Ten best spooky fonts for 2021: An impromptu roundup

Listen, guys, I just pressed ‘Escape’ twice accidentally and lost the entire post I’ve been writing, so excuse the terseness of this post.

Gone is the introductory paragraph with cringeworthy wordplay (“whatever possessed me to write this roundup in March”) and the paragraph about my irritable bowel syndrome mishaps. Maybe another time, boys & girls.

For now, here’s a list of my ten favorite spooky fonts I came upon when I went looking for the most appropriate one for my occult suspense novel’s cover.

The fonts

  1. Dreadful
    This is one of my all-time favorites. A great layered system with some amazing extras.

  2. Moonhells
    A more storybook/adult fairy tale appearance. Think Tim Burton-esque dark-o-loveliness.

  3. Monsters
    More serious. Looks shattered/torn apart. It does not have the cute b-movie whimsy of many others on this list, but it’s a good choice for a very recognizable effect.

  4. Darkflow
    Very cheesy, but who doesn’t love cheese?

  5. CREEPSHOW
    Speaks for itself. Travel back to 50s-era Ed Wood schlock with this.

  6. Gialle
    I imagine the name was inspired by Giallo, that very bloody, very trashy Italian mystery/crime genre.

  7. Melt!
    If you’re doing anything with zombies, and it’s any fun at all (ie. not The Walking Dead and spin-offs) you need this.

  8. American Frights
    More stately and serious. Out of the cover of a Stephen King novel or an alternative version of the 'Stranger Things’ title card.

  9. Gallow Tree
    I hate brush/handwritten fonts, but this one is great.

  10. Zachar
    Flashy and gothic, with many variations, including two different weights and distressed versions.

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Typeface pairing tip: stress matching.