{"id":6965,"date":"2026-10-08T03:00:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T03:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/the-spooky-season-cheeses-you-will-love\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T03:00:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T03:00:59","slug":"the-spooky-season-cheeses-you-will-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/the-spooky-season-cheeses-you-will-love\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spooky Season Cheeses You Will Love"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mimolette care of Isigny Sainte-Me\u0300re<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mimolette is, inarguably, an ideal spooky season cheese and often earns top billing on seasonally inspired cheese boards. It\u2019s not even that Mimolette<\/a> is perfectly pumpkin-like in color, shape, and even carveability, but it also comes with its own built-in horror story: the microscopic mites who inhabit it and help develop its distinctive texture. Such a cheese very much belongs to spooky season.<\/p>\n

Many other cheeses, however, have an equal right to claim a spot on a spooky spread. Orange cheeses, veiny or \u201cbloody\u201d cheeses, ash-coated cheeses, or otherwise black cheeses are thematically relevant, of course, as are other selections with seasonally appropriate shapes, styles, or uniquely ghoulish vibes.<\/p>\n

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Cha\u0308llerhocker care of Columbia Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While one cheesemonger who contributed to this narrative wished to remain anonymous for calling out Swiss mastermind Walter Rass and his undeniably creepy Ch\u00e4llerhocker<\/a> label, I daresay the famed cheesemaker would not be offended. Walter Rass himself \u201cknows what he did last summer,\u201d as it were, and has fully called himself out by previously releasing a Halloween version of Ch\u00e4llerhocker, where the already disturbing kid on the label gets the evil eye treatment. (Also, \u201cCh\u00e4llerween\u201d is a phenomenon among mongers, where the Ch\u00e4llerhocker label is used for a mask.)<\/p>\n

Speaking of self-awareness, let it be known that cheese people in general must have a natural affinity for the macabre. One can assume this is due to the very essence of cheese: suspended decay, abundant microorganisms, and, frankly, dependence on caves. When probed for suggestions for spooky season cheeses, various mongers, makers, and enthusiasts alike literally crawled out of the woodwork \u2014 like mites from Mimolette \u2014\u00a0 to submit their favorite grisly selections. So, in perhaps the creepiest lineup of cheeses ever assembled, here are 15 of the best spooky season cheeses that aren\u2019t Mimolette.<\/p>\n

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Seasonal Spooky Cheeses<\/h2>\n
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Petite Boo care of Marin French Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not only that cheese itself is naturally a little creepy, but certain cheesemakers also lean in even harder during haunting season. A common seasonal gambit uses annatto seed to turn otherwise peaceful bloomy-rind cheeses into something a little more festive and sinister. Marin French Cheese Petite Boo<\/a>, Jasper Hill Farm Moses Reaper<\/a>, MouCo Boo<\/a>, and Boxcarr Handmade Cheese Cottonboo<\/a> are all seasonally available versions of their less haunted bloomy counterparts, getting not only an October dye job but an on-theme name change in the process of spooky transformation.<\/p>\n

Additionally, other seasonally available cheeses with different costume party looks are also conversation starters on a spooky season cheese board.<\/p>\n

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Murray\u2019s Cave Aged Limited Buttered Pumpkin<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Murray\u2019s Buttered Pumpkin<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the Caves at Murray\u2019s, Buttered Pumpkin is a limited release cheese that begins with Four Fat Fowl\u2019s St. Stephen<\/a>. While the look is highly pumpkin, no pumpkins were actually harmed in the making of Buttered Pumpkin, which instead uses annatto and pumpkin spice to transform a portion of St. Stephen, which is then layered back into its bloomy rind format to age.<\/p>\n

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Pleasant Lane Farms Jack O\u2019Lantern<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Jack O\u2019 Lantern care of Jason Frye<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From a multigenerational farm in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, (rhymes with Transylvania) Pleasant Lane Farms plays up the \u201cjack\u201d element in Monterey Jack cheese for the season, offering a jack hunk that is both orange, and peppered for a spicy shock treatment.<\/p>\n

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Gourmino \u201cVampire Huntress\u201d Vampirj\u00e4gerin<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Vampire Huntress care of Gourmino<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Walter Rass isn\u2019t the only Swiss cheesemaker who gets an October participation award. Distributed by Gourmino, Vampirj\u00e4gerin or \u201cVampire Huntress\u201d is a black garlic-studded Raclette that\u2019s useful for melting and for keeping all manner of monsters away.<\/p>\n

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Spooky Colored Cheeses<\/h2>\n

