Memoirs: Halloween Costumes
Go ahead, dress as someone (or something) else. It’s okay. That’s what Halloween costumes are all about. Almost everyone I know has an inner-actor that begs to be released every October, and for child-free folks who enjoy this time of year, we can get out for a Halloween party or similar gathering without worrying about dressing up our own kids or checking their candy later. However, everyone should watch for trick-or-treaters when traveling through neighborhoods on Halloween.
History
It is believed that the practice of sporting creepy clothes originally started with the ancient Celts of Ireland, who supposedly ran around in their scariest creations to keep away the souls of the dead that wanted to possess the living. This window of opportunity only lasted for one night, and always on All Hallow’s Eve, the night before All Saint’s Day (Nov 1).
Over time, belief in evil spirits lessened and the costume traditions spread to many other countries. Today, much of western civilization regards Halloween costumes as nothing more than a completely innocent, fun tradition for kids and many adults. Personally, I believe that nothing bad comes from a little harmless change of clothing for Halloween. I’ve tried various costumes for various reasons, and enjoyed many of them with various degrees of success.
Most Frequent
When I was but a wee lad, I always wanted to dress as a vampire. So even though I branched out when I got older, the most frequent costume over my lifetime would still be the old fangs and cape.
I don’t remember any sort of streamlined prosthetics in the 1970s, and I thus had to use an extremely cheap set of choppers. They were made of hard plastic and probably sold with the overused “one size fits all” tagline. Yeah, I don’t think so. Those fake fangs were so big, I could barely stop from drooling, and my porch greetings would come out as a slobbering “Shrick or shreet!” Still, it was cool to see my cape billowing out behind me as my sister and I ran from house to house.
Most Frightening
Skip ahead to college. While living on campus, I found a community “haunted house” that was held in the local armory. I wanted to help out one year, so in addition to painting tombstones and doing other crafty activities, I was asked to fill in as one of the characters, a get-up in which I’ve scared the most people. They had me wear jeans, a flannel shirt, and a jacket, then they gave me a hockey goalie mask and a fake knife: I was Jason!
My job was to scare the people coming out of a dark maze. I would hide around a corner, still inside the maze so they wouldn’t see me. The mask was rather tight, which made my hair stick out for that lovely deranged look, and I also held a penlight just below my face. I’d flick it on, and at the same time raise the knife and growl menacingly at people. Most passers-by were amused and some were genuinely shocked, but this one group of girls screamed their heads off. I’ll never forget it.
Most Clever
Move ahead a few more years to my first year as a federal employee. I got to know plenty of nice people and was looking forward to my first Halloween party with these folks. Everyone knew me with a full beard, so to play a trick, I specifically chose a character that was clean-shaven: The Phantom of the Opera.
There’s no faking this one, fellas – you must be willing to shave, along with donning that half-mask, the black, wide brimmed hat, and of course a tux and a cape. (Yeah, again with the cape.) My fellow partiers eventually figure me out, but it was fun being truly incognito for a while. I had the most people guessing with this one.
Most Dangerous
If you ever decide to branch out, do so wisely. One year I chose my riskiest costume to date, one that was potentially detrimental to my health: I was a mime. I wore all black, including a mock turtleneck, then made a thin black circle around my face, and filled it in with white face paint. I also had on white gloves.
I did not do the traditional mime shtick and get in people’s faces at all, but I remember people asking me questions and me answering with whatever nonverbal gesticulations I could think of. I believe I stayed silent for a full hour before speaking. My first words that night: “I need a drink.”
Most Uncomfortable
The most uncomfortable Halloween costume I’ve ever worn was a pumpkin head. You know how you try something on for a few seconds in the store and it feels fine, but then you get it home and wear it for a few hours and it’s sheer agony? Bingo.
This was an almost completely round sphere, shaped with plastic or something harder, but the outside was covered with soft orange felt, with triangular holes for eyes and a small “carved” mouth. A top hat was permanently affixed to the pumpkin, so I wore my tux along with it for the full affect. I wore this at work. Geeze, what was I thinking? I couldn’t keep the mask on for more than about half an hour before I was gasping for air. Overall, I liked the idea, but next time I’ll check head sizes.
Silliest
On a lighter note, the most fun (and quite honestly, the silliest) costume I remember wearing was black and red and had bells on it. Yep, I was a jester. This was for a Sunday afternoon concert with a community band. The director wanted everyone to wear something unusual, and I’m happy to say that a majority of the players made decent efforts to show their Halloween spirit.
I got a tunic and tights (half red, half black) from my favorite costume shop, but they did not have matching shoes, so I used my black Karate slippers. The crowning achievement of this get-up was the half-mask I bought at the local renaissance festival. It didn’t match my outfit exactly, but it was still cool: It was hard plastic, with the three bell-tipped points that one normally sees on a jester’s head. The nose was amusingly angular and pointy, and the whole thing fit relatively well around my head. Thankfully, it did not stop me from being able to play my trumpet.
Summary
It doesn’t matter how old you are or whether you have kids or not – you can still don a silly, scary, or amusing Halloween costume and have fun with other fans of the holiday. The little stories you just read were for your enjoyment and, with any luck, just might have inspired you to put some of your own threads together for next October.
This article was originally published on Helium.com, October, 2007.
Copyright Len Morse. Published 1 October 2009 in The Zone.
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