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Halloween is my very favorite holiday — and yes, I’ll admit to getting into it super-sexy-costume style. (I once dressed up in a red miniskirt, a t-shirt with my name on it, lots of fake blood, and a celery stick in my hair — voila, “Bloody Mary.”) We’ll be celebrating on the blog from now right up until the big day. So for this week’s contest, your mission is clear: Send us your ghouliest, creepiest, crawliest, coolest, or otherwise awesome-est costume ideas from Halloweens past or present. Three rules:
1. No store-boughts — we like our ingenuity homemade. Store-bought components are okay, of course, but no showing up as Superman unless you made your cape out of a garbage bag and some red paint.
2. Pictures will help. Also, even if you don’t win, we’ll have a Halloween parade on the day itself, and you’ll be included. (You can email them to us at tips-at-mentalfloss.com.)
3. The deadline is, as ever, Sunday night at the witching hour (Eastern). But we’ll be accepting parade entries right up until Monday night at the same eerie time.
Now, off to your sewing machines!
Comments (19)
Comment
Halloween 2004: I threw on a hoodie, some fake locks sticking out, and a pair of aviator glasses. Voila! Everyone instantly recognized me as the Unabomber, who at that time was just a police sketch.
http://skepdic.com/refuge/graphics/unabomber.jpg
posted by Johnny Cat on 10-23-2006 at 2:33 pm
Halloween is also my favorite holiday and since my birthday is November 3, I’ve had some cool costume parties to celebrate.
Two winners come to mind: I borrowed my brother’s hooded brown terrycloth bathrobe, took the couch pillow and stuffed it under the robe over the left shoulder, replaced the belt with a thick white rope, put on a witch’s mask and fake hands, black socks and sandals. I bent at the shoulders and walked slowly. The hunchbacked monk grunted so no one knew who it was (or whether it was male or female) and I won the contest.
The other costume was a tank top leotard with fishnet stockings and heels. I took cardboard strips and covered them with adhesive tape.
I borrowed my brother’s cufflinks (he was handy to have around) and punched a hole through two of the strips to make cuffs, and then threaded a black ribbon through the third strip to create a collar. I took tin snips to cut both ends off a coat hanger, bent them into loops and sewed pink fabric strips from my sewing kit over them. I attached the covered wires to a headband and made rabbit ears. Then I took a couple of yards of white yarn, cut it into six-inch pieces and gathered them into a ball that I pinned to my fanny. This Playboy bunny had a great time at the party and won for female costume.
posted by Adrienne on 10-23-2006 at 3:14 pm
This wasn’t actually for Halloween, it was for a theme party, but I still think it’s hilarious.
My boyfriend has long brown hair and his friends like to joke around and call him Jesus. He decided it would be funny if he went as Jesus and I went as Mary Magdelene. We went to Goodwill and got a light brown sheet and a brown belt. Next stop was KMart for some fake Birkenstocks. I cut a hole in the middle of the sheet, put it over his head and wrapped the belt around his waist so it looked like a robe. He kept his jeans on but wore the “Jesus sandals.” For extra effect, we stopped by Acme and the liquor store for a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine (both of which were consumed by the end of the night).
My costume? An old dark red bedsheet put over my head like a robe and hood and some well-placed safety pins.
There wasn’t a contest to win, but I’ve never had so many people ask to take pictures at a party.
(we’re both Catholics, by the way :)
posted by Kate on 10-23-2006 at 3:36 pm
Once, my friend and I wore green shorts and tank tops, covered ourselves in tin foil, painted our faces green, fixed our hair all nasty and then put masking tape labels that said march 1999 on the foil–we were leftovers! we won a contest, too…
posted by Molly on 10-23-2006 at 3:39 pm
Some medical student friends of mine once came to a Halloween party dressed fairly strange. One had camo pants and combat boots with a plain white t-shirt. The other had jeans, sneakers, a camo jacket and camo boonie hat. We couldn’t figure out what they were, and everyone let out a huge groan when they said “We’re an upper and lower GI.”
posted by Dan H. on 10-23-2006 at 3:48 pm
My youth theater troupe always held a coustume party for Halloween, but the trick was staying in character for the three hour duration of the party.
