10 horror divas to steal your look (and a few bad habits) for Halloween 2026 From the Gothic witch to the punk bride
Halloween is the only night of the year when walking around with a corpse face, a bloodstained dress or a long black cloak on requires no explanation. In fact, the freaks and possessed we seem, the better. But between the usual vampire with plastic canines and yet another pointed hat bought at the last minute, finding an idea that really works isn't that simple. The solution? Watch horror movies, where iconic female characters have transformed wigs, corsets and dark lipsticks into real aesthetic statements. Their wardrobe offers decidedly more interesting alternatives, such as aristocratic Gothic witches, rockstar vampires, killer dolls that nobody would like to find in their bedroom, and teenagers who definitely need a vacation away from the American suburbs. We have chosen 10. Ten Halloween looks to copy, reinterpret and bring to the party without losing style. Their stories are creepy, the outfits memorable and the beauty look, in some cases, would deserve a retrospective of its own. From witches to vampire queens, their wardrobe is an archive of aesthetic references that crosses eras and subcultures, but there's no need to replicate every detail to the letter. The only non-negotiable rule to remember? The terror passes, the style remains.
10 horror divas to steal your look for Halloween 2026
Asa Vajda - Barbara Steele
Film: The Demon's Mask by Mario Bava (1960)
Who it is: the proof that you can be terrifying without giving up a certain aristocratic aplomb. A witch sentenced to death in the 17th century, she comes back to life two centuries later to take revenge on the descendants of her persecutors. The detail of the iron mask nailed to his face suffices to explain why his character has become one of the most memorable images of Italian Gothic horror. But Asa isn't just a nightmarish creature. Thanks to her sinister charm, pale face and magnetic gaze, she has become a reference for dark aesthetics.
Look: black velvet, lace, capes and theatrical silhouettes are the basis of this gothic witch costume. To make it contemporary, all you need is a long black dress, a corset and some silver jewellery with an antique feel. On the feet, black boots with structured heels or dark shoes with a Victorian style.
Beauty: porcelain skin, sculpted cheekbones, black smokey eyes, defined eyebrows and plum or burgundy lips. Raven hair, voluminous and slightly disheveled, must look less like a salon fold and more like the result of two centuries spent underground. The horror detail to complete the gothic make-up? Add dark marks to the base of the makeup that recall the wounds left by the metal mask nailed to Asa's face.
Baby Jane Hudson - Bette Davis
Film: What Happened to Baby Jane? by Robert Aldrich (1962)
Who she is: Jane Hudson, a former child prodigy in vaudeville, has never accepted that she has been forgotten by the public. She lives with her sister Blanche, a former Hollywood diva, now confined to a wheelchair after an accident. Between resentment, nostalgia and domestic cruelty, his obsession with the past turns into a descent into madness. Bette Davis transforms a child who never grew up into one of the most creepy figures in cinema.
Look: Jane doesn't dress like a woman of her time, but like the child she continues to believe she is. It's a kind of Hollywood creepy doll, with a wardrobe trapped in another decade. The key piece is the light dress with lace, collars and childish details, to be combined with retro robes and faux pearls. Ideal shoes are pumps with straps, Mary Jane or vintage models with low heels.
Beauty: Baby Jane's trick is really scary. Heavy and powdery foundation, thin and arched eyebrows, black eyeliner and pink cheeks that are too marked. The lips are drawn unnaturally. To complete the look you need a platinum blonde wig with tight curls and a bow in the hair.
Sylvia Marsh - Amanda Donohoe
Film: The White Snake's Lair by Ken Russell (1988)
Who she is: she is an English aristocrat who hides a monstrous nature. Sylvia is a priestess linked to the cult of an ancient serpent, a predator who uses charm, irony and seduction to manipulate those around her.
Look: its aesthetic is a concentrate of glamorous gothic, rural eroticism and eighties opulence. At the base of her outfit are structured silhouettes, important shoulders and flashy accessories, with incursions into the world of leather and latex. For a contemporary version of his style, you can bet on a tight black dress, high boots, sunglasses with tinted lenses and snake-shaped jewelry.
Beauty: Sylvia Marsh's beauty look is divided between a noblewoman version and a supernatural creature. In the first case, fair, dull skin, sculpted cheekbones, geometric eyebrows, elongated eyeliner and burgundy lipstick. In the second, blue pigments, graphic details around the eyes and dark lips. Dark hair, straight or voluminous depending on the interpretation, completes the image.
Tiffany Valentine - Jennifer Tilly
Film: The Bride of Chucky by Ronny Yu (1998)
Who he is: the former girlfriend of the killer doll Chucky, Tiffany manages to bring him back to life and ends up involved in a relationship that has everything one would expect from a toxic love story: jealousy, betrayals, murders and a wedding that no wedding planner would like to organize.
Look: her punk goth wedding costume includes a vintage white dress, preferably with lace or worn details, black biker jacket, fishnet socks and combat boots. Add a choker with the word TIFF and the heart tattoo dedicated to Chucky.
Beauty: platinum blonde hair with dark roots, voluminous waves and a goth makeup made of black or plum smokey eyes (almost fuchsia), strong eyeliner, lots of mascara and dark red or hot pink lips. A pale complexion and a few doll-like details complete the look. The veil? Optional.
Asami Yamazaki - Eihi Shiina
Film: Audition by Takashi Miike (1999)
Who she is: Asami is a reserved and delicate woman who conquers her widower Shigeharu Aoyama during a fictitious audition organized to find a new partner. But behind the composed face and the calm voice hides a figure marked by profound trauma, a serial killer kidnaps, tortures and kills men as punishment for the abuses suffered. His story turns into one of the most disturbing nightmares in Japanese horror.
