25 Coffin Tattoo Ideas Just for Halloween

Coffin tattoos have been popular designs in traditional and neotraditional tattooing. These designs can be used as “filler” which are smaller designs that fill the negative space between two other, usually larger, tattoos. However, many coffin tattoos can standalone as original designs that can showcase a variety of styles and themes. From being memorials to lost friends or even morbid jokes, these designs range from serious to funny.

Coffin tattoos have emerged as a pretty big trend in recent years with people getting more radical and fun designs every single day. We wanted to get a better understanding of what new designs people are getting to see how the limits are being pushed and reinterpreted. We looked to social media to find out just how much fun artists are having with these designs that are perfect to explore this Halloween season!

Black Coffin Tattoo

Usually, you will find a coffin tattoo done in dark and black inks. We find this to be the case in this first example of a coffin and rose with thorns that look so sharp!

Drip Drip

Here’s another design, this one with an orange skull which looks splendidly like Halloween next to the black fill of the coffin lid. This offbeat design is so fun and looks so good with the flower accent around it.

Sandworm & Coffin Tattoo

Any Beetlejuice fans out there? We can think of no better marriage than that of one between a coffin tattoo and a sandworm. How fun is this!?

Mystical Coffin Tattoo

This coffin transports you to the stars and perhaps, even heaven’s door. How mesmerizing are those magenta and teal swirls? Get weird with it folks, and you will love your new ink!

No Fear

Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” could be an influence for this tattoo or potentially it could just be smart words to live by. After all, we really should not live our lives in fear. If you’d like something that looks dramatic, go super dark with the ink as this artist has done.

That Kitty Coffin

We find a Sphynx inside this coffin made of bones. We love how delightfully strange this entire design appears. Take a look at the stippling effect employed above the cat to reveal the shape of the crescent moon!

Paradise in a Box

Here’s a tattoo with a sense of humor. It’s very tongue in cheek, with the text, “Someplace to get away,” imprinted on the coffin’s lid. “Coffin, take me away!”

On-Theme

If you came here for Halloween cranked to the max, feast your eyes on this stunning coffin tattoo that includes a landscape scene of a cemetery inside. The lines are so sharp! Bravo!

Sticking to It

Here’s a witchy-looking tattoo of a woman looking to the moon and a bat flapping in the distance. As you can see, the coffin shape is a perfect way to frame a scene and we encourage you to do the same.

Nails & a Ghost

Those nails in the coffin did not keep this bad boy down. We find a ghoul rising from the dead, complete with bats and spiderwebs for good measure. For Halloween, you could do no better than a coffin tattoo like this one.

A Deal

We’re not entirely sure what this tattoo is supposed to symbolize but we certainly think it’s a winner. Could this be about a deal with the devil? A deal with death? At any rate, it’s such an evocative and fun design.

RELATED: 25 Chilling Horror Movie Tattoos That Welcome the Halloween Season

Best Sleep Ever

Here’s another funny coffin tattoo that is draped in a banner that reads “sleep tight.” There is so much black ink here that it looks unmistakably gothic, which may or may not appeal to you.

Later

We find a planchette from an Ouija board here with the word “Goodbye” written across it. Take a look at how nicely the purple and green look paired together. This is so offbeat and playful while also being baby-creepy.

Batty

Someone wanted a really black tattoo that still popped so the artist has included white ink to highlight the design. All of the lines, from the cobwebs to the wings of the bat, draw the eye to the bat’s face which show’s some true artistry.

Swimming with the Fishes

The person who shared this image described that the sentiment behind it was the death of our oceans and the wildlife and coral that once thrived there. An interesting way to express that idea that looks great no matter if you know the intention or not.

Gold & Black Coffin Tattoo

Come on! Gold and black always look marvelous today and this absolutely gorgeous coffin tattoo is no exception. Go ahead and choose your favorite flower and ask your artist to have it explode out of a coffin like this and we’re certain you’ll love the result.

Flower Inside

We loved that last design so much we wanted to show you a similar take on it. We find a neotraditional rose in deep black for this sharp design that’s so deliciously moody.

Eeeeek!

The artist who shared this image described the character tattooed here as a “coffin reaper.” Looks like the actual devil to us! If you’re here for the creep factor, you should get some equally as shocking.

Peace & Pumpkins

Where are the Halloween hunnies at? This Halloween coffin tattoo has it all. Candy corn, cobwebs, pumpkins, purple, and plenty of visual interest make this a truly remarkable Halloween design.

Magic

This design has strayed very far from designs you’ll find in most tattoo artists flash (a sort of catalog of original designs). This is so impeccably original with so much contrast that somehow balances out to be perfect.

One Beautiful Bat

Go ahead and get that psychedelic bat you’ve always wanted to be tattooed on your body! We share this image with you to encourage you to express yourself. Your tattoo is for you and no one else!

Yep

Here’s another funny coffin tattoo, this one with a banner across it that reads “dead inside.” The nice bunch of flowers around the design look lovely as well!

Life & Death

How amazing is this interpretation? We find a really beautiful floral design on the coffin itself while the contents are revealed to be a skeleton. Orange, red, and black inks all look smart together.

Not Today

We’re almost certain this is a play on the iconic saying, “Not today, Satan!” We find the reaper escaping from the coffin tattoo with the words “not today” below. This could easily mean, they don’t want to see that scary dude soon.

RELATED: 25 Halloween Tattoos for All of Us Who Want Year-Round Frights

Just Beautiful

We saved our favorite coffin tattoo for last! A black coffin is topped with a huge, golden flower. A snake with a light blue, contrasting belly slithers out from behind both to create the most exciting shape and effect.

There you go! We hope you enjoyed these coffin tattoos and you got a sense of the many places you can take them. You can go more traditional, think outside the (pine) box, or do a mix of both to create a balanced piece you’re proud of. There’s no right way or wrong way to do it. You can have fun with it or get really moody. Live your life! After all, we’ll all be in a coffin soon enough. Happy Halloween!