Perhaps, I like Halloween vampire costumes so much, because some of my books are about vampires. Honestly, I would love to dress up as Aurélie, the main vampire character in my debut novel Aurélie Survival. It would be such a cool idea to have a Halloween party themed with your favorite horror or fantasy book characters.
So, since Halloween is approaching, let’s look at some great costumes you could use to dress up as your favorite book characters. Besides browsing through them, you can also add your personal touches, of course. Wouldn’t it be great to re-create this slightly mad face of Bellatrix Lestrange (from the Harry Potter books) – I loved the actress by the way. Although Helena Bonham Carter played an evil character, she did it so well that I enjoyed watching her. She was quite a convincing Bellatrix, don’t you think?
Or imagine dressing up as Snape, Maxi the troll from the Timewalker series, Willie Wonka from the Chocolate Factory (I thought he was creepy …), but back to vampires now.
Spine-Chilling Bloodsuckers
Any of the vampires that dwelt in Armand’s coven in Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire looked terrifying to 
me, especially the one that was sliced in half in the movie … Remember that scene?
Or Ysidro from Those who Hunt the Night is also pretty scary. He is an unapologetic killer, yet he still manages to charm the reader … that’s a dangerous combination.
Of course, our beloved (or feared) Count Dracula from Bram Stoker can’t miss the party. This famous Gothic novel truly captured the fear this ancient creature inspired, remaining with the reader long after he/she puts the book down.
To look like him, you can get the typical vampire cape, of course, but instead I would use a long, red cloak for a more dramatic effect, and base my persona on Gary Oldman’s Dracula. He was such a wonderful combination of a bloodcurdling monster and a tragic, doomed lover.
I am also going to add Penelope, a character I created in the Aurélie books and who plays an important part in Lucan’s tale of immortality. Penelope picks her victims injudiciously; she does not care who she drinks blood from, young, old, evil or good.
Since she is the fount of the vampires, she is ancient, and it shows in her appearance; most of her veins are visible through her thin, parchment, and ghastly white skin; the irises of her eyes have merged with the whites over the millennia, turning her eyes into two white orbs. Although this makes her appear blind, she possesses sharp, excellent vision. She can render you powerless with the sheer strength of her mind.
Some readers have commented that Penelope is scary, which was what I aimed to achieve. She is represented on the cover of Lucan part 2 (see the book image below).
Making a costume to look like her should be easy enough. You need a long, white dress, and throw some dust, ashes, and grayish spiderwebs on it to make it look old. Then you apply white make up on your face, chest, arms, and hands, and for better effect trace some veins with a red lip liner or a blue eyeliner, or something else that does the job.
Throw some ashes on your hair to make it look as if you just stepped out from a tomb (Penelope lives in old city catacombs). And there you have it, a frightening vampire stares back at you from the mirror.
Don’t forget the fake fangs 😉
Turn Someone
No, I don’t mean, drinking someone’s blood, then offering him or her your own blood to turn them into a new vampire 😉 , but how about picking a character from a book (or movie) and dressing up as them in vampire attire?
You could be a vampire cheerleader; a bloodsucking headmaster; a real estate salesman with terrifying fangs who lures his victims into a house showing; a vampire Miss Romania, or Miss Transylvania 1922 for example 😉 . You can get really creative here.
Sometimes, the same vampire outfits get boring. So, spruce it up a little with some creativity.
I hope that these tips are helpful! And if you’re not going to a Halloween party, you can still curl up on the couch with a scary vampire book and spend a chilling night.
If you have any other suggestions for Halloween, please let me know in the comments. The more ideas we can share, the better 🙂
Thank you for reading!
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My husband and I are taking the grandchildren trick or treating this year. Since we’ll only be going to a few houses of people we know due to the coronavirus, I still want to make it memorable for them. So we thought the kids would get a kick out of us going in authentic vampire costumes! I love the idea of the red cloak for Count Dracula to make it original–thanks!
Hi Janelle,
That will be wonderful for the kids! Trick or treating in the nearby neighborhood seems safer. A little band of vampires, love it!
