the film The Blair Witch Project
  • Blackbeard – A pirate ghost
  • Boris – Legendary horror film actor, Boris Karloff
  • Bones – Skeletal parts of a body
  • Boo – Exclamation of scare
  • Buffy – Character from the film and television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Carrie – Telekinetic teen character in Stephen King’s novel and film(s) of the same name.
  • Casper – A friendly ghost character in comics and cartoons.
  • Chaos – Extremely disorganized
  • Chucky – Murderous doll in the film series of the same name.
  • Circe – A sorceress who could turn men into animals.
  • Clarice – Main FBI agent character in the novel and film Silence of the Lambs.
  • Crimson – The color of blood
  • Cruella – Cruella DeVil is the villain from the Disney film, 101 Dalmations and 102 Dalmations
  • Cyclops – One-eyed monster
  • Damien – Boy character from the film The Omen
  • Darth – Villains Vader & Maul from the Star Wars series of films and television shows.
  • Desdemona – Meaning “Of the Devil,” this is the name of Othello’s wife in the Shakespeare play Othello
  • Dexter – Main character from the television series about a sympathetic serial killer.
  • Draco – Dragon, Dreadful
  • Dracula – Vampire from the novel and film of same name.
  • Drusilla – A character from the film and television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Edgar – An English name meaning “Rich Spear,” this name is the moniker of one of the first horror authors, Edgar Allan Poe.
  • Elvira – Television host, dubbed “Mistress of the Dark.”
  • Endora – Mother-in-Law witch from TV show, Bewitched
  • Fang – Long tooth, primarily in animals.
  • Fester – To become rotten, Name of the uncle from TV show and film, The Addams Family
  • Frankenstein – Novel by Mary Shelley about a Doctor named Frankenstein who created a monster from body parts. The name is often associated with the monster, himself.
  • Freddie – Freddie Kruger is the villain from the “Nightmare on Elm Street” film series.
  • Gomez – Father from the cartoon, then subsequent television series and film, The Addams Family
  • Ghidora – 3-headed Monster
  • Hades – Another name for hell, or Greek god of the underworld.
  • Hannibal – Hannibal Lecter is the iconic villain from the novel and film series, Manhunter/ Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal

    Anthony Hopkins playing Hannibal Lecter - Older man in iron mask strapped to a dolly.
    Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter
  • Hecate – Name of a witch rom Shakespeare’s tragedy, MacBeth
  • Hemlock – A highly poisonous European plant of the parsley family,
  • Herman – Monster father from the television series The Munsters
  • Hilda – A witchy name
  • Hulk – Scary superhero in Marvel comics
  • Ichabod – Ichabod Crane, character from novel, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
  • Igor – A character, sometimes a hunch-backed assistant, to many types of Gothic villains, most prominently portrayed by Bela Lugosi in the films Son of Frankenstein and The Ghost of Frankenstein.
  • It – The name of the killer clown in Stephen King’s novel of the same name; hairy cousin character in the television series and film The Addams Family
  • Ivy – A “poisonous” plant that irritates the skin.
  • Lestat – Lestat de Lioncourt is a fictional character appearing in several novels by Anne Rice, including Interview with a Vampire.
  • Lily – Vampire mother from TV’s “The Munsters”
  • Lilith – A “She-Demon” in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, supposedly the first wife of Adam.
  • Lucifer – Name of a biblical angel who fell to earth.
  • Lurch – Butler from TV’s “The Addams Family”
  • Maleficent – Evil Godmother in Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty.” She is the self-proclaimed “Mistress of all Evil.”
  • Marley – Jacob Marley was the main ghost in the Charles Dickens’ story, A Christmas Carol
  • Merlin – Camelot Sorcerer
  • Midnight – 12:00 a.m.
  • Misty – Out of the Mist
  • Morgana – The sorceress in Arthurian legend.
  • Morte – Death in Latin
  • Morticia – Mother character from television and film series The Addams Family
  • Nebula – Dark Mist
  • Nocnitsa – Meaning “nightmare.” In Slavic mythology, Nocnitsas are female demons who sit on people’s chests while they sleep, causing terrifying nightmares.
  • Norman – Mother-killer and hotelier in the novel and film Psycho
  • Nosferatu – Famous Vampire
  • Nyx – Of The Night
  • Ouija – Mystical board used to connect with spirits.
  • Phantom – Ghost
  • Poe – Edgar Allan Poe, famous horror/suspense author
  • Pugsley – Son from TV/film “The Addams Family”
  • Quasimodo – Name of title character in the novel and film The Hunchback of Notre Dame

    old black & white photo of scary dude putting his hand up
    Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin
  • Rasputin – Rasputin was a Russian mystic, best-known for befriending and influencing the imperial family of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia.
  • Raven – Black bird, and the name of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe.
  • Reaper – Character known to come take your soul when it’s time for death.
  • Regan – Possessed child character from the film, The Exorcist
  • RicinA poison found naturally in castor beans.
  • Ripper – Jack the Ripper was a serial killer in Victorian England.
  • Rosemary – Main character in the horror film, Rosemarie’s Baby
  • Rune – Small stones with symbols on them used for fortune telling.
  • Sabrina – The Teenage Witch character in comics and television.
  • Salem – Sabrina’s powerful black cat, named after Salem, Massachusetts, a town with a history of accusing women of being witches.
  • Samantha – Witch wife from the television series Bewitched
  • Samara – Main character from the horror film, The Ring
  • Sasquatch – Bigfoot
  • Scarface – Al Capone’s Nickname
  • Shadow – A dark area or shape produced by an object body coming between rays of light and a surface.
  • Skull – Head Bone
  • Spike – Character from the film and television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Storm – Bad weather, tempest
  • Svenghouli – Television horror show host
  • Tabitha – Child witch character from the television series Bewitched
  • Tempest – Storm
  • Thing – Disembodied hand from TV/film The Addams Family
  • Thorn – Spiky point on a plant or flower.
  • Twilight – The time of day at dusk. Also the name of the first novel in a series of books by Stephenie Meyer about Vampires and Werewolves.

    The Twilight book cover: two white hands holding an apple.
    Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
  • Voodoo – a religion combining elements of Roman Catholic ritual with traditional African magical and religious rites, characterized by sorcery and spirit possession.
  • Vlad – Vlad III of Wallachia was commonly known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula and the inspiration for the Dracula vampire character.
  • Voldemort – Scary character from the Harry Potter novels and film series.
  • Wednesday – Daughter in the television series The Addams Family and Wednesday.
  • Wolverine – Scary wolfman from comics  and film series X-Men
  • Zelda – Witchy aunt from the comics and television series Sabrina the Teenage Witch
  • Zombie – Living Dead
Headshot of Jennifer Moss

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.