Halloween 2023: The creepiest car names of all time

It’s that time of year again. You’re carving the pumpkin, and the ghouls will be out in force. Whether you prefer a trick or a treat, when it comes to cars we can sometimes forget that they have creepy connotations themselves.

Mainly in their names. For Halloween 2024, we picked out some of the scariest names ever to grace a car’s boot lid. Here’s our top picks.

Rolls-Royce Ghost

We’ll start off with the biggie: Rolls is synonymous with ghostly goings-on. With the stunning Ghost, we’ve picked top dog on the scary chart really.

But if you want a car with a terrifying name while also seriously impressing the neighbours, Rolls is without doubt the go-to brand; Shadow, Ghost, Wraith, Spectre.

In fact the least scary of the lot is probably the Seraph. Although a Seraph is still quite spooky, but at least we can confirm that it is associated with heavenly goings-on rather than ghastly ghouls.

Alfa Romeo Spider

Something a little tamer now. At the bottom of the spooky list (but still enough to get some spines tingling) is the Alfa Spider. This iconic model was produced from 1966 until 2012 in one guise or another.

The most recognisable Spider of them all is without doubt the ogirinal ‘boat tail’ model, that shot to fame after its appearance in the Romantic hit The Graduate. Luckily for Benjamin, his Spider had four wheels, and not eight legs.

The truth is that convertibles known as Spiders came about after car manufacturers wanted to associate them with the old Phaeton Spider carriages of the 1800s. Some brands that have carried on where Alfa left off; Abarth’s 124 Spider and Ferrari’s 488 Spider immediately come to mind.

AMC Gremlin

One of the most questionable names on this list is the AMC Gremlin. That’s because a Gremlin is a mythical creature who are often responsible for breaking machinery (like, perhaps, a car?). Adding insult to injury, American Motor Corporation revealed it to the public on April Fool’s Day.

Designed to offer a back to basics compact car capable of taking on the Toyota Corolla, the Gremlin wasn’t exactly the most well-remembered American car of all-time. Must have been those gremlins under the bonnet.

Lamborghini Murcielago

To us, Murcielago sounds exotic – the perfect name for a Lambo. But closer examination reveals that it is actually the Spanish word for bat.

Seen as a symbol of both death and rebirth, it’s easy to see why it was the perfect name for Lambo’s first model produced under Volkswagen control.

Hillman Imp

America had the Gremlin. We had the Imp. This 1960s run-around was designed to compete with the Mini, and it did just that very well for almost 15 years. With a rear engine, there was plenty of room in the cabin.

But just like the Gremlin, it had a rather unfortunate name; imp is defined as: “a small, mischievous devil or sprite”. I think we’d have gone for the slightly more expensive Singer Chamois – it was the same car, but with a more endearing name.

Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat

The Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat – is there a car that sounds scarier? This muscle car can claim to live up to its title though. There’s no doubt it’s 6.2-litre HEMI V8 is a handful, pushing out 717hp.

But Hellcat? What’s a Hellcat? In the US, a Hellcat is officially defined as “a woman with magic powers derived from evil sources”. That’d be a witch then.

Can you think of any more Halloween-appropriate car names? Let us know in the comments. Or check out our article on the UK’s scariest street names.