Gothic horror tattoo flash
Nine dark designs built on old symbols of death, from a winged hourglass to a moth with a skull on its back. Print any of them as flash, stencil or outline.
4.50 in4.50 inWilted lily and moon
4.5″Wilted lily and moon
5″Gothic filigree cross
5″Death's-head moth
5″Winged skull
7″Stacked skulls
4.5″Winged hourglass
6″Fallen angel
4.5″Heart and dagger
4.5″Black widow on web
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§1Where goth imagery comes from
Most goth and horror flash reuses the symbols of memento mori, Latin for “remember you must die”. European painters put skulls, hourglasses, clocks, guttering candles, fruit and cut flowers into pictures to remind viewers that life is short. On this page that tradition shows up in SK-06 Winged skull, SK-12 Stacked skulls, CC-07 Winged hourglass and FL-10 Wilted lily and moon.
BF-02 Death’s-head moth is drawn from a real insect. The death’s-head hawkmoth has a yellowish pattern on its thorax that looks like a human skull, and in folklore it was taken as an omen of death. The rest of the set leans on church and horror imagery: AN-06 Fallen angel, CR-06 Gothic filigree cross, HT-06 Heart and dagger and SP-05 Black widow on web.
§2Color flash or black only
The flash version of each design is filled in the site palette so you can see the finished shapes. If you want the piece in black, skip it: print the stencil for the transfer and the outline as a reference, and let your artist decide how much of the inside to pack solid. Looking for an evil skull outline? SK-06 and SK-12 are the two skulls here, and the stencil format is the outline you want.
§3Sizes and placement
Nothing on this page is a small, quick piece. Defaults run from 4.5 in (FL-10, CC-07, HT-06 and SP-05, which fit a forearm at 3–6 in) to 7 in for SK-12 Stacked skulls, drawn for a sleeve. SK-06 and BF-02 spread their wings sideways and sit well on the chest (3–10 in) or upper back. AN-06 Fallen angel needs a back or thigh (4–10 in).
Keep the filigree of CR-06 and the web of SP-05 near their default size. Shrink them much and the gaps between lines close up on the stencil.
Size ranges from published charts by Saved Tattoo and Inkjin.
§4Questions
Q1Is there a grim reaper or demon stencil here?
No. The nearest designs are SK-06 Winged skull and AN-06 Fallen angel.
Q2What is a death moth tattoo?
A tattoo of the death’s-head hawkmoth, a large moth with a skull-like pattern on its back. That pattern gave the moth its name and its old reputation as a bad omen. On this page it is BF-02.
Q3Is there simple horror flash for a first tattoo?
Not on this page: the smallest designs here are 4.5 in and all of them are detailed. The skull page has small, easy skulls if you want something dark and simple.
Q4What does an hourglass tattoo mean?
Time running out. It is one of the classic memento mori symbols, alongside the skull. CC-07 Winged hourglass is the version on this page.