Skull jewellery is a reminder of death worn as ornament, and bat jewellery is a sign of the night and of goth itself. Wear a skull for mortality and romance in any month of the year. Wear a bat when you want to say which subculture you belong to: a statement bat in October, and one small bat after it.
The two motifs land in the same jewellery box every autumn, but they come from different places. People have worn skulls on their fingers for four centuries, as mourning rings handed out at funerals. The bat is the sign goth chose for itself, from a Bauhaus single in 1979 to a Soho club night in 1982. This guide takes each motif in turn: what it means, the moods it comes in, and the pieces in our store that carry it, with the metal and the price from each listing.
Key Takeaways
- A skull is a memento mori, a reminder that "you must die". In the 17th century, gold mourning rings engraved with skeletons were given to friends and relatives at funerals, so skull jewellery is centuries older than goth.
- The bat is goth's own emblem. Bauhaus's Bela Lugosi's Dead (1979) is often considered the first gothic rock record, and the Batcave club in Soho (1982) gave early fans the name Batcavers.
- Skulls wear all year. Outside the scene a bat reads as Halloween, so after October keep one small bat and let it be the only motif in the outfit.
- Eighteen of the 22 pieces named here have a $19.99 option, and none costs more than $31.88.
- Read the metal on each listing. Here it runs from sterling silver (both pairs of sterling earrings and the bat charm) through stainless steel to brass, copper and zinc alloy.
What does skull jewellery mean?
A skull on jewellery means memento mori, a reminder that life is short, worn where you will see it every day. For most of its history it was a mourning piece rather than a rebellious one, and that history is why a skull still looks at home beside lace and velvet.
The tradition is old. Memento mori jewellery was popular from the late 16th century through the 17th, and it took the form of mourning rings, pendants, lockets and brooches. The London Museum holds a 17th-century memento mori finger ring of gold decorated with black enamel and engraved with a full-length skeleton, crossbones and two hourglasses. Rings like it, the museum explains, were given to friends and relatives at funerals, along with black scarves and hatbands, as a memento of the person who had died. The museum translates the phrase as "remember you must die".
Painting carried the same message. Vanitas still lifes set human skulls among other symbolic objects to say that every human effort passes. The Victorians, for all their black, were stricter about jewellery than you might expect: the etiquette quoted in our Victorian mourning dress guide rules jewellery out in deep mourning and asks for pins of jet.
So when you wear a skull ring, you are wearing remembrance first and menace a distant second. That is the reading to dress for.
How do you wear skull jewellery?
Wear a skull as you would any small, serious symbol: one at a time, where people look first. In our store the skull comes in four moods, and the mood decides the outfit more than whether the piece is a ring or a pendant, so choose the mood first.
The romantic skull: roses and hearts
A skull with a rose or a heart is the gothic-romance version, mortality with something tender laid over it. It suits lace, velvet and a long black dress, and it is the gentlest way into the motif.
The Dahlia Skull Rose Necklace pairs a skull with roses around a black stone, 35 mm by 20 mm, on a 59 cm stainless steel chain, for $19.99. The long chain gives the pendant a deeper drop, so it hangs clear of a high collar instead of fighting it. The Lace Choker with Skull Rose puts the same idea at the throat: a lace band with a skull rose at its centre, one size and adjustable, for $29.27.
On the hand, the Skully Skull Ring sets a skull in a heart-shaped pattern, in copper and crystal, sized 5 to 12. It is $19.99 in size 5 and $31.43 in sizes 6 to 12. The Skull Ring: You and Me is a brass skull with an 8 mm face, in sizes 4 to 13, at $19.99 in size 4 and $30.78 in every other size.
The mourning skull: coffins, caskets and crosses
Add a coffin or a cross and the skull goes back to its funeral origins. This is the mood for all-black dressing and mourning silhouettes, and for anyone who reads the skull as grief rather than threat.
The Double Skull Gothic Coffin Pendant is a stainless steel coffin with a double skull, in two styles: A at $19.99 and B at $31.33. The Red Skull Undertaker Ring carries a red skull on a skeleton and casket pattern in stainless steel, sized 7 to 12, at $19.99 in size 8 and $30.78 in the others. For the ears, the Skull Coffin Wire Earrings pair skulls with coffins in zinc alloy, for $19.99. On the hand, the Gothic Skull Ring, Undertaker is stainless steel in silver or purple, sized 7 to 9. Silver is $19.99 in size 7 and $31.00 in sizes 8 and 9; purple is $31.00 in every size.
