Thread: Why are costumes so hard?

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I go through the same thing every year. I make all these props, spend hours decorating, and then I can't figure out what I should wear to scare the toters!

Am I the only one with this problem?

I was checking out masks this weekend, but none jumped out at me. It's the same masks that they've had for years. I'm also unwilling to spend a lot on a mask, because last time I did that, the following year Wallyworld had the exact same mask. Kids aren't scared when they've seen the mask 100 times already.

So I still need a costume that fits my graveyard theme. I won't have time for makeup, so if anyone has an idea or just wants to rant about the lack of quality costumes, feel free!

A friend mentioned he might be going as a corpsed (zombie) hobo - it might be fun and fairly easy.

I know I've read about making your own latex masks in the Props thread, maybe do a search and see if anything turns up. Good luck.

I hear you!
I end up taking a simplistic approach... I know I will be walking around stopping, looking, checking wiring, props, etc., so I do not wear masks or costumes which would make it difficult to bend or get into tight places... I have a coat like the one Johnny Depp wore in Sleepy Hollow, so I put on a high collared shirt/ascot, a beat up vest, that coat, some black jeans and riding boots, and pull my hair back, with simple skull-ish make-up (more zombie than skull, actually, just black white and purple, just sorta dead)... no capes or anything that could get caught or would overturn something.

I constantly scare kids I wasn't even trying to scare, so it must work fine!
And easy as pie!

Mike C.

I'm totally with you on the costume blues...

I like Mike C. approach.

How about an old graveyard carekeeper?

I would wear an old suit or clothes that are dirty giving the illusion that you have just dug a grave and carry a lantern or small shovel when the kids come to the door.

As they leave, warn them not to fall into any open pits that you have just dug….

I rarely wear a costume because everyone I know hits me up at the last minute to get THEM ready so there is never time for me. I feel kind of silly having the yard full of decorations and me just sitting in normal clothes.

I saw a great simple one the other day. It was a simple black shredded cowl over all black make-up, (neck,face, hands.) Then it looked like a very light coat of silver glitter spray had been sprayed head-to-toe. The effect was very striking.

I figure I will have my coat on over my costume when TOTing, so as long as it looks like a witchy dress from the waist down I'm good.

I never have a problem choosing a Halloween costume simply because throughout the year I go on Halloween costume websites and stuff like that. I don't just do Halloween stuff round and on Halloween I do it during the year aswell. Pre planning pays of. And plus as soon as the Halloween stuff gets into my town I'm off. So I don't have a problem xD.

Dress up like a tombstone or a tree stump, something normally inanimate, and sit in the middle of your yard decorations...then when the moment is right, move. Can be a very shocking effect if done correctly. Think living statue. A leaf pile, shrubbery, scarecrow, anything that doesn't normally move.

A friend of mine once dressed up to look exactly like a tree in his front yard. The trunk had a large, gaping hole on one side. It had been infected with something or other, and the result was a concave gap about 5 feet tall and a foot deep, just big enough to cram himself in there. We used the existing bark as a template and made an outfit out of foam rubber, paint, make-up and in some cases, actual bark. He melted into that tree. He was literally invisible. At just the right moment, he would reach out, and in some cases just whisper. Creepy.

Some good ideas here, folks! Unfortunately I don't have a tree in my yard, otherwise Mindcrime's idea would work great. I like both the gravedigger and the leaf pile ideas...