The Nightmare Before Christmas: 28 Creatures & Species In Halloween Town Explained (2024)

The Nightmare Before Christmas features a stunning array of monsters and creatures that populate the quirky, spooky setting of Halloween Town. Each is meticulously designed and full of character, truly fleshing out the location and its scenes. While many of them are unique creations based on Tim Burton's designs, there are also a few familiar species of monsters roaming the streets in Halloween Town.

The residents of Halloween Town appear throughout, proffering much support to The Nightmare Before Christmas's main characters. Most of them are fully exhibited during the movie's opening number, "This is Halloween," which establishes the bizarre town where it's always Halloween. Here is a look at every type of creature or monster species that appears in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

28 Skeleton

Skeletons appear throughout The Nightmare Before Christmas. Protagonist Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King himself, is the main skeletal resident. Jack, it should be noted, is slightly different than other skeletons, at times taking on an almost spider-like appearance and posture. There is also a series of skeletons hanging from the Hanging Tree, Jack's skeleton reindeer, and a rooster skeleton who crows the morning after Halloween.

27 Ragdoll

The secondary protagonist, Sally, is a rag doll constructed by Dr. Finkelstein. Her gift is that various limbs can detach from her body and quickly be sewn on, a power she uses to he advantage. Throughout The Nightmare Before Christmas, she can be seen performing ad hoc repairs on herself with a needle and thread. Disappointed by Sally's disobedience, Dr. Finkelstein creates a second rag doll to replace her, whom he marries and names Jewel.

26 Boogeyman

The most prominent boogeyman in The Nightmare Before Christmas is the villain Oogie Boogie. Oogie Boogie is a giant singing sack filled with an army of bugs. Though he lives outside of Halloween Town, he still partakes in their celebrations and his shadow appears on the moon partway through "This is Halloween."

Other boogeymen include The One Hiding Under Your Bed, who only appears in the number "This is Halloween," describing itself as having "teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red!" There is also The One Hiding Under Your Stairs, with "fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair!" This boogeyman has striped fingers, a long snout bearing tiny sharp teeth, and pushes himself around on a board with wheels. He also appears in the town meeting and during the song "Making Christmas."

25 Clown

The Clown with the Tear-Away Face sports a yellow polka-dot costume over his pale blue skin and is always riding a unicycle. The Clown has a high-pitched voice, but when he tears away his face, his voice turns deep and scary. He performs his own section in "This is Halloween," and is present throughout all major Halloween Town scenes in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

24 Ghosts

A quintet of singing ghosts appears throughout several musical numbers performed in Halloween Town. They offer their spectral vocals for "This is Halloween," most memorably "It's our town, everybody scream!" They also appear in "Making Christmas," and "Jack's Lament." However, the ghost of note is Zero the dog, Jack's dead pet dog - a theme of Tim Burton's.

23 Two-Faced Humanoid

One of the most iconic characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas is the Mayor. The Mayor has two faces, which can quickly spin atop his body to rapidly change emotion. Representing the duplicitous nature of politicians, the Mayor features heavily in the Halloween Town sequences and is often used as a comedic prop throughout the movie.

22 Vampire

The Nightmare Before Christmas has four vampires. They are all brothers who, during the day, shield their pale skin from sunlight with umbrellas. They appear in most Halloween Town scenes, singing the lines "In this town, we call home, everybody hail to the pumpkin song," in "This is Halloween."

21 Mummy

The Mummy Boy is a young Halloween Town resident, wrapped in linen bandages, with a single visible eye. He partakes in most of the songs performed in Halloween Town and often is found assisting the Mayor. His most noteworthy appearance in The Nightmare Before Christmas is operating the town's cat-shaped alarm following Jack's disappearance.

20 Humanoid

There is a smattering of humanoid creatures in Halloween Town, primarily Sally's creator, and Dr. Frankenstein analog, Dr. Finkelstein. Finkelstein is pale, with skeletal features and a penchant for building rag doll companions. Later, he also builds another humanoid companion to be his mate. Another notable humanoid is Mr. Hyde, a pale green-skinned man with two smaller versions of himself under his top hat - seen leading the parade through the town gates in "This is Halloween." The final humanoid can be observed next to the Grim Reaper in the town meeting. Often referred to as the Grim Reaper's Companion, she is pale-skinned and withered, with dark green eyes and messy yellow hair.

