DaFont has the most free Halloween fonts, with 937 in its Halloween category and 1,333 in Horror when I checked, but only 76 and 149 of them pass its completely free or open licence filter. For a shop sign, menu or product you'll sell, use the open source spooky fonts on Google Fonts, such as Creepster, Nosifer, Butcherman and Eater, or a DaFont font labelled completely free.
Every October the same fonts go viral. A cafe wants a dripping-blood menu board, a salon wants a spooky offer graphic, a teacher wants a haunted classroom sign. The trouble is that the newest, most downloaded Halloween fonts are nearly always free for personal use only. Fine for your kid's party invite. Not fine for a flyer that sells tickets.
DaFont's Halloween and Horror categories
DaFont splits spooky fonts across two places. Holiday, then Halloween, held 937 fonts on 28 October, and its licence filter for completely free plus Public domain, GPL or OFL cut that to 76. Fancy, then Horror, is bigger at 1,333 fonts, with 149 passing the same filter. There's also a small Dingbats, then Horror category of 49 symbol fonts (skulls, monsters and other spooky symbols), 19 of them completely free.
The popularity list shows how October works on DaFont. Bloody Ghost, a new font by Mns Grebck, had 13,104 downloads in total and 2,577 of them came the day before I checked. Creepy House, Brozier, Alter Creed and Jungle Troubles were close behind. Every one of them is free for personal use. So are the long-time favourites CF Halloween and Scary Halloween, each past 1.5 million downloads.
Spooky fonts that are labelled completely free
There are plenty of good free options once you filter. One name keeps appearing: Sinister Fonts releases its horror styles as completely free on DaFont, including Ghastly Panic, the most popular font in the whole Horror category with over 5 million downloads.
| Font | Designer | DaFont category | Licence shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghastly Panic | Sinister Fonts | Horror | Completely free |
| October Crow | Sinister Fonts | Halloween | Completely free |
| Swamp Witch | Sinister Fonts | Horror | Completely free |
| Help Me | GGBotNet | Horror | Public domain, GPL or OFL |
| Green Fuz | Typodermic Fonts | Horror | Public domain, GPL or OFL |
| Bloody | James Fordyce | Horror | Completely free |
| Tombstone | FactoryType | Halloween | Completely free |
| Tango Macabre | Manfred Klein | Halloween | Completely free |
Watch out for demos. Another Danger and Friday 13 both sit near the top of the Horror list, and both are marked Demo, which usually means a sample with missing characters or a licence you have to buy for real use.
Open source Halloween fonts on Google Fonts
Google Fonts has no Halloween category, but it has a spooky corner, and every family in Google's own font list is flagged open source. Creepster, Nosifer, Butcherman and Eater were all added on the same day back in December 2011, and their own descriptions tell you the look: Creepster calls itself fright-filled, Nosifer drips, Butcherman is a zombified display font and Eater is infected by a rare disease that spreads at night.
For something less gory, Griffy is a wacky, slightly spooky hand style, Henny Penny is offbeat and playful, Jolly Lodger has a retro motel feel, and Metal Mania was inspired by heavy metal album covers. Rubik Wet Paint is a generated effect version of the plain Rubik typeface, so it pairs well with regular Rubik for the small print.
Creepy case-file notes look best set in typewriter fonts.
Can you use a free Halloween font for your business?
With an open source font, yes. The OFL FAQ lists logos, posters, signage, T-shirts and personalised fabric among the uses that need no extra permission. You just can't sell the font file on its own.
With a DaFont font marked free for personal use, check first. DaFont's FAQ says the licence line is only an indication, so read the readme in the zip or the designer's own site, and if no licence is shown at all, don't assume it's free. Many Halloween font designers sell a commercial licence separately, so you can often still use the font if you pay for it.
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Making a horror strip rather than a poster? Try comic book fonts.
Making a spooky design that still gets read
- Use the Halloween font for one or two words only: the event name, the offer, the date.
- Set the details (time, address, price, booking link) in a plain bold font so people can read them at a glance.
- Type your real text, numbers included, before you commit. DaFont's FAQ warns that free fonts don't always include accented letters or figures.
- Check the design at phone size. Drips and scratches turn to mush when they're small.
- Keep the licence line or readme with your design files in case a client or printer asks.
Need words to go with the font? My spooky Halloween captions are ready to paste, and the Halloween marketing ideas for small businesses guide covers what to post and promote. For the brand-safe side of free fonts in general, see free fonts for commercial use.
My advice
If it's a one-off party invite, download whatever makes you smile. If it's anything with your business name on it, pick Creepster, Nosifer, Butcherman or one of the Sinister Fonts styles, and save the licence. I'd also resist the font everyone is downloading this week. When the same new font is on every cafe chalkboard in town, yours won't stand out, and a long-standing completely free favourite like Ghastly Panic will look more confident.
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I download free Halloween fonts?
DaFont has the most, with 937 fonts in its Halloween category and 1,333 in Horror when checked, though only 76 and 149 pass its completely free or open filter. Google Fonts has open source spooky fonts such as Creepster, Nosifer, Butcherman and Eater.
Are DaFont Halloween fonts free for commercial use?
Most aren't. The most popular ones, including Bloody Ghost, Creepy House, CF Halloween and Scary Halloween, are marked free for personal use. Fonts such as Ghastly Panic, October Crow and Tombstone are labelled completely free.
Is there a Halloween font on Google Fonts?
There's no Halloween category, but Creepster, Nosifer, Butcherman, Eater, Griffy, Henny Penny and Rubik Wet Paint all give a spooky look, and every Google Fonts family is open source.
What's the difference between Halloween fonts and horror fonts?
On DaFont, Halloween sits under Holiday as a seasonal category, while Horror sits under Fancy and holds year-round horror styles. If you can't find the right look in one, check the other.
Can I put a free Halloween font on a T-shirt I sell?
Yes if the font is under the OFL, which allows T-shirts, logos and signage. Personal use fonts need the designer's permission or a paid licence, so read the readme first.
