Looking Back At 22 Of The Best Halloween Sneakers

Halloween-themed footwear is nothing new, with propositions from the past having celebrated the October 31st holiday via various costumes. In recent years, spooky-inspired collections have been accompanied by capsules dedicated to the Día de Muertos event celebrated in Mexico and elsewhere, offering fans of festive sneakers even more treats to choose from.
 
Some on-theme designs from the past rely heavily on the colors most often associated with Halloween: bold orange, mischievous purple and terrifying black. Others have made the holiday’s protagonists – Jack-o’-lantern, ghouls, witches, mummies and more – front-and-center. Brands like Vans, Reebok and Le Coq Sportif have even brought some of the most recognizable figures from horror films to sneaker form through collaborations with the Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger or It franchises.
 
Although most of the best Halloween sneakers have been designed for casual use, some styles have appeared in the realm of modern performance sport. LeBron James, a strong proponent of the horror film genre, has outfitted pairs from his signature sneaker series in bloody costumes for the scariest dates of the year (that includes Friday the 13th). Nike SB has repeatedly reimagined the Nike Dunk through the lens of both Halloween and November 2nd’s “Day of the Dead,” resulting in some of the most celebrated festive designs across all holidays.
 
Ahead of Halloween 2022, we at Sneaker News have rounded up 22 of our favorite commemorative footwear releases from over the years, in no particular order. The list isn’t exhaustive, but includes several pairs sure to help you have a happy Halloween.

Nike SB Dunk Low “Day of the Dead”
 
Are we cheating by featuring a “Day of the Dead” sneaker first in a Halloween post? Possibly, but we couldn’t wait to get to Nike SB’s gem from 2006. Footwear projects commemorating the “Día de Muertos” holiday have become commonplace over the last few years, but in the mid-aughts, they weren’t. The Swoosh has revisited the motifs found on the skate-ready proposition to lower fanfare, with a faithful recreation of the “Day of the Dead” sneaker via a Kyrie 4 PE showcasing that the original is timeless.

Off-White x Nike Blazer “All Hallows Eve”
 
The “All Hallows Eve” Nike Blazer remains just one of two Halloween-inspired outfits that the late Virgil Abloh cooked up throughout Off-White’s collaborative years with The Swoosh, easily remembered for its dominant pumpkin seed shade and vibrant Swoosh.

BAPE STA “Halloween”
 
Founded by Nigo in the 1990s, A BATHING APE revolutionized sneakers with the release of the BAPE STA in the early 2000s. The ‘80s basketball sneaker-informed design has dressed up in dozens of outfits over the years, but its festive and collaborative takes–like those for Halloween–have stood out from the crowd. BAPE’s iconic Ape logo has dressed up as Frankenstein’s monster multiple times since 2006, but the original is tough to beat given is simplicity.

Reebok Question Mid “Ankle Reaper”
 
Reebok’s spooky treat from two years ago deserved a spot on this list on its name alone: the “Ankle Reaper.” At quick glance, the Halloween take on Allen Iverson’s first signature model seemingly covered itself in a white bedsheet and called it a day, but details underneath the suede upper, on the sock-liners and at the heel demonstrate otherwise. The Reebok Question’s traditional branding hits on the lower spine are replaced with tombstones for “A.N.K.L.E.S.,” cheekily nodding to A.I.’s killer moves on the court.

Nike Dunk High “Coraline”
 
In January 2009, Laika Studios – founded by Phil Knight, one of the Swoosh’s forefathers – teamed up with Nike to celebrate the release of their first full-length, animated feature: Coraline. While the ensuing Dunk Highs never saw a retail release, eagle-eyed viewers were able to secure pairs through a secret code that appeared in the film’s credits.

Nike Air Foamposite One “ParaNorman”
 
To celebrate the release of their latest production, ParaNorman, Laika Studios once again joined forces with Nike, this time atop the Air Foamposite One. Pairs were made available exclusively through a giveaway, which tasked entrants with sharing their “weirdest” childhood photo.

BAIT x Reebok Ex-O-Fit Clean Hi “Stranger Things”
 
BAIT has teamed up with a countless IPs over the course of the last decade. 2017 saw the retailer join forces with Reebok to celebrate the much-beloved Netflix Original Series Stranger Things.

size? x Vans Sk8-Hi 38 DX “Halloween”
 
The U.K.’s size? has dozens of collaborations under its belt, but 2019 saw it partner with Vans for a spooky take on the Sk8-Hi. The duo’s Halloween pair wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but was a welcomed addition to the roster of October 31st-inspired footwear nonetheless.

