Look Out, He's Got an Ax! 10 Scary Halloween-Themed Guitars

Some bands—like Gwar, Ghost or almost any Swedish death metal band, for example—don't need scary-looking gear to be frightening.

That said, if they were wielding any of the axes featured in the photo gallery below, well, let's just say it wouldn't hurt.

Check out 10 scary-looking guitars that are perfect for Halloween. OK, one of them is just a guitar in the shape of an ax—but who knows how much damage a deranged guitarist could do with that thing!

Note that some of these guitars feature unique designs and body shapes; some are just regular guitars with spooky paint jobs or graphics.

Either way, all of these guitars are still available in one way or another—from major retailers, manufacturers' websites, eBay, whatever. Enjoy!

Image 1 of 10

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.

More about electric guitars

“I must’ve played hundreds of Les Pauls, and I can safely say this is up there with the best sounding of them – it even gives my own Gibson Les Paul Standard a run for its money”: Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Goldtop review

“Take a lunar journey”: Guitar Center continues its big-brand collaborative hot streak and takes Fender on a Moonlight Drive with a trio of limited-edition Player II models

“Muddy Waters and BB King, I knew ’em before they passed away, and they told me, ‘Man, if you outlive me, just try to keep the blues alive’”: Buddy Guy is still on the road – and he’s back on the big screen in Michael B. Jordan’s Sinners

See more latest

Most Popular

Rory Gallagher's 1961 Fender Stratocaster

I’ve been involved with guitars for decades, and in all that time I can probably count on two hands the vintage instruments I’ve seen with half the finish gone. Has guitar relic'ing gone too far?

Toshi Dorji plays live and is silhouetted against a deep red background.

“I’ve been to guitar shops and played fancy guitars and cheaper ones. I just don’t understand why people pay so much money”: Tashi Dorji explains why he sees little value in expensive instruments – but views improv guitar as anarchy

Adam "Nolly" Getgood Poses with his custom T-styles: his new collaboration with Bare Knuckle brings us a PAF-alike with more output, designed for the player of today's tone preferences.

“Anyone can dial in a really fat, thick, saturated guitar tone for single notes, but what happens when they palm-mute? Does it just fall apart? A lot of the time it does”: Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood busts myths about how to get great high-gain tone

Connor Wyatt and his dog standing in front of the music store GAK

“There are people out there that had paid £2,000 for a guitar…and we were still getting emails from people saying, ‘Where’s my stuff?’”: What happens when a guitar store goes bust? A former employee at one of the UK's biggest guitar stores tells all

English rock group The Kinks, from left, Ray Davies, Pete Quaife, Mick Avory and Dave Davies (playing a Vox Phantom XII 12 string guitar) perform on the pop music television show Thank Your Lucky Stars for ABC Television at Alpha Television Studios in Birmingham, England in 1965. The band members are all wearing matching red jackets and pink shirts.

“I left without a penny to my name. I was bitter for a while, but I’ve got a great legacy”: Though Pete Quaife gets credit for jumpstarting the Kinks bass chair, John Dalton and Jim Rodford pushed the band forward on many of their classic albums

Clarence Gatemouth Brown performs at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival at Aptos Village Park in Aptos, California on May 27, 2000

“Chuck Berry's not a very good guitar player. He's a clown. He runs all over the guitar, just like any one of these old rock players would do, and makes no sense”: Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown pulled no punches when speaking about his fellow guitar heroes

“I said, ‘Merle, do you remember this?’ and I played him his song Sweet Bunch of Daisies. He said, ‘I remember it. I've never heard it played that good’”: When Roy Clark met his guitar hero

“I asked Marcus to sing on it. As amazing as he is on bass, I think he’s underrated as a vocalist”: Having earned lofty status in bass-hero circles, Marcus Miller lent his vocal chops to Hadrien Feraud’s solo album

“I was playing stuff I don’t think James Brown understood. He told me, ‘You have to play the one – you’re playing too much’”: Six years after he quit touring, Bootsy Collins reflects on James Brown and George Clinton, and what he gets out of playing today

Geordie Walker of Killing Joke performs with his Gibson gold-top Gibson ES-295 with the Mary Kaye pickguard.

“This guy kept calling saying, ‘I’ve never been in a band before, but I’m the best guitarist ever.’ When I heard him play it was like a fire from heaven”: The life and times of Killing Joke visionary Geordie Walker – the guitar hero’s guitar hero

Get The Pick Newsletter