What’s your favorite way to celebrate Halloween? Spending an evening exchanging scary stories with your closest friends, binging horror films that will make you sleep with the lights on for a week or passing out candy to all of the adorable kids who dressed up as their favorite characters to go trick or treating? There’s no wrong way to embrace spooky season, but if you’re looking for a frightening experience, what might be even more terrifying than ghost stories and strolls through moonlit cemeteries in the wee hours of the night is arriving at October 31st without a clue of what to dress up as that evening! The horror!

But have no fear, we’ve got you pandas covered. We’ve been scouring the internet to find some of the most impressive, hilarious, spooky and spot-on Halloween costumes people have ever seen to provide you some inspiration. You still have a week to put together a prize-winning outfit, so enjoy checking out all of these spectacular costumes.

Below, you’ll also find interviews we were lucky enough to receive from Halloween enthusiast and the woman behind Spooky Little Halloween, Miranda Enzor, and creator and editor of Halloween Love, Black. Be sure to upvote the photos you find most creative and impressive, and let us know in the comments what you plan to dress up as this year. Then, if you’re looking for even more costume inspiration from Bored Panda, you can check out some of our previous lists on the same topic here, here and here.

#1 Fast Food Villains. Didn't Get A Retweet From The Restaurants. Must Be Bad For The Branding

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When it comes to choosing the perfect Halloween costume, I always have a hard time. There are so many avenues to take, and I can never decide whether I should aim for a silly costume, a character I love, an impressive look, a character I actually resemble in real life, or personifying something clever like a pun. Celebrating Halloween always turns out to be a great time, but the weeks leading up to it are often filled with ruminating about what to dress up as. So to help all of you pandas (and let’s be honest, myself as well) decide on what to wear on the spookiest night of the year, we reached out to Miranda Enzor, the woman behind Spooky Little Halloween.

First, we wanted to hear what she loves most about Halloween and what inspired her to start a blog discussing October 31st all year round. “I love that you can make Halloween what you want it to be, from fun and family-friendly to creepy and gory,” Miranda told Bored Panda. “There's no wrong way to celebrate it. Originally, I started Spooky Little Halloween as a space to document my annual party, but it quickly became fun to seek out Halloween products, Halloweenify other holidays, and share those ideas with others.”

#2 Another Year Of Incorporating My Wheelchair Into My Halloween Costume

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#3 Made Myself A Ghost Rider Mask From Scratch This Year

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While there’s no wrong way to celebrate Halloween, we were curious what Miranda thinks the best way to celebrate it is. “For me, parties are at the center of my celebration,” she shared. “I think it's a fun opportunity to dress up as an adult, drink a spooky cocktail, and spend time soaking in October. But you definitely don't have to host or attend a party to celebrate Halloween. Hosting at-home movie nights, visiting local haunted houses, or simply enjoying carving a jack-o-lantern are all great ways to celebrate too.”

We also asked Miranda what the most important factors to consider are when choosing the perfect costume. “I don't have a lot of rules for creating Halloween costumes, but I think an important factor to consider is comfort,” she told Bored Panda. “That doesn't mean taking the lazy route—it means finding ways to accomplish your look, no matter how simple or elaborate it might be, and making it comfortable to wear.”

#4 Me And Me Pal On Halloween

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#5 Took My Headless Horseman Cosplay To Visit Washington Irving In Sleepy Hollow

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“Nothing is worse than having an uncomfortable costume you disassemble 20 mins after you put it on,” Miranda noted. “One tip I always share is don't underestimate what costumes might be hiding in your closet! My favorite thing to do for myself is putting together costumes from clothing I already own. It's original, it's more affordable, and I'm always amazed at what I can create.”

When it comes to some of the best costumes she’s ever seen, Miranda says, “I LOVE costumes that take an idea and elevate it or put a unique spin on it. I have some friends who did a group costume of the Avengers, but they made 18th-century ball gowns inspired by their favorite characters. I just saw an idea the other day on TikTok where a group of girls made ice cream witch costumes—their hats were overturned ice cream cones with different flavors of ice cream, and their costumes coordinated with the ice cream colors. So clever and fun!”