As a percocious kid with more books than social engagements (read: nerd), I decided to turn to Poe for inspiration my 7th grade year.
From the shoulders down I was a doorway (cardboard box and paint, natch).
From the the shoulders up I was an alabaster goddess (clown-white and a ton of baby powder).
And my headress (an hour of hot glue, craft feathers and a toilet paper tube) was, of course, The Raven.
It was worth standing still and silent and a party to come away with “Most Creative Costume” in a group full of the community’s most artistic teenagers with a entire theater’s costume closet at thier disposal!
posted by Ann S. on 10-23-2006 at 4:57 pm
One year in Middle school, I took an old pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, tye-dyed them a bunch of messy colors. Then I put black paint on the treads of an old tire and rolled it over the pants and shirt.
My mom then helped my make a stencil out of the tire treads and painted that over my face and then matted up my hair with Aqua-net.
Smear some home-made (and sticky) fake blood all over my hair, face and costume, and voila! Roadkill! Everyone loved it!
posted by Heather on 10-23-2006 at 5:12 pm
My past costume winners have been:
1. Liger- take a orange jumpsuit, paint some stripes on it, made a mane out of felt and a pipe cleaner.
2. The Spirit of Halloween-Mix 1 part angel costume, 2 Raggety Andy red striped socks, 1 clown wig, 1 halo, 1 set of pumkin sunglasses, 1 red clown nose, and one sash declaring “spirit of halloween” taa daa. This is what happens when you never buy costumes.
posted by pegs on 10-23-2006 at 9:33 pm
My easiest Halloween costume required the purchase of just a pair of red sparkly devil horns. That along with a blue dress I already had = devil with a blue dress.
I’ve also been a Fallen Angel = generic angel outfit + bent halo + arm in a sling + fake cast + crutches.
In the past few years I’ve also gone as a poor graduate student, which isn’t so much a costume, but a sad, sad truth.
posted by aileen on 10-24-2006 at 12:59 am
I have a standard costume that I have been wearing the last few years. It is really, really stupid, but everyone loves it. I’ve won contests with it.
So, I used to have an obsession with my name: Bob. I even had a shirt made with the name Bob on it. A navy blue shirt with big white letters. Somehow “Bob” turned into a superhero.
At first I would wear the Bob shirt with a cape my girlfriend (shocking, no?) made for me. Every year I add something to it. The costume now consists of tights, long white socks, a small white mask, and an atheletic supporter (which replaced a pair of tighty whiteys). It is really absurd.
Now I’m starting to create a backstory for my super hero. So far what I’ve come up with is that he has no actual powers. Because of this, he has to carry a gun.
posted by Bob on 10-24-2006 at 10:49 am
One thing I forgot to add about my superhero is that his name isn’t “SuperBob.” It’s just “Bob.”
posted by Bob on 10-24-2006 at 10:51 am
When I was about 10 years old, the church I attended at the time got on a “Halloween is evil” kick, so they sponsored a Bible themed party. Come dressed as a Biblical character. I wore a construction paper covered box (with a head-hole) over my shoulders. On top of the box (also with a head-hole) was a silver platter (made from foil). My neck was dripping with fake blood & my face was painted like a corpse. I went as John the Babtist’s severed head.
posted by twistedclaw on 10-24-2006 at 12:46 pm
My best costume I made was a Grim Reaper. I made it from my high school graduation robe. I happened to have a pair of painters stilts (the kind that strap onto your leg), so I lengthened the robe, and lengthened the sleeves. Then I made long arms by putting rubber skeleton hands on sticks. I made a hood and I wore a glow-in-the-dark skull mask. I wound up being about eight feet tall, and it was quite effective.
