At this time of year, the Halloween store shelves are lined with costumes inspired by horror. More often than not, the horror costumes emulate the genre’s most iconic villains and monsters. You can count on various iterations of Chucky, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Voorhees for all party occasions. It makes sense; it’s far more visually appealing and fun being a villain than a protagonist for Halloween. But most of the horror icons inspiring costumes aren’t actually wearing one. Emphasis on most; the slasher subgenre itself is crafted around maniacs donning masks.
This Halloween, we’re expanding beyond the perennial favorites to look at characters in horror that don Halloween costumes of their own. These are ten of the best Halloween costumes in horror, from impressive DIY costumes to extravagant ensembles….
The Addams Family – Homicidal Maniac
When the idea of putting together a costume seems like too much effort, Wednesday Addams creates one of the most comfortable Halloween costumes ever with a macabre line, “I’m a homicidal maniac, they look just like everyone else.” It works because it’s so eerily accurate. The little goth princess has a style worth emulating even without a Halloween costume. Still, in a year where nothing is normal, Wednesday’s excuse to not go all out feels apropos and a little refreshing.
Night of the Demons – Goth Queen
There are so many levels to this goth queen that it’s surprising Angela Franklin (Amelia Kinkade) isn’t a more popular Halloween icon. The outcast opts to throw a costume party at an abandoned mortuary and winds up summoning demons during a séance. Before getting possessed and transforming into the series’ villainess, Angela already stuns with her Goth Queen costume. Transforming into a demon only enhances the cool factor.
House of 1000 Corpses – Skull Priest
Rob Zombie’s Halloween set horror movie introduces the Firefly clan and their sinister Halloween rituals. On Halloween night, the twisted family members wear appropriate seasonal attire for their annual rite, lowering the remaining surviving victims into a well to confront the denizens below. Tiny’s (Matthew McGrory) superhero suit makes for an adorable idea, but we’re going with Otis’s (Bill Moseley) skull priest for sheer versatility. A long red robe and monochromatic skull face painting isn’t just an easy costume to throw together, but it’s one that’s popped up in many other movies, too. Look to 2007’s Halloween, Boys in the Trees, and even Coco for similar red hooded skeleton DIY costumes.
Halloween franchise – Clowns
The default costume favorite belongs to Michael Myers thanks to his coveralls and iconic mask, but this franchise also has a thing for clowns. The shocking imagery of a young Michael Myers being unmasked in the original film’s opening sears itself into your skull. The vacant eyes, while holding a knife midair in stark contrast with the visage of a seemingly innocent boy in a sweet clown costume, is striking. The clown costume makes a significant return in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers when the villain’s niece picks out a clown costume for the night’s festivities.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – The Halloween Pun
The opening of this kid-aimed horror movie sees its trio of protagonists getting ready for a night of trick or treating mayhem. As Chuck (Austin Zajur) prepares for a Halloween prank, he’s disappointed to discover his mom misinterpreted his request for a Spider-Man costume, instead sewing a spider, well, man costume. It makes for a cheeky Halloween pun, but it also triggers the memory of Halloween costumes from our youth, where we wore whatever mom picked out (or made) for us.
Haunt – Halloween Retro Classics
Not much invokes instant nostalgia or vintage Halloween like store-bought, manufactured plastic masks, and vinyl smocks from Ben Cooper, Inc and the like. In horror, corrupting innocence and nostalgia is inherently terrifying. It’s with that in mind that the ghoulish villains in recent slasher Haunt are so effective. Credited according to their masked costumes, Ghost, Devil, Clown, Witch, and Vampire stalk and prey upon the patrons of an extreme haunt. What’s underneath those masks might be even scarier.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch – The Name Brand Mask
Often, all it takes to create a unique Halloween look is one badass mask. In this franchise outlier, the Silver Shamrock corporation manufactured the season’s most coveted item, a trio of Halloween masks. Granted, they came with one nasty chip programmed to do gnarly things to the mask wearer, but have I mentioned how cool they look? Proving that we’re all just suckers for brilliant Halloween marketing, Silver Shamrock owes much of its sales to that catchy earworm jingle in the masks’ commercials.
Murder Party – DIY Knight
When Christopher (Chris Sharp) finds a Halloween party invitation on the streets, he quickly sets about creating a last-minute costume and a homemade treat to bring. With a lot of cardboard and ingenuity, Chris transforms himself into a DIY knight. He finds himself in a warehouse full of pretentious art students hoping to commit murder, and all with impressive costumes of their own. Still, for a last-minute costume and through sheer construction, Christopher’s costume wins the prize for best in show.
Trick ‘r Treat – Vampire
Sam, the adorable embodiment of Halloween, has rightfully become a holiday icon, and his merch is now endless at the Halloween stores. There are a few costumes worth celebrating here, though. Laurie’s (Anna Paquin) Little Red Riding Hood costume is a wry wink considering she transforms into a wolf in her segment’s finale. The tormented spirits of the Halloween School Bus Massacre are finally starting to receive attention in stores, too. But there’s one that doesn’t get enough notice, particularly for how fully it transforms its wearer. Amidst the revelry, a serial killer dressed as a vampire stalks the streets, seduces women, then severs their veins to bleed them dry. That vampire thinks he’s found his latest target in Laurie, only for her inner wolf to turn the tides. Her unmasking of him reveals a very scared Principal Steven Wilkins (Dylan Baker).
Tales of Halloween: “Friday the 31st” – Final Girl
The precious little alien in this anthology segment wants to experience trick or treating like humans do. He even has an adorable little jack-o-lantern costume. The poor guy just chose the wrong house; he asks for treats from a deranged maniac that just finished offing his latest batch of victims. The killer picks “trick” and stomps the little alien. In retaliation, the little alien possesses the recently deceased body of an erstwhile Final Girl, kicking off a gory battle that concludes with the alien finally getting his treat- a severed head. “Friday the 31st” delivers two great costumes; the classic pumpkin suit and a full-on meat suit, in the form of a Final Girl. It’s hard to top an extraterrestrial dressing like a human for Halloween.
