Our Most Memorable Halloween Costumes

It's that time of year! Halloween is spook-tactular, haunt-abulous and scare-tastic. And what's more fun than looking back and remembering the joy of Halloweens past? So this year, the Rockville 8 are happy to share with you, our most memorable Halloween costumes.

 Evie Owens 

The first costume that came to mind was the wizard costume I made for my eldest. Nobody who knows me now would believe this, but I sewed her that costume. It was cheap black cotton but I splurged on the shiny silver stuff I lined the dagged sleeves with. She loved it but I can't put my hands on a picture. She was 11 or 12.

When I was a kid, we went for the kind of costume we could make out of whatever was in the house. I usually ended up as some kind of gypsy. I don't have any pictures of that, either. But one of my best friends at work goes ALL out on the holidays, and last year, on a whim, I joined her. I picked up a cheap purple wig and some false eyelashes and aimed for "animeish." I do have a picture of that and it's memorable mainly because I was doing the online dating thing for a while and I posted the picture there. You'd be amazed how many guys in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area have a thing for women with purple hair. None of them were the right guy, though. Hmmm. Maybe I should have tried a different color...

Keely Thrall 

Most memorable costume: Athena, goddess of wisdom.

Age: 10 or 11 (the costume was memorable, what year I wore it...somewhat less so.)

Why: I was in a Greek gods phase, with my nose firmly stuck in D’aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. Athena was clearly the coolest of all the Goddesses, so smart, so reasonable and clever. So totally me! I got a wooden staff (possibly a broom handle?) and had a little stuffed owl perched on my shoulder (when not in working as my familiar, my brother used that poor owl as a football, tossing it down the laundry shoot for field goals. Stupid boy!). But the best part of the costume was the toga. Mom and I found a vibrant, purple, velvety cotton that draped beautifully. 35 years later (give or take), I still have that fabric and it still makes me smile. It’s a little worn around the edges, but still vibrant. Like me.

Lisa McQuay 

Most Memorable Costume: It's hard for me to pick just one but for our purposes here, I'm going with my Harpo Marx costume.

Age: 13

Why: I wasn't even going to go trick or treating at the ripe old age of 13, but my mother asked me to go with my brother who was 9. We decided to go as Harpo and Groucho. My mother rolled my hair in rags for Harpo's curly hair. I used my mother's trench coat, and an old fashioned squeeze-style bicycle horn my grandmother had given me for my bike. My brother, who is dark, had my father's horn-rimmed science experiment glasses from his college days (we both had hours of fun with those), slicked back hair, and the black suit my father had worn to my baptism. Everyone knew who we were. When we went to the door, my brother said "Trick or Treat" and I blew the horn as Harpo always did instead of speaking. It was memorable because it was my last time trick or treating, but more importantly, it was because my brother and I were a team and because we were able to use things we already had.

Mackenzie Lucas 

Most memorable costume: I dressed up as an old lady, with gray frosted wig, granny shawl, and long skirt and cane.

Age:8

What made it memorable: I had my picture in the local paper. It was pretty cool for an eight-year-old. And, too funny that my mom used to actually wear that wig. It was really a frosted blond color, but it could easily pass as old-lady-gray hair. ;0) The other very cool thing was that I was able to do a Google search on this article to find the picture in the local paper.

Marjanna Bogan 

I remember wearing Casper the Friendly Ghost. I was 4 - would be 5 that December. I was in kindergarten at St. Patricks Episcopal. And for whatever the reason (and I don't remember now if I ever knew then as a child), we were on Panorama News at Noon on channel 5. Which I think was hosted by Maury Povich. I just remember milling around a stage, there was candy in a bowl, and somehow my costume - complete with a mask that covered my face and didn't allow for clear vision - was a focus.

My second most memorable was my brother's. We were, gosh, in junior high? I was wearing Alec Bourgeois's cut-aways and a bowler. Eugene was in his kilt and carrying his bagpipe. And for one piped song, he was given the mythical Toblerone by the family that gave one out to the best costume each year - and I received full sized packages of M&Ms.

Misha Crews 

Most memorable costume: Okay, so I know this isn't original, but my most memorable costume was dressing like a cat in fifth grade.

Age: 11

Why: Because of the parts that are most important in a cat costume: the ears and the tail. My mother had a fake fur hat which happened to be black, and she generously sacrificed it to make me a beautiful pair of ears and a long tail. The fact that they looked and felt real made me feel extra-catlike. And now that I think about it, the fact that my mother went the extra mile to add that perfect touch is what really made that costume memorable. Thanks, Mom!

Nichole Christoff 

Most Memorable Costume: Nancy Drew, Girl Sleuth

Age: 7

Why: After finding a vintage Nancy Drew novel in a box of books in my attic, I was hooked. And when I went back to school in the fall, I was ecstatic to discover my new teacher had the entire, yellow-covered series. I gobbled them up. Reading about a smart girl with a can-do attitude who starred in hardcover chapter books made me feel so grown up! It was my mom who then suggested I be Nancy Drew for Halloween. I wore my blue polyester pantsuit, my white blouse with a big loopy bow, and carried a notebook and a magnifying glass. I felt like a grown-up--and that it just might be cool to be a smart girl with a can-do attitude.

And what about you...?

What's your most memorable costume? Please share below. And Happy Halloween, from the
Rockville 8!