13. The Dark Fairy Tale Red Riding Hood Zombie
Turn a beloved childhood classic into a dark, Brothers Grimm-style nightmare. The Red Riding Hood Zombie tells the story of what happened after the Big Bad Wolf won the fight. The costume features a rustic peasant-style dress with a corset bodice, paired with the iconic crimson hooded cloak. Tear the hood and the shoulders of the cloak to simulate claw marks from a massive beast, and paint the edges of the tears with deep red fabric paint to look like fresh blood soak.
The makeup is the focal point of this tragic story. Create three deep, parallel claw marks across one side of the face using rigid collodion or liquid latex, filling the grooves with thick scab blood and surrounding them with dark purple bruising. Paint the lips a bitten-red color, and keep the skin pale and cold. Carry a wicker picnic basket filled with artificial severed limbs, bones, and tattered red cloth instead of bread and wine, creating a dark, narrative-driven costume that tells a story at a single glance.