The many lessons you can learn when you dress like a ghost for Halloween



This year I dressed as a ghost for Halloween. Yep. I actually just put a sheet over my head and went to a party.

Here are the things I learned:

There are many unexpected problems to the "easiest" costume around:

1) It's a little more work than just "putting a sheet on your head and going to a party". It's actually really finicky to get the sheet positioned right on your body and cut the holes in the right places. If you don't have a buddy to help with this, expect to get really really really frustrated.

2) The tiniest shift in the sheet means that you can't see anymore! Luckily, the sheet shifts around constantly.

3) If you just cut holes for eyes and do nothing else, it kind of looks like you're wearing a flimsy, white burqa. Not exactly what I was going for.

4) Talking and eating and breathing and not getting too hot and attempts to combat the burqa-ness of the costume necessitates a mouth hole, which moves the costume right out of "classic ghost" territory - très disappointing.

5) It gets pretty hot under that sheet in a crowded party where you're dancing and surrounded by other people's body heat. Don't wear a flannel shirt underneath.

6) Even with a mouth hole, due to the shifting sheet problem, eating is a bit tricky. Especially if you're a spilly-face like me.

Luckily, it turned out that I could problem solve the second and third problems in the same way: a top hat and string around the neck created a defined "head" to the ghost, removing the burqa-like impressions, AND held it in place a little better.

There are also benefits to this lazy costume:

1) It is very cheap. Especially when your friend gives you an old drop cloth so you don't even have to buy a sheet. You own scissors, right?

2) It is fun, although a bit awkward, to walk up to a friend at a party and start talking to them and watch them slowly figure out that it's you under there.

3) A ghost sheet opens up a whole new realm of dance move possibilities to explore.

4) If there is karaoke, you also have a massive library of hilariously on point karaoke options: I Just Died In Your Arms, Wake Me Up (Bring Me To Life), or Spirit in the Sky, for example. You could even jump on some actually sad songs about death and see how that flies. (It's your funeral - HA!)

5) In the right lighting, it is actually a super creepy costume.

Then there was the thing that falls under the questionable category. Benefit? Not a benefit?

I had friendly conversations with way more men dressed in an entirely feature-masking ghost sheet than I ever have before. What does it say about me/men/the world if completely covering up my physical characteristics made them more likely to talk to me? Potential answers range from the fact that I am so intimidatingly gorgeous that they are normally afraid to approach me to something to do with mystery/curiosity to the exact opposite of the first answer.

Also, it's useful to know that more than one guy assumed that I was also male until we started talking. So maybe I just experienced what life is like for guys?

Now that's spooky.

Get your ghost on for Halloween! It can be trickier than you think, though, here's some lessons learned.


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