Halloween is a holiday wherein much of the traditions celebrate the supernatural and the macabre, as well as harvest. The holiday began as a celebration of departed souls in Catholic tradition, but as centuries passed, new traditions and cultural elements became involved, especially after its arrival to North America in the 19th century and the rise of the Horror movie genre.

Because Halloween is so heavily ingrained in North American pop culture, especially consumerism, many different types of visuals developed because the holiday reaches many demographics. For children, the holiday tends to focus on the whimsy and "spookiness," as terror is inappropriate for children. On the other hand, Halloween is often linked with horror , which involves a large variety of genres that have their own associated tropes that carry over into different visuals for the holiday. For example, people who enjoy more elegant aesthetics tend to decorate or dress themselves in a Gothic theme, while people who enjoy slasher movies enjoy jump scares and sometimes even (fake) gore .

Halloween also has many colors strongly linked with the holiday. Black and orange are the classic colors, but additional colors can be added depending on different interpretations of the aesthetic; common additional colors are purple, green, and blood red . More is described in the Substyle section.

There are many visual motifs that can be portrayed differently in tone but are always going to be understood as "Halloween". Horror  monsters (often from B-movie horror tradition) such as vampires , witches , zombies, mummies, clowns , and fictional serial killers are some figures that are commonly the theme of different costumes or incorporated into artwork.

Aspects of Gothic horror also appear without totally being a part of the genre. Ghosts , haunted houses, and ancient graveyards are some examples of things associated with the holiday.

Animals that are typically considered frightening are also symbols of Halloween. Bats (associated with vampires), spiders, snakes, rats, and black cats are often mascots of the aesthetic and feature as home decor, plastic trick-or-treat favors, or greeting card characters.

Because the season takes place in Autumn , many of the visuals incorporate aspects of this, especially in religious communities who are opposed to the celebration of malevolent supernatural beings. (As a note, many communities totally opposed to Halloween often have a "harvest" or fall festival around the real day of Halloween to please kids.) Apples, in bobbing for a party game and on sticks, are an example of a harvest symbol. Corn mazes can be a common visual, especially because there can be both a horror or lighthearted slant.

Pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns are a part of this autumn motif, but are extremely prominent as a Halloween symbol and tradition.

Another symbol and tradition is candy , which is a part of trick-or-treating. Certain candies are associated with Halloween specifically, such as candy corn, gummies shaped like body parts, and anything pumpkin shaped.

Halloween is also a season for gatherings, and many people host Halloween parties . Young adults often throw house parties or go to clubs where the alcohol is made to look like potions, women dress in sexy costumes, etc. Meanwhile, "Pinterest moms" often make elaborate themed food and decorations that look aesthetically pleasing.

Halloween fashion can either make nods to Halloween aesthetics or are Halloween costumes. Because of the season, Halloween daily fashion is often autumnal. The colors are, of course, made up from the Halloween color palette and incorporate the motifs in prints, crochet, or novelty accessories. Because of this, any fashion aesthetic can have a Halloween theme to it, so long as the colors and motifs are involved. However, Halloween is especially popular with Goth and vintage communities, as the former has many horror enthusiasts and the latter often involves novelty prints and accessories in their fashion.

The costumes for Halloween can vary greatly, as the theme and execution are decided by the wearer. Costumes can be made by professionals, purchased from Halloween store bags, or improvised using a few accessories over normal clothing. Anything can technically be a Halloween costume, including horror movie monsters, lighthearted characters, memes and pop cultural figures, animals, and even "non-costumes."

Halloween/Spooky music can consist of a lot of Nu-Metal , Goth , and some Punk music, as well as campy Halloween songs or soundtracks to Tim Burton films (Nightmare Before Christmas being a prime example of Halloween music).  Popular artists within the Halloween aesthetic include:

Neon Halloween is a Halloween aesthetic subgenre based on all its respective imagery, but in neon vibrant colors.

Halloween neon decorations, such a skeletons, pumpkins, witch hats and ghosts. Also neon lights, paint, party imagery and gardens.

Electronic beats which are Halloween themed or electronic covers of typical songs.

The nostalgic aspects of Halloween refer to Halloween visual culture from the 1980s-2000s, which is the majority of contemporary internet users' childhoods. There can be overlap with Spooky Kidcore .

Because Halloween has been present for over a century, many eras had their own look to Halloween. This section refers to the 1920s-1960s. Because the horror genre mostly grew in the 1970s, many aspects of Halloween familiar with people today, such as horror movie slashers, are absent. During this time, it was also more common to send Halloween cards, which have illustrations that form the basis of the aesthetic. There is a lot of overlap with the Rockabilly and Pin-up aesthetics.

Similar to Pastel Goth , as well as other aesthetics like Gurokawa and Pastel Gore , this sub-aesthetic focuses on Halloween imagery with vibrant and/or pastel colors and cute characters such as Sanrio characters, especially Kuromi . Common themes for this subgenre are casual scenarios/settings, decora elements, and cutesy gothic or spooky visuals.

Because of how popular Halloween is as a setting for comedy, horror, and mystery, there are hundreds of works. Wikipedia editors have listed all of these works here: