The best Halloween candles create an atmosphere. They set the mood of a space with either warm, fall fragrances or ominous shapes glowing in a darkened room. When we think of Halloween we think of that flickering flame behind a jack-o’-lantern’s orange grin and the best Halloween candles evoke that feel without the messy pumpkin guts.
Dolls don’t generally creep me out, but I am not enjoying looking at these creepy little Baby Doll Arm Candles.
Made by Darkness Void, the arms are just over 2.5 inches tall and you get four hands in the set. The pudgy, reaching doll legs are about 3.75 inches tall and come two in a set.
New this year, they’re offering a larger doll head that stands 3.75 inches tall with more defined features and even an open mouth. Yay?
If you buy one set of each, they’re perfect to arrange rising up through your Halloween cake or tablescape. The only thing worse than that would be to watch them melting down.
They’re handmade to order by artisans in Texas with 100 percent beeswax.
These cute and simple Skeleton Candles burn away to reveal creepy metal skeletons of the animals they’re shaped like. Not much else more Halloween-y than a candle melting away the form of a bad-luck black cat leaving a grinning skull and bare ribs.
They take about 10 to 15 hours to burn all the way down and then you have a neat little skeleton to either keep around or store with your Halloween decorations for next year. You can watch a timelapse of a similar brand, PyroPet, burning in this YouTube video.
They’re handmade to order in the United States using pure beeswax. The detail of the skull is impressive, down to each tooth. The candle is just under three inches tall and also comes in white, black, and pink.
Tall prayer candles have always had a spooky look to me, but add this weathered and stained Ouija board covering and you’ve go this Ouija Prayer Candle–perfect for Halloween.
The image of the Ouija board glowing from behind is either the sign of a really good party or a found-footage horror film. Kitschup Creations uses biodegradable paper and an eco-friendly sealant to affix their designs to these traditional prayer candles.
I love LED candles like this Six-Piece Spooky Candle Set because real candles aren’t always a practical or safe option whether it’s because of small children or because the candles are part of a Halloween decor display that you won’t be able to supervise. LED candles provide a safe alternative that won’t start a fire if you fall asleep after your Halloween party and forget to turn them off.
This set comes with six candles in three designs: poison, pile of skulls, and what looks like a raven pulling the veins off a human eyeball while a raccoon watches. Gross, but also awesome.
They take three AA batteries (not included) and light up different spooky colors. The candles themselves have a bit of sparkle to them to offset the creepy images. You can find other candle safety tips from the National Fire Protection Association here.
Halloween isn’t always spooky–it’s also warm, relaxing harvest scents. When I want a cozy, pumpkin spice candle, I go for Nest’s Pumpkin Chai.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a media sample of this limited edition candle and it stands out from the rest. I have way too many candles and can tell you that most fall spice candles, even luxury brands, are artificial smelling and either too strong or don’t smell at all. This one is practically perfect.
The fragrance of pumpkin mixed with masala chai spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom is spicy, comforting, and just a little sweet. It doesn’t take long at all for the scent to fill a room, but even burning it for hours at a time didn’t make the smell overpowering.
It’s a soy and paraffin wax blend and I’ve found it burns evenly and slowly. Their site says this tall 8.1 ounce candle has a 50 to 60 hour burn time and I believe it. Pumpkin Chai comes in an orange glass jar with frosted glass stripes that glows as you burn it.
The scent is limited edition so pick your own Pumpkin Chai candle quick. It’s also available as a smaller votive or larger three-wick style candle.
When it comes to Halloween, when in doubt just put out a bunch of Black LED Candles to guarantee a creepy vibe.
This set comes with nine black candles in different heights to imitate candles that have been lit and burned down several times. They are flameless LED candles making them safer to scatter around the house and at parties where there will be children.
