Top 5 Classic Halloween Costumes

Which Classic Halloween Costume Idea Is The Best Of The Best

The classic Halloween creatures/characters are technically cosplays—most of them originating from stories written hundreds of years ago.

And, so, they can be ranked as such. In a list sure to cause some disagreements, I’m going to attempt to put the five best generic Halloween costume ideas into a numbered list based on a few factors. The main ones being spookiness, the requirements of creating the costume, and visual uniqueness.

Starting with:

#5 Vampires

Oh, I’m going to get flak for putting this so low, but vampires are easy. Technically, if you want to be a modern vampire, all you need are fangs—and you can do that with fake nails and denture glue. Yes, you can go super hard on a vampire costume, but barring using makeup to mimic the undead look or making your eyes pure black, the vampirism esthetic boils down to a limited set of fancy clothing options.

#4 Zombies

Zombies (or whatever term you want for them) go on the list because of how iconic they are, but they are this low on the list because they don’t have a defined look. Zombies are reanimated dead (usually). That’s so broad of a description. Personally, my favorite zombies are extremely rotting corpses and/or you can clearly tell what killed them. Costumes that involve a fake knife in the throat, a pole or spear through the head, or some other visual indicators of death do overlap with ghost designs, but it’s the grossness of the wound that usually defines a zombie. It’s a perfect canvas for the makeup wizardry of open sores, cuts, wounds, and more.

#3 Werewolves

A good werewolf costume is an achievement. Claws, fur, fangs, shredded clothing: it all adds up. You have to wear a usually quite large and heavy mask, and there are so many add-ons to work with from there. The ceiling is so high that I had to put it further up on the list than some of the other monsters.

#2 Witches

Witches, as a Halloween costume, are a chance to really work with clothing and props. Magic orbs, staffs, full-finger rings, and more are all open options. If you have jewelry lying around that could be called “arcane looking,” then you can use it in the costume. And then there are the outfits. Witches’ hats can just be conical, but you can also decorate them with different fabrics and designs. It’s the same with the cloak/dress/shirt and pants, etc.—as long as it fits a certain gothic vibe, you can get away with a lot of different configurations and color schemes.  

#1 Clowns

I don’t think the clown costume gets enough credit for the sheer skill it requires. It’s a full-body costume. You have to do the face makeup, the nose, and then the very colorful outfit (extra points if you also do the massive shoes.) And that’s if you don’t want to make it a creepy clown outfit. If you’re going scary, that’s a whole second layer of effort. You have to think about options like fake teeth, fake blood, and so much more, and you have to do it in a way that doesn’t spoil the general vibrancy of the clown—unless you’re completely flipping the concept on its head. I know people think scary clowns are a little overdone, but like the werewolf, the ceiling of design possibilities is simply too high to ignore.

Well, did you disagree with me? Were you surprised? Spooked, even, by my choices? People are quite protective of their favorite monsters. And there are certainly more than five popular options when it comes to ghoulish costumes. So, if you think I missed any that should’ve been here, let us know on our socials, and tell me what costumes are even better.