Costumes Of Halloween Past

   Halloween is easily my favorite holiday out of the year.

   The decorations, the haunted houses and trails, and getting to dress up are just a few of the many reasons why I am so passionate about this time of year. Ever since I was a child, the first thing that always came to my mind was, "What costume am I going to wear this year?"

   As an adult now, I find myself with a lot more freedom to let my creativity run wild, whereas, when I was a child, it was more a matter of what I was able to afford and what I was allowed to wear.

   A huge reoccurring theme for me was Harry Potter. Every year from the ages of seventeen to twenty, I went as a Hogwarts student for Halloween, and I was a Ravenclaw student, to be more precise. It was always such an easy costume to put together, and there was never any need to really go all-out for it.

   Last year, however, I decided I wanted to go big. I mean, big. I was going to pull out all the stops. All I had to do first was decide what kind of character I wanted to be.

   A big part of Halloween is scary movies. Slasher movies, paranormal films, psychological thrillers — you name it. My favorite author, Stephen King, had been a big inspiration when deciding on my costume. It had been considered as a possibility for a while, but ultimately, I decided to go with Jack Torrance from The Shining.

   So, spoiler alert, Jack Torrance doesn't make it at the end of The Shining. In Stanley Kubrick's version of the story, Jack freezes to death in the bitter cold of the Colorado winter. This was the specific look that I was going for. My thought process was, "Jack Torrance, but make it dead."

   Figuring out my outfit was no problem. Figuring out my makeup, on the other hand, was a completely different story.

   I am no expert at makeup, so I knew this was going to be a bit of a challenge. I had never done any Halloween makeup before, but I knew that if I wanted this look to come together completely, the makeup was an absolute necessity.

   In the end, the final look, above, definitely wasn't perfect, but it did the job.

   With Halloween approaching, I hope that this look gives you some inspiration in looking for your next Halloween costume. Happy (almost) Halloween!