Part of Mimolette\u2019s seasonal appeal is its very pumpkin-like hue, but given the historical importance of annatto, there are many, many orange cheeses to consider adding to your spread, from conventional supermarket cheddar, to Red Leicester<\/a>, to Shropshire Blue.<\/a> Port wine chees<\/a>e<\/span><\/a> spread can give a deliciously bloody look, and cheeses such as Black as Coal Cheddar<\/a> or Porter Cheddar<\/a> <\/span><\/a>can even take you to the dark side. You may also want to consider these other inspired, Halloween-tinted ideas from mongers and cheese educators who clearly appreciate a trick as much as a treat.<\/p>\n

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Stinking Bishop<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Stinking Bishop<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Orange hues in cheese don\u2019t always come from annatto, and can be derived on the rind from a somewhat sinister organism known as brevibacterium linens<\/em>. Such is what makes Stinking Bishop a potential screamer. \u201cStinking Bishop will scare the timid with its big, funky-as-advertised aroma,\u201d says cheese writer and educator Hannah Howard<\/a>. \u201cBut fear not! This pudgy, unctuous British cow\u2019s milk cheese\u2019s bark is bigger than its bite,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s washed in pear cider and actually finishes with a lovely and balanced sweetness \u2014 because Halloween should also be fun!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Valen\u00e7ay<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Valancay<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ash-coated cheeses aren\u2019t necessarily made to be spooky, they just can\u2019t help it, with their goth-cloaked exteriors. “\u2019I’m supposed to EAT that?\u2019” is the common refrain,\u201d suggests Cheese Study Group member Scott Thomas Miller. On top of its noir-from-the-Loire sensibilities, Britt Bissett, owner of \u201ceclectic fromagerie\u201d The B\u2019s Cheese<\/a> also suggests Valen\u00e7ay, \u201cbecause it looks like a tomb or coffin.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Moliterno al Tartufo<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Moliterno al Tartufo<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Proof that the macabre and the decadent are not mutually exclusive, \u201cwhenever I do higher budget Halloween pairings, I always love Moliterno al Tartufo,\u201d says cheese storyteller and educator Anne-Marie Pietersma of Trust Your Taste<\/a>. Moliterno is a Sardinian sheep\u2019s milk cheese veined with spidery black truffle paste. \u201cThat thick black veining can read as pretty spooky,\u201d she says, \u201cespecially with some charcoal crackers, deep purple grapes, or dark forest honey by its side. I think those earthy notes real truffles give are also perfect for the season!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Red Rock<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Red Rock care of Murray\u2019s<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While plenty of orange cheeses have spooky party potential, only one of them has a blue cheese scar. Made in a Frankenstein-ish square, \u201cI\u2019m going Red Rock if I am looking for an orange cheese that\u2019s a fun twist on a classic cheddar,\u201d says Carrie S. of Justice of the Cheese<\/a>. Hailing from Wisconsin\u2019s Roelli Cheese House, Red Rock is \u201ckinda like a trick or treat for your cheese board,\u201d she says, \u201cwhen someone isn\u2019t expecting it to be a cheddar and a blue as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Spooky Shaped Cheeses<\/h2>\n

October party spreads often feature otherwise innocuous rounds of brie carved into eerie shapes, but macabre mongers also pointed out several cheeses that have a little something naturally creepy going on with their form.<\/p>\n

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Ovalie Cendr\u00e9e<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Ovalie Cendr\u00e9e care of Mons<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like its brethren Valen\u00e7ay, Loire Valley goat cheese Ovalie Cendr\u00e9e wears a haunting cloak of ash, and can also be put to an even darker purpose. Meaning \u201cashed oval,\u201d \u201cif you cut it or a similar oval-shaped cheese in half, they look like tombstones,\u201d offers Formaticum\u2019s<\/a> Emilia D\u2019Albero.<\/p>\n

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Coupole<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Coupole care of Vermont Creamery<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vermont Creamery\u2019s Coupole, and other cheeses that share its distinctive geotrichum candidum<\/em> rind, have one perfectly ghoulish thing in common: \u201cIT LOOKS LIKE A BRAIN,\u201d (sic) says Rachel Jackson, current zombie, former cheesemonger, and co-owner of beloved Brooklyn restaurants Gertie<\/a>, Trudie\u2019s Tavern<\/a>, and Gertrude\u2019s<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Boulette d\u2019Avesnes<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Boulette d\u2019Avesnes care of Jennifer Greco<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also known, wonderfully indelicately, as \u201cthe devil\u2019s suppository,\u201d \u201cBoulette d’Avesnes is smelly, pungent, fiery and very unique,\u201d says Jennifer Greco, founder of Paris-based Chez Loulou<\/a> cheese and wine tastings. You might have to go to France to find it, but it\u2019s a worthy pilgrimage for fans of both cheese and horror. \u201cIt is made from Maroilles curd and is often flavored with tarragon, cloves, parsley and pepper, and sometimes washed in beer. The little cones are shaped by hand, then sprinkled with annatto or paprika, giving it a bright orange appearance,\u201d she says. When you\u2019re in for a night of hair-raising delights, \u201cthis cheese is not for the faint of heart!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Spooky in Vibe Cheeses<\/h2>\n

