Spooky Postage Stamps
In 2016, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued its first officially recognized Halloween-themed stamp set. Before that, Halloween fans had very few options when decorating their fall correspondence and costume party invitations. However, a creative collector can assemble quite a collection of miniature art from those old stamps, which are still valid postage and in plenty for those wanting to add a little charm to their outgoing mail.
Take a look at these U.S stamps along with some of the best Halloweenish stamps from around the world.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1974)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was the sixth and final stamp in the American Folklore series, which celebrated folk legends Johnny Appleseed, Davy Crocket, Daniel Boone, Grandma Moses, Tom Sawyer, and the iconic Washington Irving tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.
The image was designed by children’s author/illustrator Leonard Everett Fisher, and had an initial run of 140 million stamps. It was issued on October 12, 1974.
Classic Movie Monsters First Class Stamp Set (1997)
Illustrated by famed artist Thomas Blackshear, this set was designed to lure young people into stamp collecting.
Each stamp contains invisible images used to prevent counterfeiting (when viewed through a special stamp decoder). The Phantom contains floating masks, Dracula has bats, Frankenstein features bolts of lightning, the Mummy contains Egyptian gods/goddesses, and the Wolfman reveals howling wolves.
The set was issued September 30, 1997, in Universal City, California.
Jack-O’-Lanterns Forever Stamps (2016)
This set of four USPS stamps features real jack-o’-lanterns carved by Paul Montanari and photographed by Sally Andersen-Bruce. Issued on September 29, 2016, in Anoka, MN (“Halloween Capital of the World”), these are considered to be the first official Halloween-themed stamps issued by the United States Postal Service.
Spooky Silhouettes Forever Stamps (2019)
Issued by USPS, October 11, 2019, in Milford, NH.
Individual Set Pieces
The Count
From the Sesame Street Set (2019)
“Makeup” - Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein
From the American Filmmaking Set (2003)
Edgar Allan Poe
Released in 2009, the 200th anniversary of Poe’s birth.
Night Friends - American Bats
Released in 2002, in celebration of our nocturnal allies.
World Stamps
Australia
Postal services around the world figured out long ago that printing stamps is like printing money. This 2021 Universal Monsters set was released in 2021 with 12 of the dullest stamps you could produce of three of the most exciting horror characters of all time, but it doesn’t matter because we’re going to buy them anyway and keep them forever because you’re not a real fan if you don’t.
Universal Monsters - Australia Post (2021)
This Australian mystery set called “Legends of Horror” features (at least) five of the most iconic horror film actors of all time. The issue date is unknown. The number of actors in the set is unknown (Lugosi, Chaney, Karloff, Price, Cushing, others?). Plus, there are multiple versions of each actor - possibly five of each, bringing this set to 25 separate stamps. The image above is a composite image assembled using the best shots of the five (known) actors in the set. The stamps themselves seem to have been sold individually in strips of 10. Let the hunt begin!
Legends of Horror - Australia Post (Date Unknown)
Austria
Created as part of the “comic book puzzle” series, this set of stamps was released in 2013. The commemorative sheet pictured contains four stamps that combine to create the haunted house image, each containing the word “Österreichische” and “62,” which is the stamp’s value at .62 euros each.
Comic Book Puzzle Halloween - Österreichische Post (2013)
Folk Customs and Folk Treasures - Post und Telegraphenverwaltung (1998)
Released in 1998, the stamp has a face value of S8, meaning 8 schillings. Austria converted from the schilling to the euro in 1999. All stamps produced before July 1, 2002 were demonetized, rendering this stamp invalid as modern postage.
Canada
Issued on the 100th anniversary of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this set of four stamps celebrates ghost, goblins, vampires and werewolves - four creatures feared in every corner of the world.
