GALLERY: 40 Creepy Pedals for Halloween

"Have you ever heard a sound so strange that it couldnуt be real? If yes, then youуre probably possessed by a demon. Either that or youуve been lucky enough to play with EHXуs Freeze pedal. Itуs able to conjure a moment of your playing and sustain it while you play over the top. This truly innovative effect was extracted from the company's earlier Hog pedal. ehx.com"

"The creeptastic Skull Crusher is a detailed, molded skull that houses a Kasha-designed 4-channel analog overdrive with a total of +20 dB boost and red, glowing eyes. To further enhance the spookiness, Tone Box offered three finishes: stainless steel, gunmetal, and ancient, before they were sold out indefinitely. fxpedal.com"

"Z.Vex's hand-painted pedals are legendary in their own right, so it's only natural that they have more than a few out-of-this-world Halloween-appropriate one-offs. From top-left, going clockwise: Lisa McGrath's tarantula Wooly Mammoth, Hannah Haugberg's skeletal Box of Metal, Andy Shannon's bone-crushing Box of Rock, and Hannah Haugberg's Shining-tribute Box of Metal. zvex.com"

"Youуre not going to convince anyone that youуre a true werewolf unless you can let out a loud, echoing howl. And if youуre a werewolf on the go, you need something straightforward that isn't too complex to tweak in the woods at night. The Malekko Ekko 616 is a simple, compact analog delay unit. It also has a simple modulation control for a touch of spooky chorusing and vibrato. malekkoheavyindustry.com"

"Eau Claire, Wisconsin's own Dwarfcraft Devices is no stranger to the odd and creepy in name, looks, and sound (Satan Oscillate My Metallic Sonatas, Robot Devil, anyone?). But, for Halloween, nothing beats their Hair of the Dog, with its Wolf Man or rabid dog graphics. The pedal is a takeoff on the Eau Claire Thunder fuzz pedal, tweaked for bass. dwarfcraft.com"

"GH Effects takes horror to the next level with its lineup of pedals featuring disturbing images of death and suicide. The StoneFish chorus vibrato adds tone and width knobs for a wide range that will have you either drowning in chorus (like the poor fellow pictured on the pedal) or experiencing a much mellower warble. The Nobrainer is a hard-rock and metal-voiced distortion, the Roadkiller is an amp-like overdrive with cascaded FET gain stages, and the Goldrive is a transparent overdrive designed to achieve everything from clean boost to vintage crunch. Each has graphics that are sure to scare the sh*t out of the front row at your next gig. gheffects.com"

"Nothing gets the cauldron bubbling like an insane, squealing distortion tone. Dwarfcraft created just that with the Hax pedalяan unlikely combination of a cackling fuzz circuit with a bewitched ring modulation circuit. Expression pedal control over the ring modulatorуs carrier wave allows you to inject screeches and howls at the sweep of a broomstick. dwarfcraft.com"

"The Juicy Terror Monster and Booffer by Mexican pedal builders Junkie Tone are the two most Halloween-appropriate designs in an entire lineup of handmade effects with killer graphics and names (Burn Fckr Burn and ABY Road Selector are other highlights). The Juicy Terror Monster is an analog distortion with boost, while the Booffer is an analog signal buffer. facebook.com/junkietonestore"

ProTone Pedals Body Rot II and Monster Fuzz

"ProTone's entire line of pedals is Halloween-appropriate. From the exposed rib cage/heart Cor Mid Range Boost to the skulls-shooting-lasers etched look of the Scarecrow distortion, gore and horror is the name of their game. We're partial to the simplicity of violent blood splattered on the Body Rot II ultra-heavy distortion, and the gristly, three-eyed, snarling ghoul of the Monster Fuzz that ProTone describes as an рunruly beast.с protonepedals.com"

"Pedal builders are a freaky bunch. We set out to find a creepy-looking pedal or two for Halloween, and had no trouble stirring up an array of bloody, spooky, monster-adorned, and downright disturbing pedals. Of course, looks are only half the story, so we've also compiled 10 creepy-sounding effects that'll make your guitar sound right at home in a haunted house. Let's kick it off with the stunning visuals..."

"When fleeing a horde of ghouls, what better place to take refuge than a cave? You crawl deep into the darkness where the atmosphere is utter silence. Then suddenly, a wall of high-pitched screeching slams your eardrums and your face is scratched raw by thousands of tiny little bat claws. Bend your guitar up into that supersonic range with DigiTechуs 5th generation of the classic Whammy pedal. This latest generation can bend up two octaves and has the most pristine pitch shifting of any incarnation of the Whammy. digitech.com"

"There are enough spooky effects on the market that putting together a horror-themed board would be a simple task (though it might be heavy on the metal distortion). Some of our other favorites included T-Rex's Bloody Mary distortion (it comes in a coffin!), Emma's PisdiYAUwot, 73 Effects' Wicked Witch, Bomes' BAT overdrive/gain boost, Dunlop's Kirk Hammett Wah (fitting, for a horror enthusiast), Ibanez' Weeping Demon wah, Wax and Tape's Barba Diablo fuzz and overdrive, Rainger FX's Dr. Freakenstein fuzz, and Carl Martin's Hellsgate metal distortion. Let us know what we missed in the comments section. Now, behold the riffage of the night!"

