Thread: Classic Horror Halloween Costume Ideas for Women

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I'm hoping some people on this forum can help me out here.

My girlfriend and I are haunting a house with another couple. He's a dead ringer for Frankenstein's Monster even without makeup, so they are going to dress up as Frankenstein's Monster and Bride.

My girlfriend is not nearly as into Halloween as I am, and her idea of dressing up is going as Dorothy and Toto or something not scary at all. I have finally convinced her to dress up as something scary, and she has agreed too, but wants to do a similar Universal / Classic Horror monster. The only problem is that I can't come up with any ideas for her. It seems that most of the classics had male monsters or were bit characters like Dracula's brides.

We could always go the generic vampiress or witch route for her. I have also suggested more modern day ideas, like a Japanese Angry ghost (Ringu, Ju-On) but she says that's too scary. We are not looking to go as a couple in costume, but any help in coming up with classic female horror movie characters for her would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

John

Huh, it never occurred to me that almost all of the Universal Monsters were male.

Hey man,
Women were almost always just victims in classic horror films. I can suggest a costume I had considered for a long time earlier this year, I was going to go as Vampira -



She's sexy, creepy and totally badass...I ♥ her.

Women are usually the bloody victims I like :
Marilyn Monroe Corpse with Bloody murder wounds
Bloody Nurse or female Dr.
Blood stained female Chef/Butcher
Bloody Shark attack victim with boogie board
Female Zombie
Bloody bride/bridesmaid
Murdered Pagent Queen-winner
Car accident female student driver

RCIAG - I have known for years that with a few exceptions, nearly all commercially available costumes for women aren't really scary as much as sexy. I never really thought about the horror movie genre inspiration for women myself until I started trying to come up with a costume for her. I guess we just assume a lot of monsters are male unless told otherwise. Anyway, she is leaning more towards the Red Death costume worn by the Phantom of the Opera under the logic that death itself doesn't have to be male or female. And she looks good in red.

Sugar Skull - thanks for the input and pics. I hadn't thought of Vampira and it is more in line with what we were thinking about. And while I agree she is sexy and creepy and a badass, I see now how much of a knock off Elvira is. Now, I love Elvira, so I'm not putting her down, but I imagine a woman dressed up as Vampira probably has a 50-50 chance of getting identified as Elvira, or maybe Morticia Addams, just as easily. Well, until she shows you her fangs, that is.

AngelaA - thanks for your advice as well. These are all great suggestions, but she want's to be something more recognizable and classic. I don't think she is necessarily going to get that dressed as Red Death, but she thinks so. Last year she didn't want to dress up as anything spooky at all, and we compromised on her dressing up as a gypsy. I don't think she's ready to be made into a zombie just yet, but I can always hope!

Originally Posted by JohnnyD97

I see now how much of a knock off Elvira is. Now, I love Elvira, so I'm not putting her down, but I imagine a woman dressed up as Vampira probably has a 50-50 chance of getting identified as Elvira, or maybe Morticia Addams, just as easily. Well, until she shows you her fangs, that is.

I felt the exact same way when I saw Elvira, but the same could be said about Vampira. Maila Nurmi's inspiration for the character of Vampira was based off of Charles Addams' Morticia Addams. It would be more likely that people would mistake Vampira for Morticia than Elvira (what a mouthful XP). Cassandra Peterson could claim to have been inspired by either character, but the fact that she was also a hostess of horror films like Maila Nurmi makes her look like a big-ass copycat. I wonder how Maila Nurmi felt about that when Elvira made her debut. Anyways, you could still go the Vampira route, or even as Morticia, both of which are horror classics! She could also try to go as The Wasp Woman lol.

Originally Posted by Sugar_Skull

Hey man,
Women were almost always just victims in classic horror films. I can suggest a costume I had considered for a long time earlier this year, I was going to go as Vampira -



She's sexy, creepy and totally badass...I ♥ her.

Is that photo shop or is her waist like 10 inches?

Originally Posted by obcessed with it

Is that photo shop or is her waist like 10 inches?

Lol, I don't think they had photoshop in the 50s. I'm under the impression she's wearing a corset, a tiny waist was big back then.

Sigh.

A couple of points here.

One, I feel for ya, having someone special who hasn't nurtured their inner ghoul. Personally, I never understood this - we have all the other days of the year to be pretty, classy, sexy, handsome, what have you. This is the time to be monstrous, a nightmarish version of ourselves, a reminder that we aren't nearly as bad as we might perceive ourselves to be.

Anyway (sorry for the rambling rant) there is nothing generic about witches or vampiresses. If we're going to go with horror films, well...

Mrs. Haggis, the witch from Pumpkinhead - nothing generic there.
The Witches from the movie "The Witches" - each was distinct.
The witches from Stardust - classic, fearsome fairytale witches.
The hags from most any version of Macbeth.
The horrible old woman from the original "House on Haunted Hill" with Vincent Price, the one in the cellar, remember?
The Gypsy from "Drag Me to Hell".

Not to forget certain frightening females from other films, such as...
Lady Usher, draped in white, weeping tears of blood with ruined hands clenching, coming for her brother, Roderick, for entombing her alive (one of my favorite gothic female images).
The hag from Legend... "Foul-tasting fairie!"
Eva Galley, the vengeful spirit from "Ghost Story".
A recent film that didn't do too great but had a fantastic villain, "Darkness Falls", a ghost draped in a black cloak and large hood wearing a distressed and cracked emotionless mask.
Or, just for fun, Frau Blucher, unlit candelabra in hand, mole on chin, bad accent...

Point being, plenty of depraved, cursed or tragic female characters in the horror tradition have all been as distinct as their male counterparts, with their own looks, traits and particular quirks.

And if she has never done the classic Margaret Hamilton witch or vampiric Morticia Adams look, this is the year to do it.
Too many people look at classic costumes and say "Oh, everybody does that!"
Watch your porch on Halloween.
Look around at the parties.
Very few people actually wear those outfits, ever.
Life is too short not to wear them at least once in life.
Besides, most women look fantastic and can be fairly intimidating in either a low-cut gown with pale makeup (very femme fatale, especially in low light) or wearing a pointed hat.

For some reason, ALL women can get their witch on with the right hat and a pair of buckled shoes. I've never known one who didn't love going witchy, once she tried it.

All good points Spats. I'll have to let her read your post tonight and see if anything catches her fancy. I saw Darkness Falls and actually really liked it. It was a very strange twist on the Tooth Fairy. But yeah, she was a creepy looking one with her screaming in the light and everything. Thanks for all the great ideas.