The Supernatural - Canada Post (1997)
(2014)
Ghost Bride, Ghost Train, Haunted Fort George, Count of Frontenac, Phantom Ships
(2015)
Brakeman, Red River, Halifax Citadel, Marie-Josephte Corriveau, Caribou Hotel
Bell Island Hag, Dungarvon Whooper, Winter Garden Theatre, Lady In White, Phantom Bell Ringers
(2016)
Haunted Canada - Canada Post (2014 - 2016)
Illustrated by Sam Weber and released in five-stamp sets over three years, these 15 haunting images immortalize some of Canada’s most ghastly and grizzly ghost stories from some of the most remote regions of the country.
Republic of Chad
Released by the Republic of Chad in 1998, this set celebrates Bela Lugosi’s performance in the 1931 classic Dracula. Bela Lugosi himself was also an avid stamp collector.
Bela Lugosi as Dracula (1998)
Colombia
This 2012 issue of Mitos y Leyendas (Myths and Legends) features several unsettling creatures from Colombian folklore.
The sheet includes the La Tunda (a shapeshifting entity that lures people into the forest to disappear), the El Hojarasquin (another entity that mimics a tree to scare woodcutters into the forest where they also disappear), the El Ribiel (an entity that lures children into the water and devours them), the El Espeluco de las Aguas (a beautiful woman cursed with hair of snakes and taken away by the devil), the El Tunjo de Oro (a golden doll that transforms into a crying baby that lures travelers closer before baring its teeth on them), and the El Tesoro de Morgan, which is simply the treasure of the pirate Morgan - the only thing safe about this stamp set!
Colombia Myths and Legends (2012)
Greenland
Set I (2020)
(Left) Aajumaaq (Right) Eqqillit
Set II (2021)
(Left) Quvittilog (Right) Anngiag
Set III (2022)
(Left) Amu (Right) Qarlimaatsoq
Set IV (2023)
(Left) Equngasok (Right) Sermilissuaq
Greenland was named by the early Norse settlers around 985 AD. The marriage of Norse mythology and the native Inuit folklore combined to create some of the most wicked tales of death, magic, and mystery in the ancient world. From creatures of vengeance (Aajumaaq), to helpful, desiccated corpses (Qarlimaatsoq), Greenland has shared some of their most terrifying ghost stories with us through these eight ghastly images.
Ghost Stories in Greenland - Tusass Greenland (2020 - 2023)
Grenadines of St. Vincent
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - SVG Post (1992)
Released in 1992, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Postal Corporation released this Sleepy Hollow set with scenes from Disney’s classic 1949 short movie The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Created by Marc Brown in 1976, Arthur the Aardvark has appeared in over 115 books. His TV program lasted 25 years (1996 - 2022) and was shown in over 80 countries making him an international sensation. This set of Arthur stamps was released by the Grenadines in 2004.
Arthur Halloween - SVG Post (2004)
Guernsey
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a series of islands located in the English Channel. Steeped in tales of witchcraft and sorcery, the Guernsey Post commissioned artist Keith Robinson to illustrate six of these Guernsey legends in 2022: Le Sabbat Des Sorciers (52p), Witches flying home after Le Sabbat (73p), Witches Seats (79p), The Witch in the Hedge (£1.10), Jean Falla and the Witches (£1.26), and Ghosts of Witches (£1.35).
Europa: Stories and Myths - Guernsey Post (2022)
Guiné-Bissau (Africa)
Halloween Celebrations - Correios da Guiné-Bissau (2003)
Who says Halloween should be pretty? These are probably the ugliest Halloween stamps in the world.
Ireland
Irish author Bram Stoker published his classic novel Dracula in 1897. One hundred years later, Ireland recognized their famous countryman with a set of stamps celebrating his iconic creation.
100 Years of Dracula - An Post (1997)
Released in 2012 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Irish author Bram Stoker’s death (not weird), the two-stamp set presents Bram Stoker (on the left) with a shadow of Nosferatu in the background (strange, since the Stoker estate sued the Nosferatu producers into oblivion for copyright infringement), and the more modern bloodsucker in the stamp on the right.
Also of note, Dracula is at the ticket counter on the souvenir sheet buying a ticket to watch himself on film.
