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Each and every year when the calendar turns from September to October, “spooky season” comes into full effect. We start streaming horror movies, the internet posts an endless slue of memes, and most importantly, sneaker brands begin releasing Halloween-themed shoes.
While colorful costumes and delicious candy garner most of the attention during this holiday, we had to show some love to the sneaker community. From Freddy and Jason-themed Dunks to signature basketball models, check out the greatest Halloween-themed sneakers of all time below.
31 Best Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked
Best Signature Basketball Sneakers of 2025
Year: 2012
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is technically both a Halloween and Christmas movie, so Derrick Rose’s “Nightmare Before Christmas’ Adidas D Rose 3 qualifies it to be on this list. The shoe itself is inspired by the poster of the movie, featuring a rich purple color on the upper paired with speckled details on the midsole, and a glow-in-the-dark outsole. Even though it was released in December 2012, this still stands out as one of the best styles from the Adidas Rose line. —Victor Deng
Year: 2025
This Nike Ja 3 colorway has been called the “evil twin” version of the Kobe 6 “Grinch,” and it’s hard to ignore the similarities. The shoe is bright green with a mesh that resembles rotten flesh, and it comes with red laces as an option. It also glows in the dark, which adds to its Halloween theme. Honestly, I haven’t seen a Halloween shoe make this much noise in a while. The Nike Ja 3 has been a brute force in basketball sneakers and this colorway shows it’s not slowing down soon—it’s been selling out and hasn’t even been debuted by Ja yet. I’m excited to see how this shoe ages. —Douglas Jase
Year: 2007
The Jason Vorhees Dunk is an interesting one. It almost falls through the cracks in some regards. It’s an older Nike SB Dunk. But it’s not really an “OG” Nike SB Dunk. It came out in 2007, which is like just outside of the window for the grail Nike SB Dunks. (Although a few did release during and after that). And it’s the counterpart for the Freddy Dunk that never released, which is one of the biggest grails due to its unattainable nature. But it’s still a good shoe overall. It’s just not one of the best Nike SB Dunks of all time. Or in consideration for it. —Matt Welty
Year: 2018
As many of these sneakers are, the “Skeleton” Nike Air Force 1 Low is a little bit silly. It could have been a lot sillier though, but its execution actually made it cool enough to be a hit. The realistic-style x-ray concept was so popular that it returned over the course of multiple years, showing up on AF1 Lows including black and purple colorways, as well as a variation of the Nike Kobe 5. The concept’s run was an impressive feat for such a potentially goofy theme. —Zac Dubasik
Year released: 2015
While this pair technically dropped after Halloween in 2015, its blood splattered design gives off some clear spooky vibes. Officially given a “Horror Flick” nickname, these LeBron 13s come inspired by Jason Voorhees of the Friday The 13th movie franchise, a character that King James himself dressed up as before an October 31st Laker game last season. —Ben Felderstein
Year released: 2019
This is a weird one for me. The Nike SB Dunk Low “Night of Mischief” is a pretty ridiculous looking sneaker. It says “Trick” and “Treat” on the left and right heels, respectively, has purple spiderwebs on the midfoot, glow-in-the-dark outsoles, and a ghost on the inside of the tongue. For all intents and purposes, an incredibly silly sneaker. But that’s also why it’s awesome. It’s quirky, on-brand, and both a perfect Halloween sneaker and SB Dunk. You will likely never catch me lacing up a pair, but somehow, some way people are spending over $800 on these on StockX. —Ben Felderstein
Year released: 2024
Call it sacrilege, try to remove my sneakerhead card if you want, but I’ve never been that into the white-on-white Air Force 1. I have no nostalgia for it and that helps me in this case, as I think this is one of the coolest Forces in recent memory. Any time that Nike is switching up more than just a sneaker’s colorway, that’s bonus points in my book. Here, the Swoosh cleverly utilizes negative space to rework the AF 1’s toebox to mimic Jason’s iconic hockey mask. It’s subtle yet poignant, and is the perfect spooky season option for someone who doesn’t want to wear pumpkin orange or something with a skeleton on it. —Ben Felderstein
Year released: 2006