All of the candles are just over two inches in diameter and for heights you get two 5.5-inch candles, two six-inch candles, two 6.5-inch candles, one seven-inch candle, one eight-inch candle, and one nine-inch candle. You also get two remotes to control the timers for the candles, their dimness settings, and whether or not you want them to flicker.
Once you set a timer it will turn on for that long at the same time each day. You can choose from two, four, six, or eight-hour length timers. Keep in mind that batteries are not included.
This four-inch tall Beeswax Spine Candle perfectly replicates a section of human vertebrae.
A couple of these on your table will turn your collection of snacks and candy into a true Halloween spread. They’re pure, unscented beeswax and handmade when you order them.
Classically gruesome, these finger candles by Forum Novelties come five in a set–as fingers often do.
You get a shorter, thicker thumb and four other highly detailed fingers including nails and sculpted joints.
There’s a plastic spike at the bottom so you can stick these into cupcakes or other baked goods. These would be a huge hit for a late October birthday cake.
A must-have for any witch’s spread or horror movie Satanic ritual, this poly-resin skull comes with two taper candles which drip blood-red wax to drip all over the skull.
The back of the skull is open so you can slip in an LED tealight candle to make the skull’s eyes flicker with flames.
With It Chapter Two coming out in September, you can be sure clowns will be making folks pretty twitchy this Halloween meaning it’s a perfect time for this Pennywise candle.
The unscented pillar candle is three inches in diameter and six inches tall. This image of Pennywise is decoupaged on to-order by the artist in Indiana. And the only thing creepier than Pennywise is a back-lit, glowing Pennywise.
A candle this size will have a nice long burn-time for hours of disturbing glow.
Do Halloween candles get creepier than a realistic hand candle that burns down to a bloody stub? I kind of don’t think so.
This unscented paraffin candle is life-size with amazing detail. Pre-burning, the hand has realistic skin coloring, wrinkles, fingernails, and palm lines. It’s an unsettling Halloween decoration all on its own even ignoring the wick sticking up from each finger.
Once you light it, the real horror begins as the inner wax is bright red making it look like the hand is slowly melting away to a bloody mess. Any Halloween-lover would lose their mind over this. This is certainly my top pick of 2019.
Weighing over two pounds, this is a serious skull candle.
It’s around seven inches long, five inches high, and four inches across. Hand-poured to order by Peace Blossom Candles, the pure beeswax candle has a texture that will stand out from the rest. The eco-friendly red dye creates an ominous glow when it’s lit.
A resin skull candle holder with elongated vampire teeth and flaming forehead with a red candle would be Halloween-y enough, but when you light this candle, the red wax bleeds through its eye sockets for a truly demonic effect.
The flames light up the eyes and make the red paraffin wax glow. It has a 20 hour burn time and is lavender-scented for some reason. I guess to try to keep you calm as this haunted skull bleeds from the eyes.
A more unique take, this bumpy toad is the best Halloween candle for your witch’s brew table.
Toads are known magical familiars to witches and would look perfect next to a big cauldron of punch or candy or mystical potions. The intricate details including warts will have your guests jumping. This toad is pure beeswax and three inches tall by five inches long.
This haunted graveyard tree stands a full foot tall and with its creepy, ghastly mouth and tombstones, it would be spooky enough on its own but it ‘s hiding a secret.
It burns down to reveal a black-cloaked figure with a white screaming mask holding a knife. Proving you never know where the slasher-flick killers are going to hide to surprise you. Surprises within make for some of the best Halloween candles.
For something a little less scary and a little more harvest, these family-friendly pumpkin candles are handmade so that no two pumpkins are the same.
As such you’ll get a mix of sizes and shapes. They’re made of food-grade dyed paraffin and have a lovely look to them lit or unlit.
You can get a set of two large pumpkins or four small pumpkins. I like that the candles are fragrance-free and that they can easily carry over into your Thanksgiving decorations.
October is for dim rooms and flickering lights. These are the best Halloween candles from comforting pumpkin spice to classic skulls to creepy doll heads.