40 palettes

Horror Color Palette

Press the button for one horror palette: five colors, each with a hex code to copy.

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Red door: scarlet on blackBlack hall, charcoal walls, dark red door, scarlet keyhole, silver handle.#0A0A0C · #222327 · #6E0F14 · #E83A22 · #BEC0C4

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All 40 palettes

Sickly greens 10

Algae tank: pale lime on forest green Forest green water, dusty green glass, avocado algae, khaki gravel, pale lime light.
Damp cellar: pale lime on black Black corner, dark green wall, olive mold, khaki stone, pale lime lantern.
Empty corridor: pale lime on dark teal Dark teal shadow, dusty green walls, seafoam green tiles, khaki floor, pale lime lamp.
Eyes in the pond: mint on midnight blue Midnight blue sky, dark teal water, dark olive weed, avocado lily pads, mint eyes.
Fog over the trees: mint on navy Navy sky, dark teal trees, teal fog, seafoam green haze, mint moon.
Lab jars: chartreuse on charcoal Charcoal shelf, dark teal glass, avocado liquid, silver lids, chartreuse glow.
Light under the door: chartreuse on black Black room, charcoal door, dark olive floor, avocado spill, chartreuse gap.
Night camera: pale lime on black Black sky, dark green ground, avocado grass, chartreuse shapes, pale lime eyes.
Peeling wallpaper: beige on brown Brown baseboard, olive stripes, khaki paper, seafoam green flowers, beige plaster.
Swamp fog: chartreuse on dark olive Dark olive water, olive reeds, dusty green moss, khaki fog, chartreuse glow.

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Red on black 10

Darkroom lamp: red on black Black room, dark red walls, charcoal trays, gray prints, red lamp.
Empty cinema: red on black Black aisle, maroon seats, red curtain, light gray screen, pale gray beam.
Exit sign: red on black Black corridor, dark gray ceiling, maroon glow, red sign, white letters.
Last rose: red on black Black background, charcoal leaves, burgundy shaded petals, red petals, pale gray thorns.
Red door: scarlet on black Black hall, charcoal walls, dark red door, scarlet keyhole, silver handle.
Red shoes: red on black Black stairwell, charcoal steps, light gray banister, red shoes, white buckles.
Red umbrella: red on black Black street, dark gray coats, gray rain, silver puddles, red umbrella.
Stopped clock: scarlet on black Black sky, gray tower, burgundy clock face, scarlet hands, white moon.
Tail lights: scarlet on black Black road, dark gray fog, maroon glow, gray road line, scarlet lights.
Warning light: scarlet on black Black night, dark gray tower, burgundy glow, silver rail, scarlet lamp.

Fog and candlelight 10

Attic dust: butter yellow on dark brown Dark brown beams, brown boxes, light gray sheet, sand dust, butter yellow skylight.
Beam through fog: cream on midnight blue Midnight blue sea, denim blue tower, dusty blue fog, silver spray, cream beam.
Candle on the stairs: amber on dark brown Dark brown stairs, charcoal stairwell, gray wall, silver haze, amber flame.
Churchyard mist: apricot on charcoal Charcoal gate, forest green yew, gray stones, silver mist, apricot lamp.
Dinner for no one: amber on dark brown Dark brown table, dark gray chairs, light gray dust, pale gray plates, amber candles.
Fog on the moor: butter yellow on charcoal Charcoal path, denim blue hills, dusty blue far fog, silver near fog, butter yellow lantern.
Lamp in the lane: apricot on black Black night, dark gray post, dusty blue fog, gray road, apricot lamp.
Lantern on the bridge: apricot on charcoal Charcoal bridge, dark teal river, light gray fog, pale gray rail, apricot lantern.
Match in the dark: butter yellow on black Black room, dark brown table, brown hand, gray smoke, butter yellow flame.
Window in the fog: amber on midnight blue Midnight blue night, dark gray house, dusty blue fog, pale blue haze, amber window.

Old photographs 10

Blue print: midnight blue to pale blue Midnight blue shadows, navy, denim blue midtone, dusty blue, pale blue paper.
Burned edge: black to cream Black shadows, dark brown, rust midtone, tan, cream paper.
Green tint: black to mint Black shadows, dark green, dusty green midtone, seafoam green, mint paper.
Locket picture: charcoal to cream Charcoal shadows, plum, dusty pink midtone, beige, cream paper.
Sepia portrait: dark brown to cream Dark brown shadows, brown, tan midtone, sand, cream paper.
Silver print: black to white Black shadows, charcoal, gray midtone, silver, white paper.
Sun-faded print: brown to white Brown shadows, khaki, beige midtone, cream, white paper.
Unsent postcard: maroon to cream Maroon shadows, rust, dusty pink midtone, beige, cream paper.
Water stain: dark brown to cream Dark brown shadows, olive, khaki midtone, sand, cream paper.
Winter picture: navy to white Navy shadows, denim blue, gray midtone, silver, white paper.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-08: palettes of five colors for a scary picture, in four moods (sickly greens, red on black, fog and candlelight, old photographs). Every palette, name, color word, hex code and part is our own; none is taken from a film, a show, a game, a book cover or a published palette, and no film, series, game or character is named. The list is colors and plain things (a door, a lamp, a corridor, fog); nothing on it shows injury. How a strip is ordered: in the first three groups the darkest color comes first and each color is named for its part; in Sickly greens the last color is the lightest; in Fog and candlelight the last color is the one warm light; an Old photographs strip is one tint in five steps from the shadows to the paper. Our own tests, not a standard: a sickly strip holds three or more colors on the green side of the wheel (a hue from 55 to 185 degrees); a Red on black strip starts with black, holds one or two reds and nothing else with a color to it, and its named red contrasts with the black by 3 to 1 or more (the WCAG contrast ratio formula, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html, used as our own threshold); a photograph strip gets lighter at every step; no two colors of a palette are closer than 8 in CIE Lab; no two palettes share four codes. Color names are plain English words with no paint maker, pencil brand or color-matching system, and one word is one code everywhere on this list. Checked on 2026-10-08: every code is #RRGGBB, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, no palette, name or line repeats, and no palette is on another palette list of this site or of its sister sites. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint or pencils, take the nearest color. Licence: own work

How it works

A horror color palette here is five colors for one scary picture, sorted by mood. The list is colors only: nothing on it is taken from a film, a show, a game or a book.

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Four moods

Sickly greens are yellow-greens, gray-greens and dark teals that end on their palest color. Red on black keeps everything black, white or gray except one or two reds. Fog and candlelight is mostly grays, browns and dull blues with a single warm light. Old photographs are one tint in five steps, dark to light, such as sepia, silver or blue.

Where each color goes

In Red door: a black hall, charcoal walls, a dark red door, a scarlet keyhole and a silver handle. Let the dark fill most of the picture and keep the brightest color small.

Questions and answers

What colors are in horror color palettes?

On this list, black first: it stands in more palettes than any other color, then charcoal, gray and silver. The colors that carry the mood are few: khaki and avocado among the greens, red and scarlet, and amber, apricot or butter yellow for a light.

What makes a color palette look scary?

On this list, three things: a lot of dark, very little color, and one color that stands alone. To our eye a green that leans toward yellow looks unwell, and a single red on black is the first thing seen.

What is a good red and black horror palette?

Exit sign: a black corridor, a dark gray ceiling, a maroon glow, a red sign and white letters. Warning light swaps in burgundy, silver and one scarlet lamp. Red umbrella has a single red on a black street in gray rain.