Patent leather, two tones of green, toebox stitching, and a metallic silver Swoosh did justice to Mary Shelley’s iconic Frankenstein character on this 2006 colorway. Released alongside matching kid’s Vandals and a women’s Legend model, it was the AF1 that really won over sneakerheads and remains one of the most coveted Halloween releases ever. —Riley Jones
Year released: 2018
Off-White x Nike was groundbreaking, but it also became tired. When word came out that more pairs were releasing, and they were going be themed around Halloween, it pained some to deal with another collection. The “All Hallows Eve” pair, with its tan upper and orange Swoosh, is good, though. Gotta give it that. — Matt Welty
Year Released: 2025
A few weeks ago I tweeted out something along the lines of, “Is this the best Nike KD of all time?” in reference to the Nike KD 18 “Slim Reaper.” I was partially kidding, but the tweet went off and more than a few people echoed the sentiment. For what this sneaker is, it is absolutely perfect. It’s pretty rare that a skeleton gets added to a sneaker in a way that isn’t corny, over-the-top, or just terrible. But Nike and Durant perfectly executed the first ballot hall of famer’s nickname on this pair in a way that makes the hand look like it’s somehow holding the sneaker up itself. If that all wasn’t enough, the shoe glows in the dark. It’s one of the best basketball sneaker colorways of 2025. —Ben Felderstein
Year released: 2021
Nike SB has been putting out Halloween and horror-themed sneakers since its early days, and it’s still going strong with the “Mummy” Dunk Low installment. Featuring a canvas upper with raw edges in fashion true to its inspiration, the shoe also includes a glow-in-the-dark outsole and eye graphic at the heel with a hidden Eye of Horus emblem on the back of the tongue. It’s not quite “Freddy” Dunk level, but it was one of the strongest spooky season executions from Nike SB in quite some time. —Riley Jones
Year released: 2024
This is the kind of rare instance where a sneaker sounds pretty ridiculous on paper, but actually looks pretty awesome in execution. Inspired by the “beaten not broken” x-ray shirt Kobe wore in 2010, this Kobe 5 features a glowing foot on a navy blue upper. We’ve seen Nike try the skeleton shoe thing before and it was executed significantly better this time around. Vanessa showed this pair off on her IG initially, and we’ve already seen them on the hardwood and even remixed for the gridiron. It’s one of the best non-original Kobe colorways we’ve seen. —Ben Felderstein
Year released: 2005
Patent leather Air Force 1s are a trend that needs to come back. Only problem is they get cooked after like two wears and the toebox gets wavier than Max B. I remember my friend trying to iron out his pair. I don’t think it worked. There are two versions of this Halloween Air Force 1, one from 2005 the other from 2006. The ‘06 one is cool—if you like sneakers that are split in half with the colorway. A lot of purists don’t, so we’re not gonna talk about it. The 2005 pair, with its contrast orange heel and Swoosh, is where it’s at. Surprised your favorite rapper or NBA style icon hasn’t pulled a pair out yet. —Matt Welty
Year released: 2006
The “Day of the Dead” Dunk is the biggest fuck you to America by Nike SB. The sneaker, which released in 2006, was only available in Mexico and Canada, and that instantly made it a grail in the States. And part of that logic makes sense: It was inspired by Dia de Los Muertos, Mexico’s semi-equivalent to Halloween. But Canada? Fuck outta here. Either way, the sneaker was a love-it-or-hate-it design for many, with its orange, purple, and black color scheme with skeleton print all over it. It’s as if 2006 threw up all over the shoes. I remember being drunk at a college party back then and meeting a Mexican kid and asking him if he had anyone who could get me a pair. Problematic, sure. But I needed them. And wish I had them. They sell for thousands nowadays. —Matt Welty
Year released: 2006
Arguably one of the greatest Nike SB Dunks of all time, there was no other way we could end this list. Scrapped due to copyright issues, the Freddy Krueger Dunks are one of the rarest SBs out there, emulating the iconic dream-haunting serial killer from the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Green and red stripes to match the killer’s sweater, brown overlays for his scarred face, a shimmering metallic silver Swoosh to symbolize his razor glove, and gruesome blood splatter make this shoe a perfect homage to the memorable villain. Due to the rarity of this Dunk, owning a pair will likely haunt your dreams as well. —Ben Felderstein
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