Some Halloween comics make you smile. Optipess comics make you laugh, then feel slightly guilty about it, then scroll back up to look again.
Norwegian artist Kristian Nygård has spent years turning trick-or-treating, jack-o’-lanterns and horror movie icons into four-panel traps. You think you know where the joke is going. You don’t. A cute ghost turns out to have a mouth full of fangs. A killer just wants a cozy day off. The scariest monster at the door is holding a printout of your browser history.
That’s the magic of Optipess dark humor: it’s twisted, but it’s never mean for no reason. There’s a real heart under all that blood and candy.
So grab a bowl of something sweet. Here are 20 Optipess comics that will haunt you long after the candy runs out.
Artist Credit: Instagram | Facebook | optipess.com
1. The Pumpkin Carver – When the Jack-O’-Lantern Comes Back for Revenge
A red-haired boy happily scoops the guts out of a pumpkin in a moonlit kitchen. A tall pumpkin-headed monster appears in the doorway, and the last panel shows its glowing grin behind a blood-stained spoon.
2. The House Costume – The Trick-or-Treat Stop That Eats Its Visitors
A ghost, a vampire and a little Batman ring the bell of a cozy red house, and the door bursts open into fangs and tentacles. The last panel shows an empty box on the street labeled “Suburban House Costume.”
3. Michael’s Big Night – The Slasher Who Picked the Perfect Costume
Michael Myers wakes up excited and points at a calendar reading “October 31, Halloween!” In the final panel, he goes trick-or-treating in a blue velvet suit, frilly shirt and thick glasses.
4. The Candy Prank Video – The Viral Halloween Challenge That Went Very Wrong
In a comic drawn like a home video, complete with a red REC dot, a mother tells her kids she ate their Halloween candy. Fourteen minutes later, the kids cheer over the found candy while her hand lies in a pool of blood.
5. The Ghost Romance – A Halloween Love Story With Way Too Many Teeth
A small sheet ghost with glasses meets a terrifying long-haired spirit in a misty graveyard and lifts his sheet to show a mouth full of fangs. The two walk off into a pink sunset with a heart floating above them.
6. The Browser History Costume – The One Trick-or-Treater Nobody Can Handle
A man calmly hands candy to a vampire, a ghost and even a bloody, mangled monster. Then a kid holds up a printout titled “Your Browser History,” and he falls over in terror.
7. The Human Suit – The Creepy Morning Routine Behind a Happy Smile
A skinny black shadow creature takes an empty human body from a closet and climbs inside it. In the last panel, the “man” walks happily through a sunny park, smiling at everyone.
8. The Pumpkin House – Trick-or-Treating in a World Turned Upside Down
Two walking doors go trick-or-treating at a giant pumpkin, and a Snickers bar answers. Instead of candy, it drops tiny screaming people into their buckets.
9. Death or Treat – The Grim Reaper Discovers What Humans Really Fear
The Grim Reaper says “Death or treat!” and gets no reaction, so he searches “humans’ biggest fears” on his phone. He comes back with “Public speaking or treat,” and the man throws his candy in panic.
10. Jason’s Day Off – Even a Slasher Needs a Cozy Friday
Jason Voorhees wakes up thrilled for Friday the 13th, then sees a storm raging outside. The last panel shows him wrapped in a blanket by the fireplace with coffee and a sleeping orange cat.
11. The Scariest Costume – The Trick-or-Treater Who Terrifies a Grumpy Old Man
A bearded old man in a red cap laughs off a tentacle monster and two kids dressed as “Climate Change.” Then a stern girl with braids glares at him, and he tumbles backwards in fear.
12. Lonely Michael – The Saddest Halloween Night in Haddonfield
Michael Myers opens his door to a pirate, a vampire and a ghost, and the kids scream and run. He’s left alone holding a handful of candy, with a single tear on his mask.
13. The Speech Bubble Costume – The Most Meta Halloween Outfit Ever
Two kids carry a flat purple shape to a door, and a man with glasses looks confused. It turns out to be a giant speech bubble costume that reads “Trick or Treat!” The man smiles and gives them a thumbs-up.
14. Cthulhu’s Candy – The Elder God Who Takes Trick-or-Treating Very Seriously
A giant Cthulhu with a pumpkin bucket roars “Trick or Treat!” over a stormy city as people raise candy like offerings. In the last panel, he lies in bed stuffing himself, with tiny people mixed into the candy.
15. The Zipper Kids – The Trick-or-Treaters Who Scared the Skeletons
Two smiling kids go trick-or-treating at a house where two tall skeletons answer the door, looking scared. Seen from behind, the kids have long zipper seams down their heads and backs.
16. Spooktober Burnout – When You Start Celebrating Halloween Way Too Early
A man with glasses grins at a calendar marked “Spooktober!” and rushes through October with a bag of Halloween stuff. By the time the streets fill with costumes, he stands among them looking completely drained.
17. Pumpkin Grandpa – The Sweetest Jack-O’-Lantern Reunion You’ll Ever See
A pumpkin-headed kid finds his shriveled pumpkin grandpa slumped on a porch, but a faint red glow still flickers inside. The kid hugs him in a rocking chair, shouting “Grandpa!!”
18. The Pumpkin Shrink – Therapy With a Very Sharp Solution
A sad pumpkin man sits alone while others laugh, so he visits a “Pumpkin Shrink.” He comes back laughing with a freshly carved grin, while the therapist gives a thumbs-up and holds a knife.
19. The Ghost Son – The Most Heartbreaking Trick-or-Treat on the List
A small glowing ghost rings the bell and says “Trick or treat, Dad,” but the man tells his wife it was no one. The last panel shows the little ghost standing alone and sad outside the house.
20. The Human Costume – The Scariest Outfit in Pumpkin Town
In a sunny park where everyone has a carved jack-o’-lantern head, a kid walks by with a blank pumpkin. He then runs off with a human face carved into it, and the pumpkin people fall back in horror.
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