Halloween knives conjure visions of human steak and Bela Lugosi, high tops and Frankenstein, and decapitations and zombies. Warming to the genre yet?

ABS master smith Wally Hayes makes a couple of Halloween knives that fit the mold like a stake in Frank Langella’s heart: the Vampire Stake and the Zombie Spike. Formed like, well, a stake to drive into the chest of one of the spooky set’s most famous blood-sucking ghouls, the Vampire Stake has a distinctive cross forged into the handle butt to intimidate the worst of the slimy night crawlers, antique coloration and a leather sheath. The Zombie Spike, on the other hand, is 6 inches long and fashioned from O1 tool steel ground and heat treated for high performance. Hayes says it’s popular among his law enforcement customers, though he didn’t mention if it was the officers in the CSI: Walking Dead unit or not. It comes with a Kydex sheath.

Dan Keyes‘ “The Count” features a coffin handle with inlaid ivory crosses, a fullered, 30-inch blade of double-drawn 440C stainless steel and LED bulbs that light The Count’s red eyes. The skull is powder-coated “anthracite gray” with highlighted airbrushing. Weight: Just short of five pounds. Overall length: 38.5 inches.

The creation of French knifemaker/artist Jean-Marc Laroche, The Living Knife has a “hand” for a handle with “fingers” that close, an “eye” and an overall lifelike appearance that will literally, er, grab you. As you grab the handle, the “fingers” actually grab back so that it’s hard to tell who’s holding whom. And, as the fingers grab your hand, the “eye” opens. The hand also is embellished with gears in the Steampunk style. The blade is a composite of 15N20, 15LM and UHB11 high-alloy nickel and carbon steels in explosion, twist and random patterns forged by Swedish maker Roger Bergh. Overall length: 25 inches.

The MacV Tool from SOG Specialty Knives & Tools is shaped like a skull and is 12 tools in one, including 1/4-, 5/16 and 3/8-inch wrenches, blade sharpener, strap/cord cutter, small and large flathead screwdrivers and more. Designed to resemble the original skull from the MACV-SOG group of Vietnam War fame the company is named after, it measures 2.5 by 1.5 inches and weighs .6 ounce.

As you might imagine, knives with a zombie theme are undead and well, including the Reaver Cleaver from Zombie Tools and the Zomstro Chopper from KA-BAR. Based on the Chinese war sword, the Reaver Cleaver features an 18-inch blade of 5160 carbon steel, weighs 3 pounds, 10 ounces, and is 31 inches overall. The Zomstro Chopper, meanwhile, features a big, bad modified cleaver blade in a black finish and KA-BAR’s toxic green Zombie handle.

If The Count and the rest of our Halloween knives don’t keep you down for the count, you might be among the living dead. If so, stay clammy and watch out for sunrise!