The Misfits are an American punk rock band, often recognized as pioneers of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery. The group was formed in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter, and keyboardist Glenn Danzig. Shortly after, bassist Jerry Only joined, and the pair remained the core members through numerous personnel changes over the next six years. During this period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only's brother Doyle on guitar, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983) were released—both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. Over the years, the band has undergone many lineup changes, with Jerry Only serving as the group’s only constant member.

The Misfits disbanded in 1983, and Glenn Danzig went on to form Samhain and then Danzig. Several albums of reissued and previously unreleased material were issued after the group's dissolution, and their music later became influential to punk rock, heavy metal, hard rock, and alternative rock, including high-profile acts such as Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Marilyn Manson, Green Day, the Offspring, NOFX, AFI, Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance and Cradle of Filth. After a series of legal battles with Danzig, Only and Doyle regained the rights to record and perform as the Misfits. They formed a new version of the band in 1995 with singer Michale Graves and drummer Dr. Chud. This incarnation of Misfits had more of a heavy metal sound, and released the albums American Psycho (1997) and Famous Monsters (1999) before dissolving in 2000. Jerry Only then took over lead vocals and recruited former Black Flag guitarist Dez Cadena and former Ramones drummer Marky Ramone for a Misfits 25th anniversary tour.

This lineup released an album of cover songs in 2003, titled Project 1950, and toured for several years. In 2005, Marky was replaced by Robo, who had previously drummed for the Misfits (1982–1983) and Black Flag. This lineup released a single titled "Land of the Dead" in 2009. The Misfits' lineup of Only, Cadena, and drummer Eric "Chupacabra" Arce released a new album, The Devil's Rain, in October 2011. In 2015, Cadena announced he would be taking a break from music after receiving a cancer diagnosis and was replaced by Only's son, Jerry Caiafa III (stage name Jerry Other). That same year, Soulfly's Marc Rizzo joined the band on guitar, temporarily filling in for Cadena before Caiafa became the sole guitarist.

In September 2016, for the first time in 33 years, Danzig, Only, and Doyle reunited for two headlining shows as the Original Misfits at that year's edition of Riot Fest, along with drummer Dave Lombardo and second guitarist Acey Slade. The Original Misfits lineup has continued performing sporadically.

The Misfits were formed in February 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by Glenn Danzig, who had previous experience performing in local cover bands. The band was named after actress Marilyn Monroe's final film, The Misfits (1961). Danzig's first recruits to the Misfits were drummer Mr. Jim and bassist Diane DiPiazza, however, DiPiazza never showed up. Mr. Jim was replaced by Manny Martinez shortly after. The two practiced in Martínez's garage, with Danzig on electric piano and Martínez on drums. The duo soon encountered Jerry Caiafa, who was dating a neighbor of Martínez's and had just received a bass guitar for Christmas. Although he was still new to the instrument, he joined the band; Caiafa and Danzig would remain the only consistent members of the Misfits until the group's dissolution in 1983.

Danzig, Martínez, and Caiafa rehearsed for three months without a guitarist, using Danzig's electric piano to provide the rhythm for the songs. The band played their first performance at CBGB in New York City in April 1977, followed by other local performances over the following months. In May that year, they recorded their first single, Cough/Cool, which they released through their own label Blank Records that August. Caiafa's surname was misspelled on the sleeve of the record, prompting him to insist that, in the future, he be credited as "Jerry, only Jerry". "Jerry Only" became his pseudonym for the rest of his career.

In August 1977, guitarist Frank Licata joined the band under the pseudonym Franché Coma, allowing Danzig to phase out the electric piano and focus on singing while pushing the band's sound in a punk rock direction. Danzig and Only deemed Martínez unreliable and replaced by Mr. Jim. The band found a recording opportunity when Mercury Records sought to use the name Blank Records for one of its subsidiaries and offered Danzig 30 hours of studio time in exchange for the rights to the name. Danzig accepted, and in January 1978, the Misfits entered a New York recording studio to record 17 songs, 14 of which were mixed for the proposed Static Age album. The band were unable to find a record label interested in releasing it, so they released four of the songs in June 1978 as the Bullet single on their own label Plan 9 Records, named after the 1959 science fiction horror film Plan 9 from Outer Space. The other songs would see release on various compilation albums throughout the 1980s and 90s, but Static Age was not released in its entirety until 1996.^{[citation needed]}

Following the Static Age sessions, the Misfits began a shift in songwriting and appearance, with Danzig writing more songs inspired by B horror and science fiction films. He painted skeletal patterns on his performance clothing, while Only began applying dark makeup around his eyes and styling his hair in a long point hanging from his forehead between his eyes and down to his chin, a style that became known as a "devilock" and which both Danzig and Only's brother Doyle would eventually adopt. This new style and musical direction would later be described as the subgenre "horror punk".