7 of the spookiest watches for Halloween 2024

Buffy Acacia

Having written lists like the top five evil-looking watches and the five affordable watches for goths, I like to think of myself as Time+Tide’s resident spook expert. Halloween is by far my favourite festive season of the year, even if Australians don’t often celebrate with trick-or-treating. It might not traditionally be the kind of holiday where you’d celebrate with a gift – but watch fans rarely need much of an excuse to pick up something new. So, here are seven watches you should consider as a Halloween treat for 2024.

Swatch Aye Carumboo

For anyone who’s experienced the equal share of laughter and screams found in a Treehouse of Horror episode, the Aye Carumboo from Swatch’s Simpson’s Collection is guaranteed to put a smile on your face whenever you check the time. Featuring the skeleton and outline of Bart Simpson mid-electrocution, you can keep America’s most-suffering 10-year-old on your wrist all year round. It may be 47mm in diameter but the 44.8mm lug-to-lug length makes the plastic case and silicone bracelet combination surprisingly comfortable despite its size. Price: US$140

Mr Jones Night Howl

The annual Halloween release from Mr Jones is one of my most anticipated releases every year, and the Night Howl is my favourite so far. Designed by the French author and illustrator Xavier Broche, the watch depicts a haunting scene that is completely immersive. Outside a cozy cabin, a figure with a torch explores the snowy wilderness outside their door. As the minute hand rotates, represented by the torch beam, various things that go bump in the night are unveiled in bright light. The hour hand is the ghost, which intersects with the beam once per hour as our hero discovers the frightening phantom! The translucent blue disk that plunges everything outside the torchlight into a night palette is nothing short of genius. Price: US$275

Spinnaker Fleuss 40 Automatic seconde/seconde/ 2024

Spinnaker and seconde/seconde/ collaborated last Halloween on the ‘Fifty Phantoms’, which is admittedly one of the best watch puns I’ve seen in a while. Although it’s been re-released this year with a purple and orange colour scheme, what’s more fun is the playful alternate edition that has come out alongside it. The ‘No Apparitions’ logo above 6 o’clock pays tribute to the highly collectible ‘No Rads’ version of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, and banishes all of those cutesy ghosts to live in the bezel as minute markers. Both models offer plenty of hidden luminous easter eggs, and the package includes a UV torch and a luminous cap. Each reference is limited to 888 pieces. Price: US$445

Boldr Venture Staghorn

As an evolution of one of our favourite affordable field watches, the Boldr Venture Staghorn is a titanium dive watch with solid specifications. Named and themed after the critically endangered staghorn coral, the pale orange of the dial and bezel is juxtaposed with the dark grey of the 38mm titanium case for a slightly ethereal effect. The various matte textures also make it seem somewhat otherworldly, leaning into the pumpkins-at-night atmosphere of Halloween. For less than $500, it’s also just a great value dive watch that’s lightweight, robust, and easily serviceable thanks to the Seiko NH35 movement. This model is available from the Time+Tide Shop. Price: US$449

Peren Nera Rogue BW

Peren is quite a prolific brand considering how niche their USP is, focusing on Transylvanian heritage blended with contemporary watchmaking. Although its early releases went pretty hard on the vampiric associations with the region, recently it’s been taking more inspiration from the actual historic culture. Released towards the end of last year, the Peren Nera Rogue BW still carries the vampiric fang logo on its dial and crown and embraces a dark, brooding aesthetic with a blacked-out bezel. If your ideal Halloween watch is both spooky and a functional diver, then the Peren Nera Rogue BW is the choice for you. Price: CHF 689 (~US$795)

Doxa SUB 300 Carbon Professional

Doxa’s iconic orange dials may be more closely associated with summer recreation and Jacques Cousteau than anything else, but in the marbled black and grey case of the SUB 300 Carbon, those orange highlights definitely lean into jack-o’-lantern territory. Even the faux-aged lume with its yellowed tinge can evoke the sense of candle flame behind carved holes. It may not give anyone goosebumps on sight, but it’s close enough for anyone to feel frighteningly festive while retaining ultimate diving utility. Available on a black or orange rubber strap, you can buy it from the Time+Tide Shop. Price: US$3,990

Strom Memento Mori, Carpe Diem

Originally featured on my evil watches list, the Strom Memento Mori, Carpe Diem has lived in the recesses of my mind ever since. Strictly speaking, the Memento Mori tradition of acknowledging the inevitability of death has nothing to do with evil, ghouls or goblins, but its embrace of gothic truths and gruesome aesthetics makes it a perfect choice for lovers of darkness. Seeing a wealth of rock and metal music royalty in the brand ambassador list makes a lot of sense. The brand itself is the brainchild of Daniel Strom, son of Armin Strom and legendary in his own right for his tenure as Product Manager at Omega overseeing several iconic designs. Price: CHF 16,000 (~US$18,460)