Haunt Your All Hallows Eve With These 9 Spooky Wine Labels

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes" — this quote originally comes from William Shakespeare's "MacBeth," but it's not his Second Witch nor Ray Bradbury's Charles Halloway echoing this timeless refrain. It is instead the warped incantations of the nine utterly spine-tinglingly and spooky wine labels that adorn this year's batch of perfect picks for your Halloween bash. But BEWARE! While there are no rules to trespass upon this time of year (or any other for that matter), when it comes to finding wine and food pairings to serve at your next costume-festooned gathering, we provide this advice in protection: drink what you like but take heed, the wines ahead may fill your mind with madness.

While this advice should be strictly followed, that doesn't mean you can't amp up the thrills by sampling wines that are not only absolutely, taste-temptingly, terrifyingly good — but also set the visual tone for a memorable Monster Mash of your very own. The criteria here is simple: find the most eye-catching labels with chillingly taut angles, imbued with fog-drenched fall flavors, and be sure to knock them dead. Some of the below wine labels are in-your-face, boldly displaying their Halloween takes, others whisper scary stories in the dark, while some specters exude their spookiness like steam rising from cemetery soil, haunting the time-worn edges of their wineries. In total they're a sinister lot of the undead, guaranteed to haunt your All Hallows Eve (and perhaps, your dreams).

With striking, brightly-colored graphics depicting Universal's classic movie monsters on their faux-worn labels, the Australian wine purveyor, 19 Crimes, is known for its homages to the criminal among us. It's collaboration with Universal Monsters allows you to choose from Frankenstein's Cabernet Sauvignon (dark cherries, chocolate), Bride of Frankenstein's Red Blend (blackberry, chocolate, spice), and The Mummy's Hard Chard (peach, vanilla, spice). At $18 per bottle, each option glows in the dark and features scannable augmented reality for a super fun bonus that lets you party like a mon-star.

A haunted winery and a prospector and his horse murdered on a forested hill in the dead of night for his gold — a deed so dirty, he and his horse have lingered on that fateful hill on the grounds of this family-owned Oregon winery ever since, just as depicted on its wine labels. For $54, a bottle of the Prospector's Reserve Pinot Noir from Ghost Hill Winery pairs perfectly with Taylor Murray's baked brie jack o' lantern recipe, with resonant pomegranate and cranberry notes and a haunting mystery to tell along with it. 

From its perch on the weathered, Tuscan-yellow label to its pitch-black bottle, the gothic vibes from Gothic Wines' Nevermore Pinot Noir – a Willamette Valley, Oregon Pinot blend — call to Edgar Allen Poe's infamous eponymous creature: The Raven. Dripping with all the eerie residue of the pale master himself, it reaches into the darkness to retrieve deep plum, funghi, and clove notes. For $24 a bottle, t's a true Halloween classic. 

Each bottle from Chronic Cellars rattles with bone-chilling comedic creeps, banger blends, and bone-fide legs (inside your glass and out). Hidden behind the crew of spine-tinglingly rendered skeletons by Chicano artist, Chris Granillo are some of best buys of the bunch. Its Red Blend, Purple Paradise, would pair great with spicy Arrabbiata sauce, while the Cabernet Sauvignon, Sir Real,  serves as an effortless accompaniment to all of your kid's chocolate Halloween candies. These standouts bring complex autumnal flavors — and, at $16.99 a bottle, bare-bones affordability. 

With the silver-on-black label, cauldronic connotations of witches and spellcraft beckon from both the dark and the light of Spellbound's Petite Sirah. Conjuring the celestial spirit of the moon, this spell-bounding wine balances the dark art fruits of blackberries and blueberries with simmering coffee and dried earth — calling in a coven of complementary herbs from rosemary and oregano to smoky paprika for just $16 a bottle. 

This Washington wine appears tame until you peep the blood-dripping, armored hand on its bottle. Sinister Hand from Owen Roe Winery tells a grim tale that proves you can go too far for the win. The short version: two Irish families embroiled in a land dispute agree to a rowing competition that, in the end, would leave one man sans his hand for the land's title. For $24 a bottle, a sinister nature lives on in this juicy, savory, and dark wine.  

Phantom's award-winning California wines come wrapped in the arms of strange, barren trees and an invitation to share your ghostliest stories in their annual ghost story writing contest. Paused this year, the winning story is usually adapted into a short film. All of which can be explored on their website. For $18 a bottle, try the 2023 Phantom Chardonnay with candy corn — buttery Chardonnay calms the syrupy sweet and lends acidity to magnify flavors. 

A coiling purple dragon emblazoned on its label announces Pacific Rim's Sweet Riesling — the not-so-evil-twin-soul to the most iconic, non-chocolate sweet to ever hit the Halloween candy bowl: Sour Patch Kids. Before you "blech," or poise your thumbs for that green-face emoji, hear us out. At $10.99 a bottle, this sweet-tart Riesling was made for the puckering punch of the patch. With high acidity and high sugar content, they're perfectly paired for fright-night shenanigans. 

You can't go wrong with any of the well-made wines in Michael David Winery's FreakShow collection, but this Central Valley, California winery's Halloween standout is its 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon. With lush fruit and a full-body, it pairs joyously with the darkest of chocolates. FreakShow is a myriad of limited edition, glow-in-the-dark selections, meaning you should grab them while you can. At $18 to $20 a bottle, they'll haunt you once they're gone.