Hello Christine. You know, I never thought about recreating a look from a horror story. Isn’t that something? With Halloween approaching, folks have to get inspiration for their costumes from someplace, why not books? I am way too scary to try costume reproduction myself. But, that is a great idea for an inexhaustible library of styles. Good idea.
Hi Jacquelyn,
I have seen some amazing costumes that were inspired by some really original ideas, with little money spent. I would love to dress up as a book character. Either as Aurélie or maybe Bellatrix Lestrange 😉
Sharing a post like this in this time is very good. Atleast I can prepare some very good Halloween costumes for my kids for the next Halloween season. I am very sure that they would love one of the characters. I think the one from Harry Potter should be the best pick for me to let my kids rock.
Hello Christine, it’s a great article you have here and Halloween is certainly a fun thing to read about because it’s a period where most people do what they enjoy doing and get to bond with each other. Reading about these characters gives me some level of excitement and by kids who have been interested in Halloween would have a fun time reading too.
Oh my goodness, love love LOVED this post. I’m big into fantasy, and vampires are always such a juicy topic in literature. I immediately want to read your book, I’m very intrigued by this Penelope character, I would LOVE to dress up as her on Halloween. I also really like your idea of dressing up as a character that’s been turned, such a great and original spin on the more cliche looks people go for at Halloween. As a writer myself, I really enjoy reading your posts and this one is no different. It’s definitely got me in the mood for Halloween, even if I will just be celebrating it over video chat this year 🙂
Hi Natalie,
I think that it can still be fun, even if we celebrate over video chat this year 😉 My head is spinning with ideas for Halloween! If you end up dressing up as Penelope, do send me a picture, I would love to see it!
This is great! I’ve put it back onto my nieces to pick a character from their favourite books and then we can try and recreate ‘the look.’
They wanted to be ‘original’ for the party they are going to, and not look like everyone else.
Thanks for sharing your ideas. I’m sure they will have fun 🙂
Hi Andrew,
That’s great! Your nieces will have so much fun 🙂
Hi Christine!
I love scary stories about vampire and all this mistique stuff! Harry Potter is one of my favourite books, I have read it twice and watched the movies, such a fun! My kids like it too! Thank you for your tips how to make Halloween costumes, we will try to make some with the kids, at least for the home Party! My favourite is Count Drakula costume:)
Alex
Hi Alex,
I also love the Harry Potter books (and the movies are great too). And besides Bellatrix, Lord Voldemort is also an evil character we could dress up as. 😉
Thank you for your comment!
Christine, I always love your post. They intrigue me and make me think different than I normally would. I do not usually dress up even though I enjoy doing all of the other festivities for Halloween. The main reason for not dressing up is usually the lack of ideas of what to be. Penelope sounds perfect and easy to pull off for this Halloween. Thanks for another great idea.
That’s great! I am always looking forward to seeing Penelope for Halloween 🙂
This is a wonderful idea Christine. We do usually have a book or film inspired Halloween party, so everyone can choose a suitable character from it to dress into. But, having exactly a horror character is a step further and I think everyone would love the task! Not to mention there is such a wide choice of scary personalities that we may choose from. It will be interesting to see what combination of charachters pairs come up with!
I do hope the restrictions will allow us still to have a party this year.
Hi Christine,
My Halloween tradition is only going out eating with my family that night, that’s all. Therefore, I’ve never got the experience of dressing myself as some roles of horror films, iconic characters, or book characters.
During Halloween time, I often see my neighbors dress as dangerous animals with some scary stickers on their cheeks(yeah, boring). So, maybe I. should send them your debut novel as a gift for them to have new ideas this year?
By the way, your recommendations for Halloween costume do scare me even when I just read. You must be good at Halloween. 🙂
Cheers,
Matt
Hi Matt,
To be very honest, I have celebrated Halloween few times in my life. Nonetheless, I find it an interesting holiday – especially because of its ancient history – and I have been getting more involved in it now over the last years.
Thank you for your comment!