15 Halloween costume ideas to try

Simple costume ideas to try out for Halloween...

ᴿᴹ Medusa

Medusa is a character in Greek mythology. She was known to be a beautiful maiden, who had many admirers. Life was good for Medusa until Poseidon, the god of the seas raped her.

Greek goddess Athena was outraged and blamed Medusa for no longer being pure. Athena transformed Medusa into an ugly gorgon and banished her to live in a cavern by the sea so that no man or the gods would find her attractive. Medusa's beautiful long hair was replaced by snakes, who ended up being her only friends. Any man who would look directly into Medusa's eyes would turn to stone.

ᴿᴹ Geisha

Geishas are entertainers and one of the oldest professions in Japan. To be a geisha, one has to go through rigorous training and has to be skilled at dancing, music, games and holding conversations.

Everything about a geisha's style is very detailed and ornate, including their hair, make up, kimono and jewellery. Hairstyles are so elaborate that often hair does fall out, leaving girls with bald patches, which is often considered as a badge of honour. A small section at the nape of the neck is left blank. The blank section is a sign of beauty and some consider it to be quite erotic. Geishas do not colour in both the bottom and the top lips fully. Instead, they colour the middle part of the bottom lip only. Geishas always require help when putting on and taking off garments. The belt that goes around the geisha's waist is so large and heavy that it has be picked up and tied up by a man.

When girls become an apprentice geisha, she is given a new name, which is usually the name of a flower.

ᴿᴹ Victoria Secret's Angel

Victoria Secrets is a high end lingerie brand that launched in 1977; mainly as a mail-order company so men could shop for their wives without feeling uncomfortable in the presence of other women.

In recent years, Victoria Secret Angels became quite an iconic feature of the brand. The angels are beautiful, tall girls, wearing angel wings and strutting on catwalks whilst showcasing Victoria Secret items. This is quite a fun look to do if you're wanting to go for something that's less conventionally Halloween.

ᴿᴹ Ventriloquist Doll

Ventriloquism dates back to 1754, England. The term comes from a Latin word and it means 'to speak to the stomach'. In the past, people believed that the dead had taken to live inside ventriloquist dolls and the sounds that were being produced were from the stomach and this was the dead people talking.

Ventriloquism transitioned from something spiritual to entertainment in the eighteenth century.

ᴿᴹ Zombie

Zombies are mythological characters from Haitian folklore. Zombies are represented as the 'undead'; or better put, dead bodies where the soul is not rested. The concept of zombies became popular through horror films.

The first Zombie movie dates back to 1932.

ᴿᴹ Sugar Skull

In Mexican culture there is a holiday, known as Dia de los Muertos, translated as 'Day of the Dead'. This is an official bank holiday, starting on October 31st and finishing on November 2nd. On this day, people come together to celebrate the lives of loved ones. People take gifts to the graves of the departed. Gifts include Calaveras (or what we call 'sugar skull'), the favourite food of the deceased and small possessions they had owned while alive.

As part of the Dia de los Muertos celebrations, ladies dress up as Calaveras. Calaveras (sugar skull) are either made out of candy or clay. The candy variety of the sugar skull is made from sugar cane. It is usually one piece of candy; it does not not have any flavouring other than sometimes vanilla. Candy sugar skulls are decorated with food colourings usually blue, yellow, green and red. On the foreheads of these skulls are the names of people who are still alive. While this is an edible candy, many chose to use it as a decorative item and dispose it after a few days.

ᴿᴹ Vampire

Another mythological character from folklore is the vampire. The feed on the blood of the young, with preference for virgin blood. Vampires are possibly one of the most popular characters to dress up as for Halloween. They are best known for their fang like teeth, which they use to draw out the flood from their victims.

ᴿᴹ Greek goddess

Greek mythology is vast and has legendary stories about gods, goddess, heroes and monsters, warriors and fools. Greek gods and goddesses are another common costume people opt for during Halloween. The most notable Greek gods, also include:

• Zeus- God of the Sky

• Poseidon- God of the Sea

• Ares- God of War

• Aphrodite- Goddess of Love

• Hera- Goddess of Women

• Demeter- Goddess of Harvest

• Athena- Goddess of Strategy

• Apollo- God of the Sun, Music and Poetry

• Artemis- Goddess of the Hunt

• Hephaestus- God of Fire

• Hermes- the Messenger God

• Dionysus- God of Wine

ᴿᴹ Robber

Robbers are thieves. They are quick and do their work discretely. This is not a common Halloween costume. It's a fun one to do and easy to get the items for this.

If you're going solo to any Halloween party, you can go as a robber and if you're going as a pair, your partner can be a cop. Together, you'd be 'cops and robbers'.

ᴿᴹ She-Devil

Dressing up as the the Devil is another common look for Halloween. Religion makes references to the devil but only as a spiritual being.

Any image that was first associated with the Devil dates back to the 1300s when Italian writer Dante Alighier who described a three headed creature that had bat-like wings under its chin. Through time and various different literary publications, we now have an idea that the Devil is red, has horns and are holding a pitchfork.

ᴿᴹ Wednesday Addams

The Addams family is a fictional family created by cartoonist, Charles Addams. Wednesday Addams is the daughter. She is best known for her collared black dress, two plaits and an expressionless face.

Wednesday's name was picked based on the well-known nursery rhyme line, 'Wednesday's child is full of woe'.

ᴿᴹ Mime artist

Mime artists are performers who do their acts in silence. They use hand movements, body language and facial expressions to tell their story. The first recorded mime was Telestēs in the play Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus.

Many people associate mime with French culture. However, mime is an ancient art that dates back to the early Greeks and Romans. It was in France, though, where mime flourished.

ᴿᴹ Doll

Dressing up like a doll can make for a good Halloween costume. Dolls can be considered as 'creepy' or scary as they have the face of a human and also not look human at the same time.

There are also many horror movies and scary stories where the doll is the protagonist.

ᴿᴹ Morticia Addams

Morticia Addams, the mother of the Addams family, that fictional American family mentioned earlier. Morticia is depicted as having long black hair, pale skin, heavy eye make up and red lips and always wearing a long black gown.

Morticia is calm, decisive and witty. And, in the words of Charles Addams, Morticia was 'the real head of the family'.

ᴿᴹ Cleopatra

Cleopatra was the Queen of Egypt around 51–30 BCE. She was best known for her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony; and she came to represent the prototype of the romantic femme fatale.

Today, Cleopatra's style is iconic and celebrated. It has become an unassumingly popular costume to adorn for Halloween.