BY HEATHER STANLEY
The night of the dark parade of ghastly ghouls, sassy witches and bloodthirsty vampires has almost arrived. Halloween, the ultimate international scare day, is only a few days away. However, there’s a bit of a problem. Either a friend has invited you to a themed dance or you just want to dress up to join in the festivities, but you are stuck without a costume. Don’t scare yourself just yet! There’s still time to find an outfit before the big day.
Kyle Patton, of Elmira, is planning on dressing up as a Duck Dynasty character at a church Halloween event. “It’s perfect to be able to do something for the kid’s here. I have a lot of camouflage so I’ll probably dress up and also dress the table.” 
Elmira Emmanuel Missionary Church is setting up tables on Halloween where volunteers will give candy to trick or treaters. Other themed tables include camping, the ’50s, pirates, Lego and Mario Cart. Ben Dettwiler and Josh Gofton are decorating their table based on a disco theme.
“We’re doing an awesome disco-themed costume,” said Gofton of Elmira. “So, I went to Value Village and picked up some of them ‘funkalicious’ afros for $13. They were pretty sweet. Then we got some hideous shirts also from Value Village the following week.”
The pair were trying to get a disco ball to complete their table but did not have any luck.
Many people also take to the Internet to get ideas for costumes. Some sites that show DIY (do it yourself) costumes are Pinterest, Popsugar and Mashable. Buzzfeed also has some ideas and tells you how to pull them off. Suggestions include Bill Cosby, Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family and Fonzie from Happy Days. One costume listed on the site is an outfit modelled after graffiti artist Bansky’s Flower Bomber artwork. For this costume, the site says all you need is “a black top, white bottoms, a backwards cap, a bandana and a bouquet.”
Some people don’t want to put a lot of time and money into their costume. The Internet can help them out as well. One idea is to write “Error 404, costume not found” on a white T-shirt, wear a sign that says “Nudist on Strike” or even go as a grape by dressing in purple balloons.
Of course, the easiest, no hassle way to get a costume is just to buy it. “I recommend people go to thrift stores such as Value Village, MCC, Goodwill, any place that sells discount items,” Gofton said.
“However, if you’re looking for Batman or Bain or something specific, then you will have to go to Party City or someplace that has all that fancy stuff.”
For cheaper costumes, go through thrift store racks. An example of an easy costume that can be made is a Scooby Doo character. Other options include going to Walmart or Target. If you want to wear a sexier costume, the Stag Shop has outfits that sell for $15-$60. Wanting a “fancy” costume? Take the bullet and spend the money to get elegant and scary costumes from places like Party City or online.
For those with a Halloween costume, Conestoga Students Inc. will be hosting their annual Halloween Pub on Oct. 30 at Doon campus. The best costumes will be awarded prizes. The Guelph campus also has a costume contest on Oct. 31. The best costume will be picked at noon.
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