Ninja costume

One of the main appeals of a guy in a Ninja costume, is that they are surrounded by mystery. There are hardly any records kept about what exactly the job description entailed, and it’s hard to say what effects they had on history. But what this really tells us is that they must have been doing their jobs well to so seamlessly blend into the folds of time. Some very major assassinations could quite possibly have been the work of hired ninja, as well as overthrows and the winning of certain wars.

The way we think of ninja today is that they are spies and assassins who sneak through the night to either collect information or take out their target. They wear black from head to toe, and often have their faces covered to ensure that they will not be recognized when they carry out their normal daytime routines. They strike in complete silence and leave without a shred of evidence that they had even been there in the first place. So needless to say, dressing as a Ninja for Halloween would make for a very cool costume.

The best part is that if you have absolutely no money, you can still be a fairly decent looking ninja. A Mr. Vern Reid as cleverly come up with a way to turn an average black t-shirt into a ninja head covering [Directions are Here] without ruining the t-shirt. After you’ve completed those easy steps, you can put on a black long sleeved shirt, black pants, and you’re good to go!

If you did have a little cash to spend this Halloween, there are also some really cool varieties of ninja costume ready-made and easy to put on; for men and women. As well as plastic double-swords to put on your back, throwing stars, or nunchucks. The nunchucks also come in foam, for the added pleasure of beating your friends with them without the worry of taking someone’s eye out and getting sued.

Alien

Is there intelligent life out there in the universe, or are we all alone in this cold dark wasteland of space with only our little green planet for company and nothing else but ourselves to love, fear, and rely on? The honest truth is that nobody really knows. Because of this, everything is entirely left up to ones own interpretation. So what do you think? Is life on other planets happening right now in some far off galaxy, or are we entirely alone. Whether or not you believe aliens exist there is a definite image that pops into your head when aliens or UFOs are mentioned. Why not base your Halloween costume this year on that image. There are plenty of different ways to do a good alien costume, and a lot of them are available to buy so you barely have to lift a finger.

There is of course the alien masked costume for the alien from the movie Alien. This one is definitely something that you could scare children with, or even your friends. The mask is more like a helmet, as the creature’s head is kind of a horizontal oblong shape, and it’s gaping jaws, tail and freaky clawed hands are more than enough to give somebody nightmares for the next week. Especially if you hide somewhere dark and jump out at your victim when they least expect it.

Other alien costumes range from the stereotypical green head with oversized black eyes and barely no mouth/nose, to more realistic and flesh toned version of that same concept. There are also some very gory and artfully hideous parasite alien costumes that feature either an alien baby appearing to burst out of your pregnant stomach, or an alien torso attached to your own like a conjoined twin.

If none of these tickle your fancy though, you can always invent your own costume and dress as a completely original alien being.

Samurai and Ninja have always been “super cool!” for lack of a better term. They both have the deadly accuracy of someone who has studied their craft and practiced it often, and in popular culture are seen lopping heads clear off with one swing, or throwing knives from far off distances and hitting a man in the center of his forehead. They both have rules which they follow, but while the samurai deal in strict honor codes and set modes of battle, the ninja specialized in sabotage and assassination in the dead of the night.

samurai

Ninja are appealing because of the mystery that surrounds them. There were very few records kept about what they did for/to history over the centuries, (which must mean that they were doing their jobs well) but we do know some things about them. It is assumed that the ninja came about during the 14th century, but there was not any kind of training to become one, or an organization to it until the 15th. At that point they were mercenaries, doing they dirty tasks that higher-ups or opposing forces would rather pay someone to do that risk tarnishing their reputations. By 1571 they were being hired for some very high profile assassinations and by that point their name was definitely made in the history books.

Samurai were a different type. They followed a code called Bushido (“the way of the warrior”) which was made up of seven virtues; rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, loyalty. They did not fear death, and did not necessarily avoid it either. It was thought that a man who had not risked his life in battle at least one time was a shameful person. To die in battle, especially fighting alongside a fellow warrior or for the good of some cause was the most honorable thing a man could do. Later ways were invented to regain this all-important honor, should it be lost. Most notably the ritualistic suicide called ‘seppuku’, wherein a man would take part in a ceremony that ended in slashing his own stomach (and sometimes), being beheaded by a fellow samurai.

Both ninja and samurai played important roles in history, and either would make an ideal Halloween costume. Be sure that you choose wisely though, and don’t do anything they wouldn’t to.
Don’t do everything they would do either, or you might end up in jail or dead.

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