"Usually aliens mercifully wipe your memory clean before dumping you back off at the trailer park but, wouldnуt you know, the visions of being probed always come back to haunt your dreams. Thatуs some terrifying stuff. The Pigtronix Mothership nails the UFO sound, plus itуs got a picture of a UFO on it. Bonus. Use the squarewave LFO as the modulation source to achieve the classic 1950s flying saucer sound and use the Glide functionуs portamento to steer your UFO around the night sky. pigtronix.com"

"Zombies have no manners. They chew with their mouths open, and I donуt need to tell you what theyуre eating. If ever there was a pedal that invoked the splattering chaos that accompanies a zombie outbreak, itуs The Great Destroyer. Use the Starve control to suck the voltage out of the circuit and send this pedal into a horrifying bloodbath of gated fuzz. dwarfcraft.com"

"The gear industry's king of horror crown goes to Coffin Case, who carries the banner all year long. So, it's not surprising that the company's two forays into pedal building made our list. The Blood Drive, with Inject, Bleed, and Filth controls, boasted classic analog crunch and distortion tones, but unfortunately was discontinued. Even more striking was 2008's limited-edition Batula fuzz, a take-off on a vintage '60s Fuzz Face. The hand-wired pedal featured glowing-red bat eyes and was limited to 25 pieces. coffincase.com"

"The Bloody Murder took the interwebs by storm in the late 2000s, with months-long waiting lists for this Tube Screamer take-off (available at the time as a half-rack unit and a stompbox). Adding to the mystery of this blood-soaked boutique rarity is the fact that Bodenhamer stopped making the pedals, making the rare eBay appearance or forum classifieds the only way to acquire one these days. "

"Itуs probably cheaper to buy a Diamond Vibrato pedal than it is to cut eyeholes in a good set of high thread-count sheets. Beware that lots of pedals say рvibeс when what they mean is рtrem.с For the cheesy, Scooby Doo-style ghost (рOoOoOoOhHhH!с) youуll need pitch vibrato with lots of depth. This pedal has a depth switch that can increase the intensity of your haunting. It will have your neighbors shivering in their pajamas and running to phone Art Bell. diamondpedals.com"

"From blood-spattered kill-switches to a range of zombie designs, Snakes Pedals has a clear flair for the macabre and specializes in take-offs on boutique circuits like Z.Vex's Fuzz Factory and Wooly Mammoth. The creepiest of crawly, however, comes in their clear-top pedals encased with trinkets like toy snakes and skeletons. This fuzz pedal has a skeleton bound in twine with a red light that flickers in its chest as the guitar is strummed. All of the pedals are currently sold out on Etsy. facebook.com/pages/Snakes-Pedals/155984331148485"

"With all of these creatures of the nether-realm in your practice room, youуre going to need some frightening music to keep them entertained or it is inevitable that theyуll become unruly and start breaking things. Nothing soothes a monster like the phantomуs eerie organ. The EHX Hog boosts harmonics to create a huge variety of pipe organ-like tones. With controls for -2 and -1 octaves, you can construct an organ tone that really quakes. ehx.com"

Haunted Mansion: EarthQuaker Devices Ghost Echo

"Passing through cobwebs and stepping across creaking wooden floorboards, it seems that every creak is magnified by the cavernous space inside the old haunted mansion on the hill. Every sound is smeared by the terrifying ambience creating an omnipresent sonic apparition. EarthQuakerуs Ghost Echo is a simple reverb unit that can create ominous walls of sound by cranking up the Depth and Dwell controls. Just like the pancake makeup, lay it on thick. earthquakerdevices.com"

"A pedal as creepy as its graphics, the Phantom Octave is octave fuzz that is primarily controlled by playing dynamics and guitar controls, reacting differently to different pickup combinations. This custom case was hand-painted by Mark from Snakes Pedals, who made this list in his own right in the next photo. fuzzhugger.com"

"Though the company's standard Demon King design of a goat with glowing-red eyes and pentagram crown was a contender in creepiness, they employed their tattoo artist to paint custom pedals and upped the ante with these custom-painted, OCD-on-steroids Demon King pedal and Rat King, which houses two modified RAT circuits and a momentary feedback loop. But perhaps the most frightening is the custom Pedalphiliac design done for Andy Williams of Every Time I Die. You'll have to hit the website for that borderline NSFW beauty. fuzzrociouspedals.com"

"It seems fitting that a company called Dr. Scientist mixes it up with horror-themed finishes from time to time. These one-off designs were made in vinyl by the builder's wife, Tanya. All of the company's pedals are fair game for the treatment. Here we showcase the Cosmichorus, Murderator (mini Reverberator), Cleanness, and Reverberator pedals, but they have a whole lot more on their Flickr page. Dr. Scientist says that the Cosmichorus, a stereo analog BBD chorus, will appear with green and black zombie finish this winter. drscientist.ca"

"Computers make life so much easier. We should use them for everything. What could go possibly wrong? We've failed to consider that the machines have already developed consciousness and are just waiting for the perfect moment to rise up and conquer mankind! The Death By Audio Robot is proof. Its 8-bit microprocessor has a cold, synthetic, vintage video game tone, however its primary purpose is total domination of all humans. These nefarious computers are completely integrated into our financial system so I suggest taking all of your money out of the bank and investing it in guitar pedals. deathbyaudio.net"