10 Super Easy Halloween Costumes Inspired by Books
This year for Halloween, everyone will be dressing up as things like Moo Deng, Beetlejuice, and Chappell Roan. Dare to be different with one of these fun and unique ideas from some of our favorite books.
The costume: Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird
What you’ll need: A ham costume made out of chicken wire and papier mâché, plus a sense of childhood innocence that will inevitably be torn asunder
The costume: Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter
What you’ll need: Frumpy clothes, glasses, a tendency to wail about death
The costume: Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye
What you’ll need: A red hunting hat and the pernicious belief that you alone are the only person who has ever felt disillusioned with the roles foisted upon us by a largely indifferent society
The costume: Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby
What you’ll need: A three-piece ivory suit, that I-bathe-in-money swagger, and, to top it off, an obsession that is as unattainable and nebulous as the American Dream
The costume: Miss Havisham from Great Expectations
What you’ll need: A tattered wedding dress, money, a general distrust of men
The costume: Hamlet from Hamlet
What you’ll need: Black clothes, a sullen disposition, maybe a fake skull you can carry around with you and make speeches about (you can buy one at your local Halloween pop-up that just appeared one day right where the Home Depot used to be), and also the urge to commit murder
The costume: The Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera
What you’ll need: Half a mask, a flowing cape, the inability to express your feelings in healthy and constructive ways
The costume: Offred from The Handmaid’s Tale
What you’ll need: A white bonnet, a floor-length red dress and cloak, a crossbody satchel, and the crushing weight of patriarchal oppression
The costume: The witches from Macbeth
What you’ll need: A mysterious aura, “wild attire” (interpret that as you will), plus two other people because without them you will just look like your basic, everyday, garden-variety witch who is running around dooming people with knowledge
The costume: Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird
What you’ll need: Nothing. All you have to do for this one is stay home. Congratulations! You’re Boo Radley
