Halloween is less than nine days away, and I couldn’t be more excited. I am also baffled, considering it feels like October started only 20 minutes ago. It can’t possibly be the end of October already, but here we are! With the end of October comes the time to start thinking about costumes! Each year I create a list of bookish Halloween costume ideas and this year is no different.
You can read both of my previous posts for this here(2019) and here(2020).
I used to have so much fun when I was younger, dressing up and getting ready for Halloween. It is so fun to put on an entirely new persona and go out into the world as someone else. Halloween is so much fun.
Now, I don’t exactly wear Halloween costumes anymore. I spend my Halloween alone, at home, in bed. But don’t worry, I’m usually wearing my black cat onesie as pajamas, so I am definitely dressed up.
But despite that, I still love to think of all the Halloween costume possibilities, especially bookish ones. What can I say, I’m a nerd. I also love when people have no idea what I’m dressed as for Halloween. It feels like my own little secret world.
But would it not be so much fun to have a Halloween party with a bunch of readers, all wearing a bookish Halloween costume. We could have a contest, and we would all have to guess what book everyone is from. I think this would be a blast! Except I hate parties…
But anyway, if you waited until the last minute, as I always do, to figure out what you want to be for Halloween, here is a list of bookish Halloween costume ideas just for you!
1. Jane from Horrid by Katrina Leno
And I mean Jane from the front cover. Because she wears normal clothes throughout the book, so that’s boring. But Jane specifically from the cover of Horrid by Katrina Leno would be such a beautiful costume. Cover your head and face, maybe even body, in fake black roses! Add one single red rose, and you have the cutest, creepiest costume ever. Honestly, I just love roses, so I think this bookish Halloween costume would be beautiful and spooky at the same time.
2. Emelia and Wrath from Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
This idea is definitely more of a couple costume idea, but you could definitely be one or the other if you are flying solo on Halloween. Get some dramatic and gothic period clothing and dress up as a witch and a prince of hell from Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco! This sounds super fun because I am all for the dramatics. Long ball gown-type dresses would be beautiful for Halloween night!
3. Lazlo and Sarai from Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
I cannot believe I have not suggested this before! But of course, it would be such a fun couple costume to do Lazlo Strange and Sarai! And you could definitely do this costume solo by choosing one. Lazlo with a stack of books and a robe, Sarai with moths all around! It would be such a fun costume to create and wear! Even better, get a whole group of friends together and add all the other gods’ children! Make is a group Halloween costume.
4. Red and Blue from This is How you Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Evidently, I am full of couples costume ideas this year. I have no idea why. But, one person darned all in red, the other darned all in blue. Maybe some secret spy agent equipment with you to solidify this bookish Halloween costume. I can see it now, and I am loving it. Of course, you could always do this costume solo, but this one is definitely better as a pair.
5. Hetty or Another Student from Wilder Girls by Rory Power
This would be a great costume for someone who loves prosthetic make-up and body horror. In this book, there are students with scales on their body, or random plants growing from their limbs. This would be a fun DIY Halloween costume. It would also be great in a group. Get together and become the students from Raxter School for Girls, the boarding school from Wilder Girls by Rory Power.
6. Gaia from The Surface Breaks by
Truthfully, I just think it would be a lot of fun to dress up as a mermaid! The cover of The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill gives a great example of what you could do with your hair, adding fake starfish and shells you can buy from the craft store. The tail would be a little more difficult to DIY, but I know stores like Party City and Spirit Halloween sell mermaid costumes. All you would have to do is customize it to fit Gaia better.
7. Audrey from Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
Another costume with period clothing, it would be so fun to dress up as Audrey from Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco. Carry a knife or scalpel with you, maybe even an entire skeleton because her character loves autopsying bodies and learning about anatomy. Of course, you can turn this into a couple costume by having someone dress as Thomas.
8. The Plague Doctor from The Seven 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I have had a renewed love for the idea of plague doctors. I even have the cutest enamel pin on my purse of a plague doctor telling you to “wash thy hands.” So I think it would be a lot of fun to dress as the plague doctor from The Seven 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Bonus, I imagine it would be very easy to find a store selling a plague mask as a Halloween costume. I’m sure it has been popular over the past couple of years.
9. Chloe from I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest
This costume would be incredibly easy for me because my closet is full of leotards and ballet tights, so maybe I’m just biased. But, I think it would be so fun to dress up as Chloe from I Wann Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest. However specifically when she is auditioning for the dance school she wants to go to. So tights, leotard, legwarmers, the whole nine yards. Throw in a tutu in there if you are feeling fancy.
10. Amani and Maram from Mirage by Somaiya Daud
Do you have a friend, sister, or twin that looks very similar to you? Then the perfect bookish Halloween costume for you would be Amani and Maram. Imagine how fun it would be to get dressed up in fancy royal dresses. But you would have to match entirely with your partner for this to work. Everything from the hair, make-up, and clothing need to be the same. Or, just select one of them and dress like a royal princess. That can never get old, no matter how old you are.
One of the best parts of Halloween is seeing how creative people get. I love seeing someone who has never done a DIY project going to the craft store to get supplies for their costume. It makes me happy. I like seeing people do something purely because it makes them happy, with no ulterior motives.
Halloween is such a joyful holiday, isn’t it? Once you get past all the scary stuff, Halloween can be a blast!
Let me know in the comments below what you plan to wear this Halloween! Are you going out, or keeping your costume strictly personal, like me and my cat pajamas!