#6 Don't Blink (My Daughter's Costume, Made By Me)

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“My own favorite costume was my favorite because the creation process was so satisfying,” Miranda shared. “I dressed up as Janet from the beginning of Rocky Horror Picture Show, and I had the best time pulling together all the details. If you're not in a time crunch, it's so much more rewarding to put together a costume yourself than to buy one.”

If you’d like to gain more Halloween insight from Miranda or hear about some of her spookiest celebrations, be sure to visit her blog Spooky Little Halloween right here!

#7 Our Family Halloween Costume

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#8 Human Cat Tree

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#9 My Wife As Gollum

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To gain even more insight on the spookiest day of the year, we reached out to another Halloween enthusiast, Black. As creator and editor of the Halloween and horror blog Halloween Love, Black shared with Bored Panda that their favorite aspects of Halloween are the season, the colors (both of autumn and the decorations), and horror movies. When it comes to how they recommend celebrating October 31st, Black told us, "For kids, classic trick 'r treating is a must. For teens and young adults, a house party is great. And for those of us that are getting older and settling in, a quiet night at home with snacks and scary movies is probably the wisest choice."

#10 My Wife And I As Van Gogh And Starry Night

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When it comes to choosing a costume, Black says comfort is key. "If your intentions are to have the best or scariest costume, that's most likely going to come at the cost of comfort because of masks, prosthetics, and accessories," they shared. "But, if you're going to be dancing/partying all night long, you better pick something simple and light."

They also told Bored Panda that some of their favorite costumes are "anything that's highly detailed and screen accurate". Some of their personal favorites are when people dress up as movie monsters, such as Freddy, Jason, or Michael.

If you'd like to gain more insight from Black and delve deeper into this spooky season, be sure to check out Halloween Love right here.

#11 Gonna Miss Halloween Tonight, Stuck In The Office

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#12 This Years Halloween Costume Is Archibald Snatcher From The Boxtrolls

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In many countries, Halloween is a big day. The traditions may differ from place to place, but the holiday is celebrated all around the world. When it comes to an American Halloween celebration, candy and costumes are at the center of the show, as many kids look forward to trick or treating the entire year. In fact, one quarter of all of the candy sold annually in the United States is bought in preparation for Halloween. It makes sense though, as I remember my mother and I working our way through the massive bag of candy we purchased for trick or treaters months after the big day. And we did this every year, but we never learned to just purchase a smaller bag. Candy still tastes great in March anyway!

#13 Stranger Things Family Halloween

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#14 Vinz Clortho The Keymaster Of Gozer

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#15 The Wet Bandits

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While kids and adults have been dressing up in Halloween costumes for over a century now, more recently, there has been a trend to dress up our furry friends as well. In fact, in 2019, Americans spent $490 million on costumes for their pets. This trend has become so large that several animal organizations have even addressed the topic to ensure that pet owners find safe and comfortable costumes for their fur babies, if they choose to dress them up. According to the Animal Humane Society, an animal costume must first not limit or hinder their movement and senses. “Your animal should be able to walk, bark, meow, see, and hear clearly,” they explain. 

#16 This Was My Halloween Costume Last Year, It's Spiderman From Avengers Endgame. I Made Everything Myself Including The 3D Printed Parts And Lights. How Did I Do?

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#17 Epic Bert And Ernie Costumes

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#18 First Halloween! Wife Made The Costumes

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A pet costume must be made of non-toxic materials and be free of any small or dangling accessories that could be potentially chewed or swallowed. The Humane Society also recommends avoiding any costumes that have masks or shoes. It might also be helpful to get your pet used to the costume before they actually wear it out on the town for Halloween, as it’s important for them to feel comfortable, and you don’t want any unexpected issues to arise on the day of. Offer your fur baby lots of treats for cooperating with the costume too!

