At the time of writing this, we are a mere fifteen days from Halloween, which means you’d better start planning who/what you’re going to be this year, if you haven’t already. The big day is going to be here before you know it, and you don’t want to play yourself on Halloween – because what fun is that?!

Though plenty of sites are offering up costume tips to their readers, we’ve decided to go in a bit of a different direction here on iHorror this year. In fact, we’re going in the complete opposite direction, by instead warning you away from five Halloween masks you DEFINITELY do not want to put on your head.

Consider this our public service announcement to you fine readers, as the last thing we want is your Halloween costume bringing about your gruesome demise. So take our advice, and never – and The Rock means NEVER! – mess around with the five horrifying masks you’ll find below!

1) THE HAUNTED MASK – GOOSEBUMPS

Of course, the reigning king of deadly Halloween masks is one of R.L. Stine’s greatest creations, known simply as ‘The Haunted Mask.’ First introduced to Goosebumps readers in 1993 and then brought to life in the premiere episode of the TV series a couple years later, this gnarly green mask was chosen one fateful Halloween night by young Carly Beth Caldwell, who found herself transformed into a monster by the mask – and unable to take it off.

As it turned out, ‘The Haunted Mask’ was the handiwork of a creepy mask shop owner, made from real human flesh. Once beautiful, the mask turned real ugly by the time Carly Beth stumbled upon it, and anyone who puts it on becomes possessed by the evil force force that resides in it. The only way to remove it is with a symbol of pure love, as Carly Beth luckily found out.

The Haunted Mask went on to appear in a sequel book (and TV episode) as well as two spin-off books, and will next be seen in 2015’s Goosebumps feature film.

2) THE MASK OF SATAN – BLACK SUNDAY

Directed by Italian filmmaker Mario Bava, 1960’s Black Sunday is notable for being more gruesome than most horror films that were coming out at the time, and in fact it was banned in the UK for nearly a decade due to the level of violence it contained. Here in the states, some of the gore was cut out for the theatrical release, though it was never banned.

It’s the film’s opening scene that is particularly gruesome,  as young witch Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele) is burned at the stake. Before the flames consume her body, a metal mask with spikes on the inside is pounded into her face by an executioner wielding a massive hammer, resulting in an explosion of the red stuff. Well, I should say ‘the black stuff,’ considering this was a black & white film.

A similar scene was featured in Rob Zombie’s Lords of Salem, wherein witch Margaret Morgan received the same brutal treatment.

3) SILVER SHAMROCK MASKS – HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH

The Halloween franchise’s third installment was quite a departure from the established formula of the series, which resulted in many fans writing it off for many years. Only recently have fans come to embrace it, as they’ve realized that it’s actually a pretty damn awesome movie – despite the fact that Michael Myers isn’t in it.

Released in 1982, the film replaced Myers with a set of three killer Halloween masks – a pumpkin, witch and skull that were the twisted creation of evil businessman Conal Cochran. Each mask equipped with a chip containing a fragment from Stonehenge, they were programmed by Cochran and his team to literally devour the heads of their wearers on Halloween night, when the Silver Shamrock special came on TV.

In the film’s most memorable scene, we see the true horror of Cochran’s creations, as a little boy wearing the pumpkin mask is shown the special. It doesn’t take long for the mask to melt and then spew forth all sorts of snakes and other things you don’t want coming out of your head, and though I’m not quite sure of the logistics in regards to what actually happens underneath the mask, let’s just say that you don’t want to be wearing one on Halloween night.

4) THE REVERSE BEAR TRAP – SAW

We first met Amanda Young in 2004’s Saw, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The rare Jigsaw victim who escaped her trap, Amanda was strapped into what’s become known as the reverse bear trap; a macabre mask that was hooked into her upper and lower jaw, and was timed to rip her head clean in half if she wasn’t able to remove it before the time was up.

Though Amanda survived the trap, Jigsaw’s wife Jill wasn’t so lucky in Saw‘s 7th installment, which is when we finally got to see just what the mask does to a human face. Needless to say, it wasn’t pretty, and the scene was gruesome even by Saw‘s standards. It didn’t help matters any that the film was theatrically released in 3D, resulting in Jill’s face exploding right into our laps.

You’ll soon be able to relive the reverse bear trap’s first appearance by seeing Saw back up on the big screen, as it’s being re-released this Halloween. Check out the first of five posters for the re-release.

5) CURSED MASK – DEMONS

Just as his father Mario brought a terrifying mask to the screen in the aforementioned film Black Sunday, so too did Lamberto Bava feature one in the Dario Argento-produced Demons, released in 1985. A gory film almost entirely set in a movie theater, Demons centered on a cursed mask that turned its wearers into bloodthirsty demons, sort of like an adult version of R.L. Stine’s The Haunted Mask.

Prostitute Rosemary was the first victim of the mask, cutting herself while playing around with it. The cut soon burst open and spewed forth green slime, and it wasn’t long before Rosemary grew fangs and started infecting/devouring her friends. Just another day at the movies!

Worth nothing that a Japanese DVD set was released a while back that included Demons and Demons 2, along with a replica of the cursed mask. It was limited to only 3,000 pieces, and it’s pretty hard to come by these days. Probably for the best, given how destructive that mask has proven itself to be.

We hope you’ll practice safe scares this Halloween, and avoid these five masks at all costs. If you don’t, well, just remember that we tried to warn you!