“Hocus Pocus” Designs: 15 Hauntingly Catchy Shirt Design Ideas For This Halloween

Consumers are ready to spend. Is your retail apparel store ready to give them what they want?

We are aware that coming up with an elaborate Halloween-special style to stand out in the crowd is easier said than done. But what if all you need to do is share your passion for Halloween? Let us explain.

But first off, stock up on your Halloween inventory. Have you checked out our Top fashion picks for Fall 2023? They can give you a good ground to get started. Once you are done procuring wholesale sweatshirts and hoodies for Halloween, it’s time to show your passion for the season. You have 73% of U.S. consumers ready to consume that passion and a massive projected expenditure. 

Here are some hauntingly catchy Halloween design ideas for shirts that can get your creativity to craft some Halloween magic on your season offerings.

It’s a mystery how the Halloween season hotwires many Americans to throw on some snug clothing and watch scary films at night. Let’s just give them something to wear that reflects their interest in horror with iconic references of horror classics.

Use designs that reference a classic horror movie on shirts. However, remember that movies are copyright protected. So you need to work something out without using their intellectual property.  

Loved “The Shining”? Use a “Here’s Johnny” reference.

Loved “It”? Use a famous quote by Pennywise like “YOU'LL FLOAT TOO” with the demonic clown’s silhouette showing just the eyes and teeth.

You can take inspiration from any popular classic - Psycho, Pet Sematary, The Exorcist, Evil Dead, or one of any recent horror blockbusters. 

Halloween isn’t complete without nightly monsters and spooky creatures. And you don’t have to stick to the Vampire or Werewolf cliché either unless you have an out-of-the-box design idea with the toothy monsters. But why not make it unique with pumpkin goblins, banshees, or scary bunnies this time? Remember that a simple design with a random creature of the night doesn't count as unique. You can tweak the image with text for a little extra impact.

ZOMBIES! Zombie-themed designs never get old. By zombies, we don’t mean just zombies. You can also go for the OG Grim Reaper - the skeletal specter carrying a big scythe isn’t something people can ignore. Because apart from being a cool Halloween design, reapers also symbolize life and death. 

If you think one can’t get too creative with zombies, you’re wrong. For your designs to raise the dead and amp up the spook factor, you can embellish them with crypts, tombstones, and even zombie puns.

This year’s fall inexplicably brought vintage into mainstream fashion. Styles and designs that dominated a long-bygone era are starting to complement new fashion statements. So going a bit vintage with the designs during Halloween is a no-brainer. But it’s Halloween after all. So we recommend adding gothic elements to your vintage design ideas. The idea is to use vintage designs with a gothic theme to take your potential customers on a nostalgic ride. Your design should have vintage fonts and faded or neon colors. Add a few spooky elements like a decrepit castle or dead trees along with an impactful text to complete. This is just one random idea. You can do better.

Don’t have enough time to come up with intricate designs for Halloween? Just go minimalistic. Minimalistic designs have a unique charm, even if it’s just a small embroidered patch. Make it more spooky with small, simple silhouettes of Halloween elements like menacing pumpkin faces, ghosts, spiderwebs, broomsticks, and more. With one-word tees trending, you can give that a shot too. Imagine a hoodie featuring a design of bones forming a single text like “BOO”, “WITCH”, or “SCREAM”. 

Check out our Custom Design Creator to explore a curated collection of Halloween-special cliparts you can use on your designs.

How about printing something Halloween-themed all over the garment? How would a black blank sweatshirt look when you print orange jack-o'-lanterns all over it? Patterns grab people’s attention more than simple designs that are easily missable. And the best part is that you can mix and match Halloween elements to create your own unique pattern for the garment of choice. 

We hope these ideas are enough for you to creatively brew some Halloween-special designs to bring your apparel store into the spotlight this season. Explore some of our wholesale blank apparel collections, and capitalize on our low wholesale prices, bulk discounts, and fast shipping. Enjoy Halloween and stay spooky.