by Morgan Mann
When Halloween was once about candy, it’s now about costumes. So while you’re tearing through the internet for original ideas that aren’t Miley Cyrus or Katy Perry’s left shark, why not stay true to your English major and dress up as a classic author or character? Inspired by literary classics (and their movie counterparts), we present to you a classic collection of protagonists for guys and girls, a surefire couple’s costume, some recognizably renowned authors, and a sure-to-stand-out original for this year’s Halloweekend.
Julia
from George Orwell’s 1984
You’ll need—a blue jumpsuit (thrift it!), red sash/scarf belt, DIY copy of The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism by Emmanuel Goldstein, and a deep, fearful love for the Big Brother
Jack Torrance
from Stephen King’s The Shining
You’ll need—DIY cardboard “broken door” around your face, flannel shirt, fake axe, crazy-sleepless makeup, and an insatiable bloodlust
Alex
from Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange
You’ll need—white shirt & pants, gray suspenders, black bowler hat, drawn-on eyelashes on your right eye, and an utter disregard for the rules (just kidding. We don’t need an incident with PSafe)
Gulliver
from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels
You’ll need—white shirt, tan pants with the legs pulled up, knee socks, leather satchel, string and army men attached all over your outfit, and a satirical sense of superiority
Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale
from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
He’ll need—black pants, black polo, white clerical band, and a marker-ed red A on his chest.
She’ll need—black or white dress, cloak (it’s going to be cold, ladies), and a red felt A pinned to her dress.
Edgar Allen Poe
You’ll need—white shirt, black jacket, neck scarf, mustache, a [fake] raven, and a dark demeanor
Emily Dickinson
You’ll need—black modest dress, ribbon necklace, hair in a low bun, scribbled letters/poems, and an unhealthy infatuation with Death
Scout
from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
You’ll need—chicken wire and papier-mâché ham… you can easily whip that up in your dorm room, right?
Happy Halloween English majors! Be safe, and have fun.