Scarily Real Zombie Nail Art

Photo: Via Samarium's Swatches

If you're willing to get a little grisly with your costume and have some serious nail art skills to boot, we have JUST the thing for you—a zombie-fied manicure that'll definitely add an extra bit of edge to your back-from-the-dead ensemble. I mean, you don't even have to WAIT until Halloween to sport a seriously revolting mani. This manicure is all about getting as gruesome as possible—the bloodier, the better! Remember: You are a flesh-eating corpse, and your nails need to reflect that.

Photo: Via Pshiiit

Whew, this mani is only reserved for the oldest of zombies. The thick black tips and extra dark fingertips suggest this corpse has been rotting away for quite some time.

Photo: Via Addicted to Beauty

A little acrylic nails can go a lonnnggg way, as seen here. Crack those bad boys in half and glue them to your tips to make it look like you've been clawing your way through hoards of dead bodies all night. Extra kudos for not going easy on the fake blood.

Photo: Via Caitlin's Creative Corner

If you want to go for a more subtle zombie look, go for the dirty cuticle look. Caitlin painted her nails all black, and then took most of it off with polish remover. She's left with some seriously dirty digits.

Photo: Via More Nail Polish

Sometimes all it takes is some jagged tips to really transform the look. She took some falsies, roughed up the edges, glued 'em on, and dirtied up her fingers. Dead on!

More Zombies this Halloween 2012

Local costume shops say expect to see brain-eating zombies knocking on doors this Halloween as ragged costumes and decomposing corpse makeup fly off the shelves.

Released in late September, a survey by the National Retail Federation found seven out of 10 Americans, or 71.5 percent, will celebrate Halloween 2012 in some fashion.

That number is up from 68.6 percent in 2011.

Costumes are arguably the most important aspect of taking part in Halloween, though collecting candy comes in a close second.

Commercially known as a children's holiday, costumers are noticing Halloween is gaining in popularity in adult circles. It's become more of an adult holiday.

"It's also become a very large drinking holiday with bars hosting Halloween costume contests. We've got probably 90 percent adults to 10 percent kids."

Buck Bresler, owner of Illusions Magic & Costume, 31529 Vine St., Willowick, said parents with young children don't want to spend $40 on a children's costume.

"They go trick-or-treating for an hour, so they're only going to spend about $10 or $12," he said. "Older people who go out to parties or whatever want to have a better costume and will spend $60 or $70."

Driving a lot of costume choices is what is popular on television, Miller said. Shows like AMC's "The Walking Dead" are likely behind the popularity of zombies this year.