The Skull Cross Pendant Necklace is the largest piece in this guide: a 48 by 61 mm stainless steel pendant on a 22 inch (56 cm) link chain, for $30.44. Wear it alone over a plain black knit. It needs nothing beside it.
A plain skull for every day
A plain skull, with no rose, coffin or wing, is the one you can wear on an ordinary Tuesday. Keep it small and in the same metal as the rest of your jewellery.
The Sterling Silver Skull Earrings are sterling silver, $19.99, and the easiest skull here to wear daily. The Skull Gothic Necklace hangs a stainless steel skull on a 60 cm chain, also $19.99, and the Skull Charm Bracelet puts a skull on a stainless steel link chain at the wrist, again $19.99.
The ornamental skull: wings and stones
Some skulls are made to be noticed as ornament first. They suit an evening outfit, or a plain one that wants a single point of detail.
The Gothic Winged Skull Brooch is a detailed skull with wings, in silver or gold, for $19.99. A brooch is the most flexible piece in this guide: pin it to a coat lapel, a velvet collar or a hatband, and move it when the outfit changes.
The Darkness Skull Ring rings a central cubic zirconia with small purple skulls on a black copper band 8 mm wide. Unusually, the cheapest size is the largest: $19.99 in size 10, and $30.12 in sizes 6 to 9.
For a ring without a skull to balance the other hand, browse our gothic rings.
What does bat jewellery mean?
A bat on jewellery means the night, the vampire and, inside the subculture, goth itself. It is the creature of the hours goths keep, and since the late 1970s it has been the scene's own emblem.
Its folklore runs two ways. In the West the bat belongs to the vampire, while in Chinese art it stands for blessing, and our guide to occult symbols and how to wear them sets out both readings with their sources. Our bat symbolism guide dates each of those meanings, and sorts the old ones from the modern spirit-animal readings.
What the bat adds for goth is lineage. Bauhaus released their debut single, Bela Lugosi's Dead, in August 1979. It takes its title from one of the first actors to play Dracula on film, and it is often considered the first gothic rock record. Three years later, on 21 July 1982, the Batcave opened as a Wednesday club night at the Gargoyle Club on Dean Street in Soho. It is described as the birthplace of the southern English goth subculture, and early fans of the music were called Batcavers after it.
So a bat at the ear is a nod to the music before it is a nod to Halloween, and the people who know will read it that way.
How do you wear bat jewellery?
Wear one bat, and choose its size by the season: a statement bat in October, a small one the rest of the year. Outside the scene a bat reads as seasonal, so the smaller and finer the bat, the longer into the year it keeps working.
A small bat, seen up close
The quietest bat earrings we sell are the Sterling Silver Bat Earrings: drops in 925 sterling silver set with zircon, 11.4 mm by 24.6 mm and about 3 g, for $29.71. At that size they pass as a dark detail rather than a date on the calendar, which makes them the bat to keep wearing in spring.
The Silver Bat Charm is smaller still: a bat charm in 925 sterling silver with a glow-in-the-dark detail, made for charm bracelets and necklaces, for $19.99. It is sold as the charm only, so add it to a chain you already wear.
A bat that sets the outfit
When the bat is the point of the outfit, give it the neckline. The Savage Crystal Bat Necklace hangs a 4.3 by 2 cm bat pendant in stainless steel and titanium, with a white, black or red stone, on a 50, 60 or 70 cm chain. White stone on the 50 cm chain is $29.27, and every other combination is $31.88. The 70 cm chain suits a long black cardigan or a low square neckline, where the bat has room to hang.
The Bat Choker is PU leather and zinc alloy, adjustable from 35 to 42 cm, in sixteen colours. Grey is $19.99, and the other fifteen, black included, are $30.78.
For the ears, the Zircon Bat Night Earrings are zinc alloy bats set with zircon, for $19.99. For earrings in the same mood without a bat, our goth earrings collection holds the cross and blood moon drops.
