CREDIT: STELLA HWANG ON FLICKR (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Halloween is a great time to use your creativity; why not dress up like the sea anemone from Finding Nemo?

Halloween is just around the corner igniting the excitement in countless people. And with the pandemic of scary clowns shaking people to their foundations, now seems like the perfect time to give a list of possible costumes relevant this season.

Speaking of clowns, let us start off with two costumes in one category: Harley Quinn and the Joker. One cannot exist without the other, thanks to a sudden surge of popularity due to the successful Suicide Squad (2016), the character of Quinn is a household name. The Joker has been a costume that’s been around for a while now, but with every generation, there is a new interpretation.

The topic of superheroes is always a safer bet, so really any traditional costume is always a strong one, be it Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Hulk, etc. The year has given people a whole new assortment of costumes with the success of the Marvel and DC films, the added bonus of this is that the costumes are not regulated to children; teens, college students and even adults can dress up.

Animation has taken a big chunk of popular culture. The legacy left from the film Frozen is still felt today with the characters of Elsa and Anna being a great costume for people of all ages.

Even older movies, such as Cinderella, The Lion King and Toy Story, give costume ideas that are always popular. Why not dress up as Simba, Buzz Lightyear or hey, let’s throw a good ol’ minion into the mix?

Halloween is a time for terror, as previously mentioned, clowns are big this year, but also the zombie look continues to gain traction year after year with people getting better in their makeup and costume designs.

Sometimes monsters or ghouls are just not scary enough, sometimes something as simple as man in a hockey mask and a plastic machete is all that is needed to terrify people throughout the night. Another horror icon that’s still used is Michael Myers from the Halloween film series, who figured a white mask in blue overalls could cause a panic.

But what is a good idea that is unique to this Halloween? The hit show Stranger Things. You can dress up as Mike, Dustin, Eleven or dress up as Barb and hold a “justice for Barb” sign; trust me, these costumes will be a hit this year.

After the clowns, heroes, the animated characters we love and those icons of horror are the weird costumes. Most people have that one friend who would dress up as a toilet seat or create an outfit for Optimus Prime made out of empty beer cases. Use your imagination, and another good tool if your imagination is not up to par, try Pinterest.

Every Halloween there is a great deal of talent showing their skills, whether it’s scary, happy or just plain weird, enjoy your costume and the company of those around you.