Look: his wardrobe is made of dark trench coats, essential sweaters, sober clothes, clean lines and neutral colors, with a discreet elegance that recalls the Japanese minimalism of the nineties. To become the Asami killer, just take off the cardigan and put a black leather apron, combined with gloves, over the modest white dress. The must-have accessory? A syringe in your hands.
Beauty: clear and opaque skin, tidy eyebrows, nude pink lips and natural eye makeup. Dark hair is smooth, shiny and strictly in order. To recreate the character, the gaze that must be fixed, composed and difficult to decipher matters more.
Akasha — Aaliyah
Film: The Queen of the Damned by Michael Rymer (2002)
Who she is: Akasha is the mother of all vampires, an ancient queen who awakens from her sleep to regain control of the world after being recalled by the music of Lestat, a vampire rock star. The character, drawn from the literary universe of Anne Rice, blends vampire mythology, Egyptian imagination and musical glamor.
Look: dark glamor, with metal armor, golden ornaments, silhouettes inspired by ancient Egypt and gothic fantasy. To recreate the look, you can start with a structured bronze or antique gold top, a long, flowing skirt, rigid bracelets and important necklaces. The secret is the contrast between metallic materials and lightweight fabrics. On the feet, jewel sandals, metal boots or shoes with a sculptural design.
Beauty: the complexion is smooth and sculpted, with defined cheekbones and a luminous base. The eyebrows are precise and arched, the eyes are bordered in black with a graphic eyeliner that lengthens the look, while the lips are glossy, outlined with a dark pencil, can veer towards deep nude, brown or red-violet. The hair is long, dark and voluminous.
Esther - Isabelle Fuhrman
Film: Orphan by Jaume Collet-Serra (2009)
Who she is: Esther is an apparently polite, intelligent and mysteriously adult child, adopted by Kate and John Coleman after the loss of a daughter. But her story hides a much more sinister truth because behind the identity of the orphan lies Leena, an adult woman suffering from a rare condition that has limited her growth.
Look: Esther is the queen of creepycute, the aesthetic where innocent details become sinister. His wardrobe revolves around vintage long-sleeved dresses, white Peter Pan collars, plaid patterns and dark colors such as navy blue, gray and black. The black velvet ribbon tight around the neck is the most recognizable accessory, along with light or dark socks and Mary Jane shoes.
Beauty: brown hair, straight and tidy, can be collected in braids or accompanied by small clips. The trick is deliberately discreet. The most disturbing moment comes when Esther gets rid of her appearance as a child, revealing just how much of her true identity. For a more dramatic version of Esther's make-up, you can accentuate the look with dark eyeliner and mascara, keeping the rest of the face clean.
Satanic Pandemonium - Salma Hayek
Film: From Dusk Till Dawn by Robert Rodriguez (1996)
Who she is: the performer of Titty Twister, the place where the Gecko brothers and their hostages seek refuge before the evening takes a decidedly bloody turn. Enter the scene with a hypnotic dance and an albino python wrapped around the body. Only then does she reveal her monstrous nature as a seductive and lethal vampire.
Look: Santanico Pandemonium's costume includes a jewel top, a burgundy slip, a dark red cape and a feather headdress. The body is decorated with metal accessories and the snake, of course, is the most important scenographic element.
Beauty: the vampire make-up starts with a warm and luminous skin, with sculpted cheekbones, eyes shaded in shades of bronze and brown, black eyeliner and voluminous lashes. The lips are dark red, burgundy or terracotta, defined by a deeper pencil. Long, dark, wavy hair frames the face and helps to create a femme fatale image. For the transformation into a vampire, you can add safe cosmetic lenses, fake fangs and graphic details that recall scales.
Ginger Fitzgerald - Katharine Isabelle
Film: Ginger Snaps by John Fawcett (2000)
Who she is: a teenager obsessed with death, intolerant of social conventions and very close to her sister Brigitte. Everything changes when Ginger is attacked by a wolf-like creature and begins to transform. The film uses lycanthropy as a metaphor for the transition to adulthood, desire and loss of control.
Look: his style mixes grunge, mall goth and alternative culture from the early 2000s. Her essentials include dark coats, black knits, mesh, lace, striped socks, ripped tights, chokers, silver jewelry, and combat boots. The look must look worn out, not built with too much care. To complete the werewolf costume, add scratches, furry details on the hands or neck, and some fake blood stains.
Beauty: before the metamorphosis, the makeup remains relatively simple, with black mascara, pale skin and rusty or dark pink lips. As the transformation progresses, the makeup may become more smudged, the skin more ashy and the fake blood more evident around the mouth. For an easy-to-make version, just focus your work on tired eyes, dark lips, and a few werewolf details. Reddish-blonde hair, with lighter locks and a deliberately messy air, is an important part of the character's identity.
Pearl - Mia Goth
Film: Pearl by Ti West (2022)
Who she is: Pearl lives on a farm during World War I, but dreams of becoming a star. Frustration with a life that does not match his ambitions progressively turns into violence. Mia Goth plays a tragic and disturbing protagonist, suspended between the glamor of cinema and the horror of a distorted American dream.
Look: retro dresses, puff sleeves, aprons and pastel colors evoke rural America in the early 20th century. The most recognizable outfit for a Pearl costume is the red dress in which she shows up at the audition. To recreate it, you can choose a bright red or coral dress, with a defined waist and a flared skirt, combined with Mary Jane shoes or vintage pumps.
Beauty: the complexion is clear and smooth, with an evident pink blush on the cheeks and a makeup inspired by the divas of silent movies and the era of the first sound musicals. The eyebrows are thin and defined, the eyes emphasized by mascara and a discreet line, while the red or deep pink lips recall retro glamor. The hair is collected in neat waves, braids or simple hairstyles, often complemented by a bow.