#19 Proud Of My Frankenstein Halloween Costume

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#20 Finished Making My Mask Last Night

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#21 Here Is My Tribute To Sadako Yamamura From The Classic Film Ring. Had A Blast Scaring People Around Town During Halloween In 2019

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When I was a child, I dressed as Dorothy for Halloween for about 5 years in a row. The Wizard of Oz was my favorite film, so my grandmother would kindly sew me a new Dorothy costume year after year for me to wear to trick or treat in. I absolutely loved those outfits, and I’m happy to say that my parents have some adorable photos of me in them. But even back then, I had the hardest time coming up with ideas for a Halloween costume. I just decided to be the same character year after year because, why not? Unfortunately, I don’t have access to an adult-sized Dorothy costume today, but if you’re anything like me and still can’t decide what to wear for Halloween, might I recommend considering all of your favorite characters from films and TV shows?

#22 Been Struggling With Depression Since I Was A Teenager And Anxiety All This Year. Friends Forced Me To Dress Up For Halloween And I Actually Liked How I Looked

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#23 Happy Halloween! I Am The One Who Knocks

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#24 My Optical-Illusion Makeup For Halloween - This Took 5 Hours And I’m Dizzy

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If you’re unsure of what to wear, make a list of all of your favorite films and TV shows. Then start listing the characters from each one that you would be interested in dressing up as. Bonus points if you actually resemble any of the characters in real life, but Halloween is for fun, so don’t feel the need to restrict yourself to any gender or characters that share your hair color. If none of those characters stand out to you, you can always try one of your favorite musical artists as well. Oftentimes, you’ll have something in your closet that can pass for one of these realistic characters or actual people, and you might just need to borrow or purchase a few small accessories to complete the look!   

#25 My Britney Spears Costume

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#26 Steve Irwin’s Son, Robert, Dressed As Loki For Halloween With An Alligator Variant

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#27 My Girlfriend Is Practicing Her Halloween Makeup, Our 4-Year-Old Daughter Is Terrified

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Have you decided what you’re going to wear this year? Whether you plan to dress up for Halloween or not, we hope you have a wonderful time celebrating with friends, binging horror films or taking your kids around the neighborhood to trick or treat. (And don’t forget, you must get some candy!) Keep upvoting the costumes you find the creepiest, most impressive and most brilliant, and let us know in the comments if you’ve got any big plans for October 31st. And if you haven’t checked out our previous articles featuring people who went all out with their Halloween costumes, you can find them here, here and here.

#28 This Halloween I’m An Anti-Faxxer And There’s No Changing My Mind

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#29 My Wife Is A School Bus Driver And Dressed Up As Ms. Frizzle For Halloween This Year

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#30 Not Pictured. Harp From Hell

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#31 Here Is A Throwback To My Skeleton Pirate Makeup I Did On Myself And The Costume I Created For The Halloween In 2017

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#32 My Daughter Was Worried No One Would ‘Get’ Her Costume, It Was Big Hit With All The Gen X Parents

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#33 My Mothman Costume From 2021. I'm Really Proud Of How It Turned Out

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#34 My Halloween Costume This Year. Made It Myself

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#35 My Wife And I For Halloween

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#36 Our Family Halloween Costumes. I’m Mommy Mayor

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#37 My Friend’s Costume This Year

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#38 Last Year’s DIY Costume - Weather Reporter Caught In A Storm

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#39 Sunscreened Zuckerberg

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#40 I Don’t Think This Is What People Were Expecting When We Told Them We Were Dressing Up As Jessica And Roger Rabbit. Happy Halloween

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#41 I Was A Secretary Bird For Halloween

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#42 My Girlfriend And I Were Louis And Lestat From Interview With The Vampire For Halloween

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#43 My Zombie Jill Valentine Cosplay For Halloween

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#44 Happy Halloween

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#45 Steve Buscemi As His "How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?" Character From 30 Rock For Halloween

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#46 My Friend And I Dressed Up As Mermaid Man And Barnacle Boy For An Early Halloween Party

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#47 Me, As Darkwing Duck For Halloween 1993. Homemade (Mom-Made) Costume

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#48 A Guy From Work Is Ready For Halloween

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#49 I Was Mary Sanderson For Halloween This Year

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#50 What Are Your Thoughts On My Halloween Costume?

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