77 Horror Movie Tattoos for Men

The horror genre has been alive and well (or dead and rising, depending on who you speak to) for decades, beginning with the earliest gothic novels and reaching its zenith through the Hollywood lens.

Horror movies are both a rite of passage and time-honored way to exorcise one’s own demons; in the realm of terror our own problems seem minuscule.

There may be no shortage of possible tattoos within the horror genre, but more than a few certainly stand out.

From the painful leer of Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein to the decidedly more malicious grin of Hellraiser’s Pinhead, the tattoo realm is ripe for depicting your favorite horror movie antiheroes. Freddy Krueger’s signature red and green striped sweater, the demonic doll Chucky, and even the ghoulish mask from Scream all evoke the giddy terror we love to feel upon revisiting the icons of our nightmares. Horror movies tease our worst fears while amplifying the unimaginable, and a tattoo of similar proportions acts as a kind of totem against all things that go bump in the night.

It’s been scientifically proven that horror movies have a calming effect on those prone to certain mental stresses, and the horror inspired tattoo further relieves us of the burden of what lies just around the corner. We can’t always prepare for what the world has in store for us, but our horror heroes teach us how to prepare for anything, and what’s more with wit, courage, and a dash of sexy stamina.

Your horror tattoo may not be a stake in the heart of the vampire, but that works to your credit. After all, who or what would dare attack the man who wears the emblem of the monster?