100th Anniversary of Bram Stoker’s Death (2012)
Bailiwick of Jersey
Designed by Jensine Eckwall and released in 2022, Myths & Legends Set III portrays six ghost scenes from Jersey, an island country near the coast of France. This was the third of three sets. Set I (2017) featured mythical creatures and Set II (2020) featured sea-themed myths & legends.
The six stamps feature The Vioge of Crack Ankle Lane, The Woman in Black, The Belenji, The Bells of Les Minquiers, The Bride and Groom of Gorey Castle and The Soldiers of Vinchelez Lane.
The Belenji and The Bride and Groom of Gorey Castle were printed with ink that glows under UV lighting.
Jersey Post’s Myths and Legends Set III - Royal Mail (2020)
Maldives (South Asia)
Part of a 16-piece stamp set called “Mysteries of the Universe” (which is worth collecting the whole set on its own), this stamp explores the mystery of ghosts.
Mysteries of the Universe - Ghosts (1992)
Marshall Islands (Pacific Ocean)
Universal Monsters Set (2014)
Since 1984, the Marshall Islands (located near the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean) has produced highly collectible stamps for philatelists around the world in various categories. This line of Universal Monster stamps was released in 2014.
Republic of Sierra Leone (West Africa)
Known for their vibrant commemorative stamp sets featuring popular western icons, the South African country of Sierra Leone issued this Hollywood Horror Classics set of nine stamps in 1997. In addition, a single stamp was released featuring Son of Frankenstein with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff (1939).
The nine-piece set includes stamps for Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Mummy (1932), Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1931), The Wolf Man (1941), Island of Lost Souls (1933), Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), Dracula (1931), The Haunted Palace (1963), and Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
Hollywood Horror Classics - Sierra Leone Post (1997)
Romania
Designed by Radu Oltean and released in 2004, this set of Dracula stamps is sufficiently creepy thanks to the awful art. It just wouldn’t have the same effect if the vampires were drawn well.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula Set (2004)
There aren’t many postage stamps more vampiric than a Dracula stamp from Romania. This 1959 stamp celebrates 500 years of the founding of Bucharest, the capital city of Romania - Vlad’s native soil!
Vlad Tepes 500th Anniversary of the Founding of Bucharest (1959)
Slovenia
Issued by the Slovenian Post in 2018, this set of five stamps represents some of the deepest superstitions held by the Slovenian people. The stamps represent witches, black cats, the protection of newborn babies, divination, and St. John’s wreaths, which are hung from doors on Midsummer night or St. John’s Eve to ward off evil and bring good luck to the family inside.
Superstitions and Magic in Slovenia (2018)
Somalia
Let’s be frank… why does every country have cooler stamps than the U.S.?
Dracula Film Poster Set (2004)
United Kingdom
Designed by Ian Pollack, this set features four of the most iconic literary monsters created by English authors.
Issued in 1997 (the 100th anniversary of the publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula), the set includes Stoker’s Dracula, Mary Shelley’s 1818 monster from Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus, the split personalities of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Scottish author Robert Louis Stephenson, and the Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from his Sherlock Holmes book of the same title.
Tales of Terror - Royal Mail (1997)
Released on June 12, 2008 to mark the 50th anniversary of Carry On Films and the Hammer Films classic Dracula starring Christopher Lee, this set of six movie poster stamps celebrates the horror genre that showcased British cinema in all its weirdness.
Carry On and Hammer Films - Royal Mail (2008)
Released on June 18, 2021, the eight-piece Frankenstein set tells Mary Shelley’s original 1818 version complete with quotes from the book on each stamp. The stamps were printed with a 3D lenticular effect that makes the monster’s eyes appear to open and close while electricity flashes around the laboratory.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - Royal Mail (2021)
Peter Cushing - Royal Mail (2013)
Released in 2013 as one of 10 stamps in the Royal Mail Great Britons stamp set.
Frankenstein - Royal Mail (2021)
Released in 2021 as one of six stamps in the Royal Mail Classic Science Fiction set.