Certain cheeses evoke shivers in name alone, some of which are available year round. Switzerland lays claim to cheeses called Red Witch<\/a> and Old Witch,<\/a> Crosswinds Farm & Creamery in Rock Stream, New York, produces cheeses called Goblin<\/a> and Ghost<\/a>, and who can forget about Morbier,<\/a> which sounds, frankly, morbid. (In truth it\u2019s named after its village, but vibes are vibes!) Because cheese people are nothing if not storytellers, though, here are several other cheeses that might create a tingle at the back of your neck.<\/p>\n

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T\u00eate de Moine<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Tete de Moine<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well known for the girolle<\/a> that\u2019s typically used to make delicate rosettes, aspects of T\u00eate de Moine can also be viewed through a darker lens. \u201cThe translation of its name is \u2018Monk’s Head,\u2019 which has a macabre, medieval feel, and the rotary cutter gives a scalping visual, especially if you set it up near the board,\u201d says Patricia Racine, founder of Sandusky, Ohio\u2019s Snack Social<\/a>. \u201cThe little rosettes are beautiful by themselves, but can be grouped together to look like a brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Artisou<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Artisou by Emily Monaco<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

France\u2019s Artisou may sound quaint, but is actually named for the critters who inhabit it. \u201cArtisou is made with a rugged, \u201cartisou\u201d mite-infested rind similar to a real Mimolette,\u201d says Emily Monaco, founder of Paris\u2019s That Cheese Girl<\/a> and co-host of podcast Fishwives of Paris.<\/a> As though Mimolette were the only cheese to have an insect infestation at its heart. \u201cIt\u2019s a little creepy, a little ghoulish,\u201d she says, \u201cbut not nearly as scary as the insect-infected cheeses of Corsica and Sardinia\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

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Woodside Cheese Wrights Ant Hill<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Anthill care of Woodside Cheese Wrights<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019ll get to Sardinia in a moment, but on the insect front, Australia\u2019s Woodside Cheese Wrights offers a buggy cheese that actually isn\u2019t prohibited anywhere or particularly hard to come by. A fresh goat cheese square is rolled in native lemon myrtle and Australian Green Ants, which are themselves dressed with kaffir lime and lemongrass for a tangy bite that is almost as surprising as its infested look.<\/p>\n

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Casu Marzu<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Casu Marzu<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No spooky season roundup would be complete with Sardinia\u2019s famed, maggot-infested cheese, which obviously takes the prize for the most legitimately creepy cheese of them all. Maria Burke of Texas\u2019s River Whey Creamery<\/a> noted how Casu Marzu recollects a classic, spooky folk song: \u201cthe worms crawl in, the worms crawl out\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

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Not Spooky, But A Sweet Treat<\/h2>\n

And finally, while October parties have a certain macabre spirit about them, let us not forget that candy is a star player, at least in modern celebrations of Halloween. Therefore, here\u2019s a final, spooky season cheese to end on a \u201ctreat\u201d note:<\/p>\n

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Gjetost<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Gjeotst<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Haley Sugg of Pittsburgh-based Mrs. Cheese<\/a> has included gjetost (or brunost) in classes on a theme of \u201cScary Good Cheeses.\u201d \u201cThis mixed goat and cow milk cheese is whey-based and so sweet that you might mistake it for Halloween candy,\u201d she says. \u201cGjetost is delicious on its own or with slices of apple to emulate the autumnal classic of caramel-coated apples.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mimolette care of Isigny Sainte-Me\u0300re Mimolette is, inarguably, an ideal spooky season cheese and often earns top billing on seasonally inspired cheese boards. It\u2019s not even that Mimolette is perfectly pumpkin-like in color, shape, and even carveability, but it also comes with its own built-in horror story: the microscopic mites who inhabit it and help … Okumaya devam et “The Spooky Season Cheeses You Will Love”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6965\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}