Common Halloween Costume Stereotypes And The People Who Wear Them, An Illustrated Guide

Halloween has always been a day that a majority of people in the United States look forward to and with projections of consumer spend in 2008 to top the $5 billion mark, it has quickly become one of the more popular holidays to celebrate. Part of this popularity is due to the tradition of trick-or-treating as well as the ability for Halloween to be a fun and enjoyable holiday activity. However, for many people who celebrate this holiday, especially for the 18-35 year old demographic where it is by far the most popular, Halloween is not only a holiday, but it's also a night to let loose and get noticed by the rest of your friends, family and completely random strangers.

This is normally done through the ritual of creating an awesomely over-the-top, scary, weird, awkward, sexy or hilarious Halloween costume that many of the holiday lovers spend quite a bit of time working on. Over the years the people who create these costumes as well as the costumes themselves seem to all fall into a particular stereotype depending on what kind of costume they decide to wear out on Halloween night.

I have decided to categorize, summarize and explain these different stereotypes and the types of people who wear them below in this handy illustrated guide. If I have missed any, please feel free to let me know in the comments and if you have ever been one of these stereotypes(or plan to be), feel free to let me know that as well.

This is probably one of the most well-known advantages of Halloween for both the men and women who decide to celebrate - the ability to be a complete skank for the night and get away with it. I say this because the women, no matter if normally innocent or completely slutty, get the ability to dress up in costumes as skanky as they possibly can, all in the name of Halloween, and totally get away with it. Whether they're a naughty nurse, a kinky Rainbow Brite or some type of normal costume that they've completely slutted out, it's their time to show some major skin with no potential for backlash from the general public.

With all of the women running around in practically nothing, I would say that this is a bonus for the guys as well. But be careful men, just because their skank-o-meters are off the charts on Halloween night, it probably doesn't mean that you have a better chance of getting laid. However, that shouldn't stop you from trying and I doubt that it will.  

Very similar to the Super Skank, but for men, the Cross-dresser allows all of the manly men out there to show their feminine side, all while getting to show off their pumped-up pecs that they've been working on all year. As opposed to the mostly gay and bi-sexual men that you would normally see going drag and cross-dressing outside of the Halloween holiday, the average Halloween Cross-dresser is basically the opposite, seeing his new touch of feminine flair, make-up and overly-stuffed breasts as a way to show of some skin to the ladies and in turn hopefully giving him a better chance to get lucky on Halloween night.

This is a very clever play and one that does have some serious potential, but it is best advised to dress up with some other friends that either have the balls or enough drinks in them to rock out those bight orange Hooters shorts that you just scored for them. Just be sure to try to stick together or things could end up getting a little weird as the night goes on and as your mascara begins to run.

Also, it should be strongly advised that if you do decide to go with the Cross-dresser plan, you should probably not go all the way and wear the pantyhose. These tend to cause awkward moments in the restroom and terrible itching throughout the night. I mean, at least that's what I've heard.

It should probably also be noted that this costume choice is normally paired with mass consumption of alcohol, as it helps the Cross-dresser forget that he's wearing lipstick and fake eyelashes.

The one great thing about dressing up for Halloween is how group-friendly it tends to be. There's nothing better than getting a group of friends, coming up with a ridiculous group to dress up as and rocking it out as a group costume together. Like with many other situations, there is definitely power in nuimbers on Halloween night and the more people that you have the crazier that your costumes can be.

However, whether you all paint yourselves blue and go as the Smurfs, get retro and go as New Kids On The Block or pull out the leather jackets, greased hair and pink jackets for a Grease theme there's just one thing to be aware of when going with the group theme - you MUST stick together at all times. If you somehow lose the rest of your group, you'll be going completely solo with your costume, which will make you look even more of an idiot than you were before. This has serious potential to end up in an unwanted and very embarrassing situation.   A Ryu without the rest of the Street Fighters and a Donatello without the rest of the Ninja Turtles just doesn't work. If you do happen to lose your group, either try to find them immediately or start drinking a lot and avoid all 'So what are you?' questions as much as possible.