A bat beside another sign
A bat paired with a moon, a wing or a skull says more than one thing at once, so wear it with plain clothes and let it do the talking. For a coffin or a pair of wings carried rather than worn, see our guide to goth bags.
The Silver Bat Moon Earrings put the bat with the moon, in silver-coloured zinc alloy, for $19.99. The Angel Bat Wings Ring is a set of rings joined by chains, with glossy wings and crystal details in zinc alloy. The Black Bat version is $19.99 and White Wings is $31.43, and its listing suggests wearing the rings together or splitting them across your hands.
If you cannot choose between the motifs, the Skull Bat Choker carries both on one 5 cm zinc alloy pendant: $19.99 in black, and $30.78 in each of fifteen other colours.
Skull or bat: which suits you?
Choose the skull if you want a symbol of mortality and romance that works in any month. Choose the bat if you want a sign of the night and of goth's own history, and you are happy to wear it smaller once October is over.
| Skull | Bat | |
|---|---|---|
| What it means | Memento mori: remember you must die | The night, the vampire, goth itself |
| How long it has meant that | Since at least the 17th-century mourning ring | The scene's emblem since the late 1970s and early 1980s |
| How it reads outside the scene | Dark, but serious | Halloween, unless it is small |
| Best with | Lace, velvet, mourning black, tailoring | Black knitwear, a long coat, a plain dress |
| When to wear it | All year | A statement in October, small the rest of the year |
| Where to start | Dahlia Skull Rose Necklace, $19.99 | Sterling Silver Bat Earrings, $29.71 |
How do you wear skulls and bats after October?
After 31 October, keep to one motif per outfit, make it small, and match its metal to everything else you wear. A skull and a bat worn as separate pieces compete with each other; either one alone looks chosen.
Three habits keep the motif in your wardrobe past Halloween:
- One motif at a time: Let the skull or the bat be the only symbol showing, and keep the rest of the outfit to black, lace or velvet.
- Size down as the year turns: October can take the Savage Crystal Bat Necklace on its longest chain. January is better served by sterling drops at the ear.
- Match the metal: A silver skull beside gold earrings looks accidental. Our guide to gothic rings, necklaces and earrings shows how to read the metal on a listing, and what to check if your skin reacts.
For 31 October itself, our Halloween outfit guide builds whole looks around a single bat or skull that you would still wear the week after.
What should you check before you buy?
Check three things on any skull or bat listing: the ring size or the adjustment, the chain length, and the metal it names. The rings in this guide come in numbered sizes from 4 to 13 across the range, though each covers a narrower spread, and most cost less in one size than in the others. Pendants state their chain length. Where a listing names only a colour, this guide names no metal for it.
If you want a skull in solid sterling silver or made by hand, that is a question about makers rather than motifs, and our goth jewellery brands compared sets them side by side. For the crosses, moons and thorns that sit well beside a skull or a bat, browse our gothic jewellery collection.
Frequently asked questions
What does a skull ring symbolise?
Most often memento mori, a reminder that life is short. In the 17th century, gold rings engraved with skeletons were given out at funerals in memory of the dead, so a skull ring has meant mourning and remembrance for far longer than it has meant rebellion.
Is skull jewellery only for men?
No. A lot of what ranks for skull jewellery is sold as men's biker jewellery, but the motif has no gender. Of the rings in this guide, the Skully Skull Ring is listed as a women's ring, and the Skull Ring: You and Me starts at size 4.
Can you wear bat earrings outside Halloween?
Yes, if they are small. A compact sterling silver drop reads as a dark detail in any month, while a large statement bat reads as seasonal. Wear one pair and keep the rest of the outfit free of other motifs.
What metal is skull and bat jewellery made of here?
It depends on the piece, and each listing names it. In this guide the two pairs of sterling earrings and the bat charm are sterling silver, several skull rings and pendants are stainless steel, and others are brass, copper or zinc alloy. None of these listings says hypoallergenic or nickel-free.
Should you wear a skull and a bat together?
Only in one piece. A choker that carries both on a single pendant holds together. Separate skull and bat pieces worn at once pull against each other, so pick one motif for the outfit.
Start with the motif that already matches what you wear: a skull rose for lace and velvet, a small sterling bat for everything else.
