My Favorite Costume of All Time

We've been talking about zombies a lot this year, so let's take a breather and discuss my favorite Halloween costume idea of all time.

THE SHEET GHOST!

OH SHEET!  A GHOST!

I love it.

The sheet ghost is one of what I call the classics, along with witch, pirate, hobo, and Dracula (not vampire, Dracula).  Of course ghosts are quite hard to do well because the generally accepted principle is that they are see-through.  People don't do see-through very well being quite opaque.  That's why we need a visual symbol of ghostliness.

We've talked about it before of course.  We discussed the Glorious History of the Bedsheet Ghost and we discussed To Ghost or Not To Ghost.  This is not new territory we are treading.  This is nostalgia.

In Glorious History we talked about the bedsheet being a burial shroud and why that is so, and in To Ghost we talked about the troubles of not being able to become translucent.  Is it even worth revisiting here?

I think so.

When you are doing a ghost costume you tend toward white, off-white, eggshell, maybe a pale blue.  These are the ghost colors.  A little glowing green can also be in the mix.  It's no good just putting on white Dockers and a t-shirt however.  For whatever reason ghosts are old.  Victorian era is a good ghost era.  White, glowing, out-of-date fashions, these things all scream ghost.  Take this fellow below, very Haunted Mansion, very spiffy...but the footwear?  Why not just get some boot toppers and kill me now?

Shame about the shoes, Frank.

Which is why the bedsheet and variations of it are so good.  Even if there has never actually been a sheet ghost seen, it is a cultural phenomenon.  We see it and we say, "Oh a ghost" and that's what we need for the brief seconds we have to make an impression.

The bedsheet ghost also holds up to scrutiny.  It's so minimalist that there is really nothing to scrutinize.  That's how you deal with scrutiny.  Have nothing over which one may be called out.

And it's dead cheap.  

These puns come for free people.  If you aren't satisfied the Pumpkin offers a conditional money back guarantee.  Just send in the unused portion of the article with your receipt and a SASE envelope and your refund will arrive in 4 to 6 weeks.

Okay, I'm really not sure how I feel about the trio of ghostly figures above.  Available from fine Halloween outlets such as Spirit Halloween, it looks to me like a group of ghost nuns.  They're animatronic, so they shake and whatnot.

On the other hand we have this pair I called Spooked and Spooky.  I don't quite know why the addition of a witch's hat and a pumpkin bucket is so cute, but darn it all, it just is.  Plus look at his mixed up eyes and the frightened face on the jack o lantern.  Darn it.  That's cute.  The other one has scary eyes and squiggly mouth, and his narrow tapering shape lends a spook factor, but he's still pretty much a cartoon character.  Now these aren't bedsheets, but it's the image we are going for when we don the bed sheet and they are obviously ghosts.

A trio of good commercially available costume choices

Wraiths of all kinds, my friends.  The above collection of costumes that you can purchase at your local outlets all make nice choices.  I'm partial to B, the child's classic ghost.  I like that the jeans and shoes are visible, since it's really a nostalgia costume.  Note the clever "patches" on the sheet.  Bonus for the jack-o bucket.  A is going for fright, and the lack of visible shoes plus the chain provide a grown up bedsheet haunter.  C is a mixed bag, really.  The molded skull visage, discernible up close but featureless at a distance reads quite spooky and the tatters provide that diaphanous ghostly look, especially as it fades to nothingness on the way to the floor.  The black shoes are forgiven here as you are meant to not look at them at all, and they provide a sharp contrast to the white of the ghost.

Aha!  The return of the Lantern Ghost!   I feel obliged to tell you that the costume was found with the label Adult Spooky Ghost Costume.  There is a children's version as well.  Also I must tell you that the actual costume consists of a robe and pair of gloves.  The chain lantern is a prop that must be purchased separately, but it really sells it and sets it apart from other simple bedsheets.  Thus do I recommend the lantern.  It does look pretty good, and kind of spooky.  It's not as glorious as a bed sheet from the linen cupboard, but that's what you get when you go commercial.  Lack of facial features a definite plus.  Maybe we should look into that.

Another Celtic Pumpkin Guide Card!  Clip and Save for your Personal Files!

Ghost anatomy, reference it often in your own costume selecting or, should you feel so foolish brave, ghost hunting activities.

And let's play it out with our last two selections.  On the left we have an adult costume which lights up and is called a Wailing Spirit costume.  I am going to assume it is due to all those damned souls on the chest.  I think it's nice, but we've stepped away from our classic bed sheet look at this point.  On the right a very nicely designed child's costume.  It has a molded rib cage and skull half-mask, but with the tatters and folded pointy hood, it's still recognizable as a ghost of some kind.  It's really the evolution of the bed sheet at work, and note the absence of the distracting black shoes.  That alone is worth the praise, I say.
What we've seen here tells us that we have a lot of choice in ghost looks.  I purposefully avoided providing the all-too-human looking options, which amount mainly to white clothes and pale makeup.  That's fine and stylish, and if you want a "sexy" option that's really the way to go.  I mean, you could take a bed sheet, two giant balloons, belt the sheet to allow the balloons to push out the chest and slap some lipstick on your sheet's face...but seriously don't do that.  Just, no.  You can purchase any Halloween store's ghost choices and you will be in good shape, or you can just grab a sheet, cut some eyes into it (careful with the scissors there, Charlie Brown), and viola, you have a cheap and effective ghost costume.  The amount of effort is up to you and your vision, but you can't beat a classic in my book.

Spooky ghost mascot says, "Woooo-ooohhhh, oooohhhh, faallashsaaworoo".  Which of course means, "Keep your pumpkins lit".  Or don't, since that scares away ghosts.  He might just be complaining.