Each year there are always some very popular, interesting and different things that happen in pop culture, politics and the entertainment industry that spill over into Halloween. Whether it's a popular movie character or a president-to-be, the person who ends up wearing a Flash In The Pan style of costume is looking to be an up-to-date and eye-catching member of any Halloween scene by capitalizing on what's hot at the current moment.

Some men who might be worthy of the Flash In The Pan stereotype this Halloween could potentially be seen wearing a Joker costume from The Dark Knight, a Barack Obama mask, an old-looking John McCain or a gold medal and goggle wearing Michael Phelps. Another popular Flash In The Pan costume for men could potentially be the always odd and slightly freaky magicians Chriss Angel and David Blaine. As for the ladies, I expect to see many, many versions of the black glasses wearing Sarah Palin wandering around in Halloween night.

On Halloween many people seem to have the need to pull out some of their Martha Stewart skills and they attempt to create a costume from scratch. Sometimes(in rare instances) this works, but a majority of the time it doesn't and that's when they find themselves walking around in a costume that's classified as a DIY Gone Bad.

Whether they are making the costume themselves due to lack of funds or if they think that they have some creative skills that just aren't there, the DIY Gone Bad person always has really high hopes and intentions of creating an amazing costume, but when they finish their costume it's a whole different(and sad) story. But, although these types of people tend to be sporting a lower grade of Halloween costume, it doesn't neccessarily mean that it's any less entertaining. If you find yourself in a DIY Gone Bad costume the night of Halloween, it's key to still have fun with it all while not acting like you're actually looking good. Embrace the ghetto and homemade feel of your costume and just keep reminding yourself that you can now buy more drinks with the money that you saved from making the thing that you're now calling a costume.

For all of the nerds out there, Halloween tends to be the one night out of the year when they can show their true colors without any fear of getting made fun of. Even though many nerds often wear their Darth Vader helmets and swing their brightly-glowing light sabers in the seclusion of their apartments, Halloween is the one rare exception that allows them to go share their love of sci-fi with the rest of the world. These are the people that fall into the Excited Uber Nerd stereotype on Halloween. 

The fact that every woman will be out walking around half-naked also makes this a very exciting night for the Excited Uber Nerd considering that he can stare at them as long as he wants while hiding behind his newly polished, $500 original and Lucas Films accredited Storm Trooper helmet that he's wearing. And who knows, maybe there's a chance for these nerds to get some sweet naughty nurse action - I mean, there's at least a possibility for it to happen.  

If you are one of these nerds and are planning on invading a Halloween party this year, be sure to watch out for a few things:

• People stepping on your cape
• Leaving your lightsaber in the bathroom
• Wearing your glasses AND a Darth Vader helmet can be dangerous
• You care about your costume way more than anyone else does, so steer clear of big, clumsy drunk people 

Sometimes being really creative means paying a price. Whether wearing your movable, awesome-looking Transformer costume means you can't go pee or that by being a fully-functioning condom dispenser keeps you from raising your arms above your head, sometimes you have to be willing to give up some things for the sake of Halloween. These types of costumes mentioned are officially known as The Sacrifice and are what you have to be willing to deal with all night if you want to take your Halloween costume to the next level.

Not all sacrifices are equal either and although you might not be welcomed on the dance floor with your life-size paper mache Sponge Bob Square Pants costume, you'll be laughing last when you walk away with the best costume prize money at the end of the night. I mean, who cares that you can't even get a drink at the bar without knocking out every other person within a 10-foot radius? You look damn good and the 450 hours that you've spent building your Halloween masterpiece is paying off 100%.  

Even on Halloween there's a line that probably shouldn't be crossed when it comes to racial stereotypes or more sensitive subjects that are currently hot news. The stereotypes can play off of white vs. black people or men vs. women or even some religious differences. Also, sensitive news items can include a sudden death of a celebrity, an unexpected mass shooting at a college or some other type of event that probably shouldn't be made fun of through the use of a Halloween costume.

But, even though making fun of these touchy subjects is definitely not politically correct by any means, it is Halloween that we're talking about, which means that it's probably not going to stop some people from exploiting it. These types of people who do decide to exploit these types of things are part of the Awkwardly Tasteless stereotype and I'm sure that you'll see a few pop up this year at your local Halloween get-together.

