Halloween is just around the corner, and most people have their costumes already picked out. There are a few who have not. Here are three costume ideas that will prove to scare your friends.

Evil Clown

It is unclear where the modern archetype of the evil clown came from. Such a character, a jester, appeared in Edgar Allan Poe’s Hop-Frog.

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. It is a deep-seated terror. Individuals with this phobia usually report feeling traumatized at the mere sight or thought of clowns.

Whether it is the fictional clown named Pennywise or the true story of Pogo the Clown, clowns have been terrorizing our subconscious since as long as I can remember. Many of us are afraid of clowns or know someone who is.

Vampire

One of the first costumes I ever wore for Halloween was a vampire or vampyre. In popular legend, the vampire is often a creature that preys upon humans and consume their victim’s blood, semen, or other life-energies.

There is a long history of ghouls in folklore and pinning down a set of characteristics that is only attributed to vampires is often hard to do.  Society generally agree it upon that the following ghoul needs the follow to be a vampyre: the consumption of human blood or other essence.

Vampires appeared as far back as ancient Greece. During this time, ancient people told stories of creatures that attacked people in their sleep and drained their bodily fluids. During the Black Plague, tales of walking corpses that drank blood of the living and spread the plague was ripe.

Choosing to go to a Halloween party or Trick-or-Treating as a vampire is a safe bet. It’s such a traditional costume that no one would bat an eye, but if a person executes it right, it could incite several chills.

Skeleton

Did you know that there is technically no term coined for the fear of skeletons? However, from some research, some analysts call it Ostiophobia as Osteo means bone or bones.

Animated human skeletons have been used as the personification of death since the Middle Ages. The modern image of the Grim Reaper, a hooded skeleton holding a scythe, has been attributed to Hans Holdbein the Younger in 1538. Even Death, a member of four horse-men of the Apocalypse, is often depicted as a skeleton riding a pale horse.

When we think of a Halloween party, we tend to expect someone to show up as a skeleton. I know I do.

Have you already picked out your costume? If you have, please let us know in the comments below.

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LJ LaRue

LJ LaRue was born in West Virginia in 1980, the first daughter of a single mother. She made her first professional novella sale in 2016 on Amazon. In 2006, she took classes at the local community college for psychology. That fall, she became a mother. Writing in the evenings and on weekends, she continued to produce stories for free. In the winter of 2016, her husband became a manager and her daughter was in school, allowing her to write full time. Larue is the recipient of a 2012 daily deviation at deviantART. LJ lives in New York with her husband, a dark fantasy novelist himself, as well as their daughter. They are regular contributors to several charities, including the rescue of exotic cats from abuse.

Latest posts by LJ LaRue (see all)

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