I don't like wearing costumes, or think it worth the time and effort to come up with anything creative. I was most gratified when invited to a party last weekend (thanks, Cathy!) to learn that it was costume optional.

I haven't cared much for Halloween since I was a little kid. Back then, we thought it was something you were supposed to outgrow. Somehow, though, many of my generation apparently didn't--it's become the biggest holiday of the year after Christmas. What is that all about?

Anyway, Robert over at retrocrush.com has a collection of the lamest Halloween costumes ever.

i wouldn't say i'm a costume nut, but i have always enjoyed a good costume party. i went as tinkerbell one year when i was a student at auburn. 'twas a lot of fun. these days i hand out goodies while dressed as a mime or a pirate while watching (listening to) nightmare before christmas.

but Easter is my favorite holiday (after Christmas).

chris

I think many people my age like it because it?s a fun holiday. Fun in that its not politically correct, you don't have to go see your relatives and it has no real deep political or religious implications. It?s just a fun time to do something totally nuts.

While lack of direct religious implications is also a consideration for me my favorite 'costume' was when a large group people put on coats, sweaters, scarves and hats (in Souther California!) and went Christmas Caroling on Halloween. About half the houses we visited were thrilled, the other half seemed completely mystified.

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Suppose one had a list of gizmos one desired to obtain but was prevented by the spousal unit. One might then conceive of a costume that required said gizmos as accessories. "It just be lame if I didn't have the X-5 Inova light with the voice-activated on switch!"

Or a costume involving the spousal unit and fishnet hosiery, which for some otherwordly reason seem to be common.

But other than that, it's fun and creative. For many of us who have no artistic talent at all, it's the one time we can be "artsy" without getting laughed at too much.

Rand, you better watch out. I hear the spirits of Halloween past, present, and future aren't as nice as those of Christmas. Now I recommend you dress up as a big pumpkin and hand out candy with joy or your chains will be very thick indeed. :)

Well, I went to a rather peculiar kind of costume party on October 4th -- the DC Area Red Dress Run. All of us, except one redheaded woman, wore Red Dresses. The redhead wore a long green dress.

The party was a blast. We started out at Cap Cities Brewery next to Union Station. We ran, jogged, walked, stumbled through DC, whooping and hollering and having a generally good time. We stopped at Remington's (a gay country western bar on Pennsylvania) for a beer check and some dancing. And finally it was back to Cap Cities for some more beer and food.

Why do outwardly normal men and women do this nutty event? Because it's fun! It's a chance to do something politically incorrect, meet attractive members of the opposite sex, drink some beer and in general have a real good time.

When I get my photos up, I'll send you an e-mail.

Sorry Rand, I love your Site and the commentary, But Halloween is out and out fun, for more reasons than I care to elaborate. I'm sure there's a whole lot of Psychobabble out there concerning "the Other" and the Need to express a change of Personality and expression as well as personal creativity. But suffice to say people enjoy it and quite frankly we all could use more fun.

Sorry Rand, I love your Site and the commentary, But Halloween is out and out fun, for more reasons than I care to elaborate. I'm sure there's a whole lot of Psychobabble out there concerning "the Other" and the Need to express a change of Personality and expression as well as personal creativity. But suffice to say people enjoy it and quite frankly we all could use more fun.

Well, all I can say is that saying that you do it because it's "fun" simply begs the question, and doesn't explain it to me, because "fun" is subjective. I don't find it all that fun, or at least not enough so to bother.

Any halloween costume that gets bought as a mass-produced unit is lame, no matter how good or bad the likeness. The point is making the costume.

When the science fiction club at Dear Old State had a Halloween party, there was always a prize for best bullshit costume. This was the "here's why my street clothes and perhaps one comedy prop constitute a costume" category. It rawked.

I'm not big on Halloween, but originally it was an adult activity. In the fifties it became candy for kiddies, but even then adults had there own parties. These adult costume parties are a return to it's roots (such as they are.) Parties of all sorts used to have themes and people enjoyed getting into the spirit of them. I understand that some areas of Louisianna have kept the traditional parties going.

Not everyone (engineers in particular it seems) like these type of parties and myself, I prefer a costume party with a more focused theme and usually avoid Halloween (although Miss Poland did convince me one year to go house to house when I was well past my youth... you should have seen the faces on the people at the door. Nobody noticed me!)