As the night goes along the Awkwardly Tasteless person will get a few people who think that their costume is hilarious and will openly laugh out loud after seeing it. However, the majority of people who think it's just as funny, but won't openly admit it will instead choose to make remarks such as 'Man, that's just wrong...' or 'Dude, you are so sick...'.

If you are thinking about wearing an Awkwardly Tasteless costume this year, I would just be sure that you haven't acted too soon, which can end up really pissing some people off. By being Awkwardly Tasteless you are definitely taking a risk, but when done correctly you could easily end up being the hit of the party.

Somehow, every single year without skipping a beat, there's always the guy that has decided to dress up as a penis. This means that he went to store, saw a huge penis costume, thought it was an awesome choice and then decided to buy it for Halloween. Don't get me wrong, I think that an oversized, blown-up penis is just as funny as the next guy, but it still amazes me when I see him running around each year on Halloween. This guy, along with other dirty-minded Halloweeners, are all part of the Dirty Bastard stereotype.

We all have friends who are the 'dirty-minded' one of the group and we could maybe potentially see them dressing themselves up in a huge penis costume, but it really takes one super-dirty dude to pull it off. of course the Dirty Bastard is strictly reserved for the male species as I highly doubt that you would ever find a woman alive on this Earth who thinks that running around in a larger-than-life vagina would be a great idea, even though I would personally love to see it.

If you are thinking about being the Dirty Bastard this year, don't let me talk you out of it - there's definitely a need for you at every large Halloween outing. If you do walk around as a penis all night you're almost guaranteed to be the hit of the party, but if you're not careful you might end up getting a new nickname that night as well. Maybe it's worth it?

We have already covered the group costumes earlier, but I thought that there should definitely be a section dedicated to all of the couples out there who decide to team up on their Halloween costumes together. In my mind, nothing says love like two people who can team up on an original Halloween costume idea together and actually pull it off. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't but the priceless time that you spend together getting them ready will make your relationship stronger than ever. Or, I guess that it could potentially end up being the thing that ultimately breaks you apart - it could go either way.

When going with The Couple stereotype on a Halloween costume you should just be aware that by consenting to be one-half of the costume you could potentially be sending unwanted signals of commitment to the other half. Also, if your potential partner-in-crime isn't someone that you're not wanting to be seen as 'attached to', then this might be a bad road for you to consider going down.

But, on the other hand, if that guy or girl that you've been wanting to hook up with is down for pairing up for some Halloween fun, it could mean that there could be some good times coming soon. Maybe even on Halloween night if you play your cards right.

I know that you've run into one of the people who have worn a Halloween costume that falls under Clever One stereotype. These are the people who are wearing something that you don't initially understand when you first see them and you have to ask to get the full explanation of what they're supposed to be. For example, someone could be wearing all blue, wearing an extension cord wrapped around them and be holding a chicken. On first sight you would have no clue what they were trying to be, but after asking them you realize that they're in fact 'Chicken Cordon Bleu' (chicken, cord, on blue). After asking that's when you can decided whether it's funny or not, but either way you will probably respond with a fake laugh, accompanied by a quick 'Oh, I get it...that's funny' just so that you don't make them feel bad.

The bad thing about going the Clever One route is that you'll be explaining your outfit to different people constantly, all night long which can get annoying after a while. But, on the other hand, it can be a great ice-breaker and a way to get some random conversations going with other people at the party.

Even with all of these amazing types of Halloween costumes that everyone thinks of each year, it's hard to believe that some people think that it's ok to show up at a party without any costume to be found. Whether they think that they're too cool to dress up stupid or if they're just terrible planners I don't think that there is any excuse for going to a Halloween party and not dressing up, but somehow every single year it still happens and these people are the ones that fall under the Lame Ass stereotype.

Even though each of the above mentioned Halloween costume stereotypes has something about them that makes them really easy to make fun of, let's not forget that they at least dressed up and had fun. But, the Lame Ass doesn't put any effort into the Halloween holiday fun and instead they show up dressed up as normal as ever, which is about as lame as it gets on Halloween.

If you're planning on being the Lame Ass, do us all a favor and either get a costume or stay home this year. I mean, I bet that you would look awesome as a huge penis and we all know that we can't have too many of them walking around on Halloween.