The 13 Best Halloween Cereal Boxes Of All Time

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Spooky season is the best time of year, especially when it comes to breakfast cereals. There's something about the pops of orange and purple, the iconic shapes of ghosts, witches' hats, bats, pumpkins, and candy corn, and the veritable cornucopia of monstrous mascots that makes Halloween especially ripe inspiration for that sugary good stuff we all begged our parents to buy for us when we were kids.

It probably helps that General Mills has been releasing monster-themed cereals every year since 1971. Kids have been clamoring for Count Chocula and Franken Berry for decades. In fact, Tasting Table tasted every General Mills Monster Cereal and ranked which was the best. 

Obviously, other cereal companies had to try to capitalize on this marketing slam dunk. And now, over 50 years later, it's safe to say that Halloween is the biggest holiday for cereals. The season is full of limited edition shapes and flavors, creative character redesigns, and inventive pop culture tie-ins. So without further ado, here are 13 of the best, spookiest Halloween cereal boxes of all time.

Chocolate Lucky Charms feels like a fever dream we once had, but they're real, and they're haunted. The rainbow marshmallow cereal gets a dark, rich makeover for Halloween with chocolate cereal and "haunted marshmallows," which sound mysterious and delicious. Not to mention, "haunted marshmallows" are all you really need to know about this classic marshmallow-centric cereal. And notice the little fangs on Lucky — have you ever heard of a vampire leprechaun? These Halloween Lucky Charms are taking mythical monsters to a whole new level.

In 2022, the General Mills monster cereal boxes were designed by the artist KAWS, whose trademark "X" eyes provided a simultaneously cute and spooky look for the monsters. "It's been a thrill to collaborate with General Mills and Monster Cereals," KAWS said at the time, per a General Mills press release. "I've been a big fan of the cereals since I was a kid. Even now, I love the original box designs and the creativity and imagination they invoke."

This year was also notable because it marked the first return of Frute Brute, the Wolf Man-inspired character who has had about as many lives as a cat, since 2013. But we especially love this adorable take on Boo Berry.

When we saw the Jim Henson puppet version of Count Chocula, the words "Of course!" escaped our lips. There's never been a more perfect collaboration. In fact, it's so perfect that we can't believe it took until 2025 to come to fruition. There's something delightfully retro about the box itself, and we have a feeling Count Chocula and Count von Count are besties when the cameras aren't rolling.

First of all, Corn Pops are underrated. The cereal is delightfully airy and crispy, and even when you think they've soaked up too much milk, their centers are still crunchy. Candy Corn Corn Pops, from 2001, were a sublime Halloween invention that only the neon-colored mad scientist on the front of the box could have come up with. The graphics are so 2001 in the best way possible, and honestly, we really want to try candy corn-flavored Corn Pops! If you work at Kellogg's, now's your chance to be a hero: Bring back Halloween Candy Corn Corn Pops!

Of the classic Monster Cereals, Fruity Yummy Mummy isn't the most well-known. But look at him! He's cute! And who doesn't want to try "orange cream flavor frosted cereal with spooky-fun marshmallows"? A creamsicle in breakfast form? Yes, please.

But sadly, the Yummy Mummy's shelf-life was brief. After debuting in 1988, he only lasted until 1992. The Yummy Mummy came back briefly in 2013 (and was even available in its retro, original box at Target), but evidently, he wasn't meant to last, and Fruity Yummy Mummy hasn't been back in his solo form since.

In 2021, for the 50th anniversary of the Monster Cereals, General Mills had the brilliant idea to combine them all into one delicious box. Monster Mash was the result, and we cannot get enough of this colorful box, which has all five monsters playing as a band. (Of course, Frute Brute is the drummer.)

When you add the words "collectible" and "hologram" to a cereal box, you know it's got to be a classic. And that's exactly what this limited edition "Ghostbusters" cereal box is. This hologram shows the crew from the animated series "The Real Ghostbusters," which premiered in 1986 and aired until 1991.

It's an oft-forgotten entry into the Ghostbusters universe, but Peter Venkman was voiced by Dave Coulier, and Winston was voiced by Arsenio Hall. We should be talking about this show all the time. At least we have the super cool cereal box to remember it by.

Cap'n Crunch Halloween Crunch has everything: a spooky, zombified Cap'n reminiscent of the ghost pirates in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," spooky, limited edition ghost-shaped cereal pieces, and a message on the box that claims the "ghosts turn milk green!" As a kid, there was nothing cooler than color-changing food products. Nothing.

Limited edition Halloween Fruity Pebbles takes your favorite "Flintstones" characters and dresses them up as classic Halloween monsters. There's something pure and delightful about that concept, and we love it. The little witch's hat with Pebbles's signature bone barrette decoration? It doesn't get much better than that. Not to mention, the cereal itself is orange and purple, perfect for Halloween-themed treats like these three-ingredient, no-bake Fruity Pebbles bars.

Perhaps no cereal was as primed for a Halloween version as Apple Jacks. It already had green and orange branding and a punchy, apple cinnamon flavor. Adding legitimately spooky jack o'lanterns to the mix was the level it needed to be taken to for this limited Halloween edition in 2001.

Fun, spooky-colored krispies and Snap, Crackle, and Pop with witch hats on, riding a spoon as a broomstick (a spoonstick?)? How cute! There's a lot happening on the front of this vintage cereal box. That haunted house in the distance looks actually scary, as do those silhouetted trees. Plus, with colorful cereal, the Rice Krispies treat upgrade possibilities are endless.

This Halloween cereal box list wouldn't be complete without Franken Berry. The Frankenstein-inspired, fruity, bespectacled monster was an instant classic when he arrived on the scene in 1971, along with Count Chocula. But we're particularly fond of this 1987 version of Franken Berry, who looks quite distressed, seems to point his finger with strawberry-shaped nails behind you, the cereal box holder, and exclaims, "Bigfoot!" And indeed, if you turn the box over, you can connect the dots to reveal Sasquatch himself.

Frute Brute, the Wolf Man-inspired creature, joined the General Mills monsters in 1974 but vanished by 1982. He made a triumphant, sideburned return in the early 2010s with a redesign that looks like he's straight out of an animated Dr. Seuss adaptation, and that's why we love it. The nostalgic feel of this box is off the charts. Frute Brute may not be an annual classic every year, but he sure does cause a scene (in the best way) when he shows up.