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Monday, October 12, 2015

Are Old School Halloween Costumes Still Cool? (Guest Post by Sam Williamson)

Howdy, loyal fans!  It's nigh on Halloween.  Have you gotten your costume yet?

Well, if not, I'm very excited to have a somewhat unusual guest who reached out to me this year: Sam Williamson, owner of Zombie Costumes World (which I guess makes him a haberdasher by trade?)  Anyway, Sam's written a post on the difference between chic and classic costumes, which seems particularly relevant this time of year.  Enjoy!

Guest Post


Halloween is coming up, and I’m a nervous wreck. I’ve been checking out my friends on Facebook (I say friends, I mean people that I met once at a party) and it seems like there’s gonna be a lot of competition this year. I’m not talking about competition to see who can get the most candy (nobody can beat me and my moped anyway) I’m talking about costume competition. One guy has already sorted out his ‘crying Mars’ outfit, to celebrate the news that NASA found water on Mars. Then there’s a girl who’s dressing up as a Donald Trump Heffalump. And then there’s me. I was gonna be a vampire. Don’t get me wrong, it was gonna be a really scary vampire. But still, it’s just a vampire. And that’s not funny, or memorable, or unique. So in the eyes of these Facebook folk, it’s essentially worthless. 

But why should it be worthless? Surely the point of Halloween is to dress up as something scary that will freak people out! Apparently not. The days of werewolves and vampires seem to be a thing of the past, which might sound like great news to all of you monster hunters out there. But this extinction of these Halloween classics signals a new era for this holiday.  If it ain’t worth sharing on social media, it ain’t worth jack. 

Fortunately, all hope is not lost. While people collectively roll their eyes at the latest "Twilight" films, or hate on the latest series of "The Vampire Diaries," there is one Halloween classic that has remained a favorite for decades. The humble zombie. On his own, the zombie can barely be described as a threat. But coming face to face with a group of these brain-hungry creatures is a prospect that still sends shivers down the spines of the young and the old. And their popularity is cemented by the huge success of series like "The Walking Dead," which attracts an obscene amount of viewers on a weekly basis. 

But don’t get me wrong, its not like every single zombie-related film, book, or comic book is absolutely top notch. In many ways, the word "zombie" has never been associated with as much garbage as it is right now. You’ll find the majority of zombie films are on that shelf at the back of the video store, right next to "Sharknado 6" and "Titanic 2 – Ice Breaker." But unfortunately, these braindead guys are our last hope at saving Halloween. We’re holding out for a hero, and they’re missing several limbs and only eat brains. Oh dear.  

So are zombies still cool? Maybe. But they’re definitely not safe from extinction. Unless you’re dressing up as dead Paris Hilton, chances are your Facebook buddies won’t care about your zombie costume. But so what? Let them dress up as whatever the hell they want. Because at the end of the day, that’s not the point of Halloween. It’s the one holiday where you can freak people out to your heart’s content, and you’re gonna dress up as Paris Hilton? The only thing scary about her is that she is now a successful DJ. And people say that zombies will be the first sign of the apocalypse. 

About Sam Williamson



My name is Sam Williamson, I run a website dedicated to Halloween costumes, and If I was in a zombie apocalypse, I'd probably just have a pint and wait for it all to blow over.

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