One year, I made a suit of armor for my seven year old stepson out of metal flashing. I made a shield out of a sheet of copper I had laying around from a design school project, and I milled out a sword out of a bar of aluminum left over from yet another project.
The saddest experience I had with a really cool costume, though, happened when I was about six. The movie “Jaws” had come out a year or two earlier, and, while I hadn’t seen it, the commercials made it seem like the coolest thing ever. So I found a shark mask at the store and begged my mother to make a shark costume for me. She obliged, creating shark-like outfit complete with dorsal fin and the word “JAWS” on the front in six inch high, blue glitter letters. I was a god. Right up until some old raisin at the mall came right up to me and said “Ooooo. What are you, a ghost?”
posted by Anthony on 10-24-2006 at 12:58 pm
After seeing the documentary, Hell House, a few years ago, I decided to go as a girl fresh outta an abortion clinic. I’m not one for being all up-in-folks’-faces about anything at all, so I thought it was doubly funny: I’d prolly offend lotsa people but have no interest in an argument! Awesome!
I took a pair of sweatpants and sprayed the crotch down with fake blood. Then I took a small baby doll, applied some red nail polish (Ruby Slippers by Chanel) to the corners of its mouth, and shoved the hook end of a clothes hanger through its head. I carried it over my shoulder all night, like if I were a hobo with a rag tied to a stick.
Some folks got mad but that just cracked me up harder. Me? I thought it was pretty dang clever.
posted by Amanda on 10-24-2006 at 1:39 pm
You do have to be around people you know for this one, and do a whole bunch of pre-work (i.e., losing a whole bunch of weight) I had lost 90 pounds and for the Halloween party that year, decided to paint myself black from head to toe. Hair, face, teeth, hands (including finger nails, arms, legs everything….the whites of my eyes were the only non black body parts on me… and I went to the party as “A SHADOW OF MY FORMER SELF”. Fun and easy….
posted by Cindy K on 10-24-2006 at 6:48 pm
Many creative costumes here; mine seems oh so lame now. But here goes anyway: Black tights and an exercise leotard with wide black and yellow stripes was the inspiration for this particular costume (oh, and poverty helped, too). Extra-large cable ties and a sheer from an old set of draperies made my wings, a stuffed black trouser sock stitched up to make it pointed was my stinger, and a little girl’s headband, wire coat hanger, and two glass Christmas tree ornaments taped up nicely with electrical tape made EXCELLENT antennae. Put all this together and stuff a big pillow in the front, and voila!! A bumblebee!
posted by squeedunk on 10-27-2006 at 9:42 am
My favorite costume is the one I was at the party I was at tonight-Captain Crunch. I just wore my double-breasted coat and made a hat and a mustache out of construction paper. I have never had so many comments about a Halloween costume in my life.
My friend once wore a suit and made a sock puppet monster that sprang out of his stomach a la Alien. That was pretty funny too.
posted by Janel on 10-28-2006 at 3:28 am
I had an idea for this Halloween party that hosted by two of the engineering societies on campus. The theme was Nerdy Costume Party and they said to ‘come dressed as your favorite binary number or scientist’. So I came up with Deep Blue. The costume: wear blue clothes, have a name tag that says “Hello my name is Deep Blue”, and use some masking tape to write IBM somewhere on the back of your shirt.
posted by Erin on 10-29-2006 at 2:04 am
This is late (Nov 8th already) but I just saw the thread…
In 8th grade, my friend and I dressed up as doctors (basically, we just wore scrubs). However, we were nerds, so we didn’t call ourselves ‘doctors’. No, we were ‘a paradox’ - we appeared to be one thing (doctors) but were really something else. Get it? Paradox…pair of doc’s…yeah, we were weird 14 year olds.
posted by Lauren on 11-8-2006 at 4:32 pm