Want to dress like an NC newsmaker for Halloween? 10 costumes ripped from the headlines
Halloween stands just six days away, and this year’s trick-or-treat hordes will be suited up as Barbie and Ken in matching pink, or Wednesday Addams in gloomy black.
But if you’ve searched the stores and found the witch suits all sold, and the candy corn swapped out for candy canes, we offer this last-minute, do-it-yourself Halloween save.
Don’t resort to the same worn-out ghost, or the tired old fairy princess.
Here are The N&O’s picks for Costumes of the Year — with a topical twist.
No. 1: Speaker of the House
The U.S. House finally settled on a speaker Wednesday, after a string of unsuccessful would-be seekers. So enjoy Halloween with the story on everybody’s mind — and all you need to pull it off is last year’s ghost suit! Under that sheet, you could be anybody — North Carolina’s Rep. Patrick McHenry or even Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
No. 2: Hurricane Tammy
She’s way late. She missed the peak of hurricane season by a month and she’s still in the middle of the Atlantic. So whip up some tropical storm excitement with this Category 2 costume. Just show up for your Halloween party half-dressed, still in your summer pajama pants, hair all mussed. And maybe a little tipsy and unable to follow directions.
No. 3: The Rodanthe Houses
The world watched last week as the Outer Banks’ most water-logged residences gave new meaning to oceanfront property, enough to get purchased and soon demolished by the federal government. So paint yourself a nice, big cardboard box with grand seashore-facing windows, but cover yourself in seaweed made from garbage bags and fill those windows up with fish faces. Also, tie a very large price tag to your toe.
No. 4: Rep. Tricia Cotham
This one for the party-switching lawmaker is easy to create. All you need is a pair of dresses: one blue, one red. Wear both. Change them often.
No. 5: Carowinds’ Crippled Roller coaster
This one works for the whole family. Tie a simple cardboard box around everyone’s waist, then tie everybody together. As the trick-or-treating proceeds, have the family member in the middle gradually tear away from the others. Have a neighbor follow along, frantically trying to get everyone’s attention.
No. 6: A Gerrymandered Congressional District
This one is a bit abstract, sure to get laughs. Wear a red Union suit for the Republican districts, then add one blue mitten and one tattered blue sock.
Twist yourself into a yoga pose and hop down the street.
No. 7: Raleigh’s Giant Acorn
Be bulbous and beautiful like the city’s metallic mascot. Clip the ribs from a pumpkin suit and paint the whole thing in a shade of copper, then top with a New Year’s Party hat. Carry squirrel repellent and finish with roller skates since the city can’t seem to find you a permanent parking place.
No. 8: The Recently Extinct Bachman’s Warbler
This migratory songbird that spent time in North Carolina is one of 21 bird species declared extinct last week by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. To commemorate it, build a body-sized milk carton featuring a poster with a forensic rendering of the yellow-bellied creature asking, “Have you seen me?”
No 9: North Carolina Auditor Beth Wood’s Car
Wood pleaded guilty in March to misdemeanor hit-and-run after wrecking her car in downtown Raleigh following a Christmas party months before. She admitted she had been drinking, but said she was not impaired. So the costume is a drunk-and-driverless car sitting on the hood of another car that’s properly parked along the street. Make vroom-vroom noises to indicate your engine is still running.
No. 10: One of Gov. Roy Cooper’s Vetoes
Cooper, a Democrat, faces a Republican super-majority in the North Carolina legislature that has been pointedly dismantling his gubernatorial authority and overriding his vetoes: 19 so far this session, including five at one whack earlier this month. The costume is a punching bag, slightly rumpled from repeated blows, but still upright. Add a navy suit jacket over the top, turned around backwards to suggest you’re heading out.
