The woods are a pretty dangerous place without the threat of the supernatural to consider. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of hiking, camping, and all things outdoorsy or just someone that likes to take walks and enjoy nature; you know that when night falls it’s best to either leave or set up camp. So what happens when you find yourself so engrossed in the wonder of nature around you that you loose track of time and realize the sun has already half-set? What happens when you realize that coming to replace the sun is a silvery full moon? Well, if you’re a particularly unlucky soul, it could mean you might fall prey to a werewolf.

werewolf

Generally portrayed as huge half-man, half-wolf abominations, werewolves have been a part of human folklore for thousands of years. Sometimes these beasts are more man than wolf, retaining their general human shape and bipedal abilities; but with the addition of fur, a mutation of the head and hind legs, and the physique of a body builder on steroids. Other times they change more drastically and become more wolf than man. In addition to the previously mentioned qualities, their ability to walk on two legs is more limited to something like how an ape moves. With longer arms, and long claws to grip the dirt beneath them, this type is usually faster and more aggressive. Some believe it’s possible that the transformation can take a human and turn him or her completely into a normal looking wolf, able to communicate with other wolves once in that form.

Regardless of the form though, once you are bitten by one of these creatures it is only a matter of time before you become one as well, and the transformation I hear is beyond painful. It feels as if every bone in your body is breaking all at once, and your muscles and skin are stretching to accommodate the new shape they take. Generally the transformation only takes a few minutes, but to the person transforming it could feel like the most miserable three hours of their life. The worst part? When the full moon sets and you become yourself again, you only have next month to look forward to before it happens again.

May we reconvene under the blood red silvery full moon,
-Black Widow

Here’s another classic that I assume all of us have been at some point in our lives; a ghost. Now, if you didn’t really want to try hard with this one, or are the type of person that loves the old school or a good corny costume; then you could most definitely cut eyeholes in a sheet and wander around the party/streets making ghostly “oooooOOoooOOoooo” noises in response to any question asked of you. But if you wanted to go a different route there are plenty of ways to do it.

Ghost

You could be a more recently deceased person and simply buy something that looks old and washed out from your local good will or salvation army. You can make it look like it’s spend time in a coffin by tearing and ripping the edges or other key spots. Then all you have left to do is make your face appear more pale, add a dark shadow around your eyes to make it seem that they are sunken in, and mess up your hair.

If this all seems like too much work for you, or if you simply don’t have the time to go through all that; there are lots of different types of ghost and ghoul costumes available for purchasing. The best ones (in my opinion) are make to look like Victorian or Antebellum age dresses and suits, but they are entirely white or grey. They look (tastefully) tattered and torn, and appear to be what you might see if you had a ghost encounter yourself. Really, it’s something that with the right make-up and perhaps a white or grey wig to match; will really turn heads.

What’s best is that if you choose to act the part you can be spooky and unnerving without having to resort to the gore or disfigured masks that other people often employ to scare kids (or friends) on Halloween night. If you’re part of a haunted house; not speaking, and using slow deliberate movements to invade people’s personal space will have them freaked out in no time.