The best thing about Hallowe’en falling on a Sunday this year is that, should you be so inclined, you may well find yourself dressed up as a pumpkin/ JFK/Charles from Guess Who on Saturday night for an almost-authentic celebration of all things ghoulish and strange.
If you are like me, with a frankly terrible ability to think outside the costume box on time, you will probably turn up late and panicked wearing whiskers drawn on with eyeliner and your tail (a pair of newspaper stuffed tights) between your legs, the safety pin causing untold discomfort and your dream of a full-scale Nosferatu impression banished for yet another year.
Or so you thought. Because this blog is posted with a mission: to make this year’s Hallowe’en costume your best yet. Whether you are diabolical at dressing up, allergic to overpriced latex masks or hoping for inspiration to ensure your Hallowe’en attire is one with a difference, you need look no further than the bottom of this post.
At this point I would like to draw your attention to my inspiration this year. Haunted Air is a collection of anonymous Hallowe’en pictures from America c. 1875-1955, which contains the eeriest, most unnerving set of photographs I have ever seen. It also contains costumes devised and made long before the onset of mass marketed devil forks, all of which are far more chilling than the usual get-up can achieve.
So what can we learn from these generations of American costume crafters? Having studied Haunted Air in full, here are my basic rules for an original (and horrifying) outfit:
- Simplicity works best. Play on your darkest fears and all will be well
- Masks are terrifying, especially if made from a hessian sack rather than cheap plastic
- Animals, fairytale creatures and children can be uniquely threatening in this context, especially en masse
- Don’t be afraid to go vintage. A sailor suit plus sack cloth mask equals something indescribably disturbing
- Accessorise imaginatively. Who needs horns when you can have a crystal ball?
I would go on further, but the shadows are lengthening, the night is drawing closer…and by now you probably get the gist. For further inspiration do take a look for yourselves. But remember: beware. This is not an object for the faint-hearted…
Haunted Air by Ossian Brown is published by Jonathan Cape