19 The Grim Reaper

The Grim Reaper himself appears twice throughout The Nightmare Before Christmas. He first appears in the crowd during the celebrations in "This is Halloween," his face cast in shadow by his cloak and armed with his scythe. He also attends the town meeting, where he sits next to a bizarre humanoid creature.

18 Zombie

There are several; different zombies throughout The Nightmare Before Christmas. Behemoth is a rotund creature, dressed in blue overalls with an ax stuck in its head, hence his simpleminded nature. Behemoth drags the scarecrow into the town center in "This is Halloween." There is also the Corpse Family, which includes Corpse Dad (Ned), who is balding, with a big round nose, and wears a tie and cardigan. His son, Corpse Kid (Ethan) has his eyes sewn shut and wears a striped t-shirt and a hat. Finally, Corpse Mom (Bertha) has curly black hair and wears a battered blouse. Together they sing the line "That's our job, but we're not mean" during "This is Halloween."

Finally, there is the Halloween Town Zombie Band. The Zombie Band first appears in "This is Halloween," and is comprised of Jimmy the Accordion Player, who tells the mayor Jack's not home after Jack leaves town, and, in "Making Christmas," pushes a wheelbarrow of Jack-o-lanterns; Jim the Bass Player, who has a talking corpse inside his instrument; and James the saxophone player, who remarks to Jack, "Nice work, bone daddy."

17 Hanging Tree

The Hanging Tree is a large, walking talking tree with a sinister face. Five skeletons hang from nooses around its bare branches. It appears most notably in "This is Halloween," but is present throughout most Halloween Town scenes in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

16 Melting Man

The Melting Man is a Halloween Town resident, whose flesh is melting and dripping from his body. He dons a fancy white suit and appears throughout The Nightmare Before Christmas. During "Making Christmas," he tries to use a dead tortoise as a present, to which Jack suggests he find something more pleasant.

15 Frankenstein's Monster/Reconstituted Corpse

There are two reconstituted corpses in The Nightmare Before Christmas. The first is Dr. Finkelstein's assistant Igor, a lumbering hench-person who bears the scars of his creation. The second is Frankenstein's monster himself, who appears applauding the celebrations depicted in "This is Halloween."

14 Cyclops

The Cyclops is a thin, pointy-eared monster with a large singular, yellow eye. He often appears throughout The Nightmare Before Christmas while shackled to Mr. Hyde. The cyclops can be seen in every major scene set in Halloween Town and actively participates in Christmas preparations.

13 Witch

There are two witches in Halloween Town, who appear throughout The Nightmare Before Christmas. Called simply Big Witch and Little Witch, the sisters are prominent in a number of Nightmare Before Christmas songs, including "This is Halloween," singing "Say it once, say it twice, take a chance and roll the dice." They appear later during "Making Christmas," preparing something in a large cauldron.

12 Raven

Known as the Gate Keeper of Halloween Town, the raven creature appears only briefly in The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is a short, bird-faced monster wearing a yellow trench coat and bowler hat. The Gate Keeper can be observed operating that gate in "This is Halloween," as it is the resident tasked with guarding the gate to the town.

11 Harlequin Demon

The Harlequin Demon appears throughout The Nightmare Before Christmas as a prominent citizen of Halloween Town. It has two entirely separate, round jaws connected by the middle, with yellow eyes, a feathered body, and three large black and orange tendrils on its head. During "Making Christmas," he attempts to make a hat out of a rat, commenting on his own genius.

10 Jack-O-Lantern

During the town meeting in The Nightmare Before Christmas, a Jack-o-lantern monster can be seen in the audience. Another appears in the opening of "This is Halloween," but it is assumed to be Jack Skellington in costume. Nevertheless, a pumpkin-headed ghoul can be spotted in the front row as Jack explains his Christmas discovery.

9 Werewolf

One werewolf appears in The Nightmare Before Christmas, named the Wolfman. The Wolfman first appears in "This is Halloween," singing the titular line. The Wolfman is present throughout the Halloween Town scenes, and during "Making Christmas, can be seen working with Corpse Dad and the Devil on a bat toy.