Nike Lil Posite One “Vamposite”
 
Resembling the interior of a vampire’s velvet-lined coffin, the Lil Posite One came littered with spooky details for the youth to score droves of candy in style. Fit with a flock of matte black bats, embroidered bloody teeth and insoles bearing Dracula’s castle, the “Vamposites” sheer amount of embellishments cements the model as one of the holiday’s more boisterous outfits.

Nike LeBron 13 “Horror Flick”
 
From dawning the iconic boogeyman’s mask on multiple Halloween occasions to once being in talks to co-produce a Friday The 13th reboot, LeBron James’ affection for Jason Vorhees has been well-documented, prompting The Swoosh to dress the LeBron 13 in a faux blood splatter to honor The King’s love for the slasher film series.

Nike SB Dunk High “Jason Voorhees”
 
Originally released around Halloween in 2007, the Nike SB Dunk High “Jason Voorhees” uses color to celebrate one of the most frightening mass murderers to ever grace the big screen.

Nike SB Dunk Low “Freddy Krueger”
 
Among Hollywood’s most horrific creations, Freddy Kreuger has plagued the nightmares of not only Elm Street residents but also many a filmgoer. The Swoosh, too, was clearly traumatized, channeling their fear into both a mythical Nike SB Dunk Low and a subsequent Air Max 95.

Vans “Freddy Krueger”
 
Over the years many of brands have attempted to dress their silhouettes in homages to two of Halloween’s most lethal protagonists, while Vans captured the bloody striped shirt of Freddy Kreuger effortlessly with its SK8-Hi tribute.

Le Coq Sportif “Fear Pack”
 
Perhaps having flown under the radar stateside, Le Coq Sportif’s “Fear Pack” from 2016 deserved a spot on this list for its callback to It. At quick glance, the brand’s R800 and R1000 silhouettes appear like general styles from the French brand, but a look at the outsoles reveal the Halloween theme clearly. Pennywise has gone on to be featured on other shoes, but his appearance on Le Coq Sportif’s pair reigns supreme.

New Balance 580 “Halloween”
 
Before their infamous resurgence, New Balance still took part in the trick-or-treating endeavors. Churning out spooky costumes for its iconic racing silhouettes to dawn, the New Balance 580 came coated in a dark green suede accented by spooky black and red features.

Nike Air Force 1 Pinnacle “Werewolf”
 
Released as a kid’s-exclusive, this five-year-old drop outfitted Bruce Kilgore’s iconic Nike Air Force 1 in denim and fur for a faithful “Werewolf” costume. Lace dubraes featured the half-man, half-wolf’s name, while heels replaced traditional logos with claw marks.

Nike Air Force 1 Low “Skeleton”
 
Currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, The Swoosh has rarely had an issue with reinvigorating its 1982 constructed Air Force 1. Few, however, were as effective as pairing the silhouette’s iconic “Triple White” scheme with a synonymous Halloween mofit, the bones of a skeleton foot.

Nike Cortez “Día de Muertos”
 
A number of years have seen The Swoosh take part in the Mexican tradition of celebrating the dead, with papel picado and candle-lit altars joining together for the yearly tradition on the Nike Cortez “Dia De Muertos”.

Nike Dunk Low “Halloween”
 
Orange patent leather atop a white leather base and accompanied by black accents could grace the Nike Dunk Low during any time of the year, but they seem more at home in October. The Swoosh omitted direct nods to Halloween on the women’s pair, but the aforementioned components are too coincidental to not have been inspired by October 31st. Tombstones, blood-stylized lettering and other spooky details are fun, but they limit a sneaker’s year round wearability. So we’re not mad at this pair (even if it does remind us of Jack-o’-lanterns).

Nike SB Dunk Low “Mummy”
 
Choosing to resurrect the mummy last Halloween, Nike wrapped one of the most iconic trick-or-treating costumes around its SB Dunk Low, featuring an unraveling toilet paper aesthetic, tearaway uppers and frightening ghoulish eyes, the classic celluloid monster is celebrated in one of the night’s more unique constructions.

Nike SB Dunk Low “Night of Mischief”
 
Perforations made in the face of a jack-o’-lantern, embroidered spiderwebs and smashed pumpkin insoles together crafted one of the spookiest SB Dunks to date. Coupled with modern tooling through a Zoom Air unit and padded tongue, trick-or-treating doesn’t get much more comfortable than this.

Nike Air Force 1 “Halloween” (2006)
 
Nike has released countless Halloween-themed Air Force 1s over the years. But among the colorway released during the early aughts, this 2006 pair may be one of the best.