By Karina Kajishima and Clara Montgomery, Spoke News
Welcome to spooky Spoke’s most haunted edition of Fashion ICONdors yet. Conestoga College got creative this Halloween and showcased some of the college community’s funniest, scariest and most imaginative costumes.
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Thompson: “I just have a semi colourful, kind of wacky theme to it, because that’s the way they dress in the game. Sunset Overdrive, that’s where it’s from. And I have this bear with TNT and a clock strapped to it, because in the game they shoot these at people. They blow up.”
Is the bear homemade?
“Oh, yeah, actually my fiancée did it for me for my birthday. ’Cause I’m a huge fan of the game so she was like, ‘Yo, I have to make this for you.’ “
What is your biggest fear?
Thompson: “Growing up to be one of those old, selfish people. Those bitter jerks. Old people who just sit on their porch and just yell at people. Growing up to be one of those people, that’s my biggest fear.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Thompson: “No, I haven’t.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Sealey-Baker: “I am a witch. Everyone keeps asking what type of witch and I didn’t know there were multiple types of witch, so I’m just a regular witch, I guess. Why did I choose it? ’Cause it’s fun, I don’t know. I just like dressing up every year. I try to change it up every year and this just was what I was doing this year.”
What is your biggest fear?
Sealey-Baker: “This is going to sound really cheesy. Bridges! I am terrified of bridges. That while I’m in my car or walking over it, it’s just going to collapse and I’m going to fall. If I can go around it, I’m going to do it, but like, we went to the States last weekend and you can’t get away from the Ambassador Bridge or the tunnel so it’s either one. Collapsing tunnel or collapsing bridge!”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Sealey-Baker: “No! I don’t think so.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Jadischke: “I bought it last year for high school and then I used it in a film called Sour Screams. It’s on YouTube. And then it was late last night and I was like, ‘Oh, I should probably wear something that’s a costume.’ So I just went in my closet and I grabbed this.”
What is your biggest fear?
Jadischke: “Mustard.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Jadischke: “No.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Docherty: “Mainly because I can wear these things again. My hair already kind of suits the concept. It was a matter of just putting it together, low maintenance, get up and go.”
What is your biggest fear?
Docherty: “Inevitable death, I guess. Or heights.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Docherty: “Not that I can think of, although it would be nice to have one, so I could talk about it.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Hodgins: “I am a magical wizard. I named him Herman but everyone calls me Merlin because I totally stole the look from him. I just went for a classic white beard, blue outfit.”
What is your biggest fear?
Hodgins: “I’m super paranoid so I can’t tell if there’s actually anything there but I can’t focus on that kind of stuff. My mom said we had ghosts in our house. I believe her. She’s one of those people that tells ghosts to screw off.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Hodgins: “Probably, realistically, spiders. But philosophically, probably my whole family dying.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Weber: “This is Lt. Uhura from Star Trek: The Original Series, which was a TV show in the ’60s. There’s also a bunch of different ones, but I love the original series a lot.”
What is your biggest fear?
Weber: “Needles. I can’t. Nope.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Weber: “Yes. When I was younger, I saw a shape in the dark. It was a snake. It came up to my bed. I was terrified as a kid. I hid under my blankets. I told my grandmother and she was all like, ‘You can see into the evil spirit world,’ and I was like, ‘Thanks, Grandma.’ “
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Van Nieuwenhuizen: “It’s an homage to the frontman of the band Ghost.”
What is your biggest fear?
Van Nieuwenhuizen: “Oh, we want to go this route. Well, there’s two. One is death, because that’s just bloody terrifying, and the second one is being hollow. Basically it’s how I describe getting to a point where you lose all emotion and drive in life.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Van Nieuwenhuizen: “Yeah, I have a ghost that hangs out in my basement. He occasionally shows up. He just chills in the doorway and watches me. I know it’s there and I can see the outline of a figure, and that’s as far as it goes. It’s been going on for a while.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Clarke: “So I’m Wednesday Addams, from The Addams Family show. It’s an old show. The character herself is quite dark. So just general dark outfits, hair always tied back in pigtails, that kind of thing.”
Do you relate to Wednesday Addams?
Clarke: “Yeah. I mean, there’s always good days and bad days. She’s kind of like the sad days, the bad days, but she still makes it fun and exciting.”
What is your biggest fear?
Clarke: “Heights, falling, drowning, all that kind of stuff. Closed spaces.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Clarke: “Yes, I have. Babysitting once, I saw a man on a rocking chair on the front porch. I was scared. But he didn’t approach me or attack or anything. I think it was a paranormal experience because when I went outside, he wasn’t there. The rocking chair was moving.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Johannes: “I dressed up as Super Gay, which is a hero take on being very gay.”
What is your biggest fear?
Johannes: “That’s a loaded question. I guess like, as a child, the dark. I hate the dark.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Johannes: “I mean, there’s always weird noises in my house and I’m pretty sure my basement is haunted. I never go down there in the dark.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Massey: “I went to Disney World two years ago and I’ve been so caught up in school and stuff, so I just threw on the ears and came.”
What is your biggest fear?
Massey: “I would say heights.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Massey: “No, I haven’t.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Gray: “Me and my friend are Cosmo and Wanda from The Fairly OddParents cartoon. We just kind of decided on it.”
Reaker: “It started out as a project where we both did a different colour of a beetle and our other friend pointed out, ‘They look like Cosmo and Wanda,’ and it just hit us in the head like, ‘Oh my God, Cosmo and Wanda. We should be that for Halloween.’ “
What is your biggest fear?
Gray: “Heights.”
Reaker: “Oh, so many. I’d have to say deep water, oceans.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Gray: “No.”
Reaker: “I have. I was in my room and I was brushing out my hair. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black shadow figure. It looked at me for a second and then it disappeared as soon as I turned around. And I’ve been afraid of the corner of my room ever since.”
Have you ever told anyone about it?
Reaker: “Nope! Not until now.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Visser: “I’m Fry from Futurama. It was super easy to put together, I didn’t have to buy anything, so it was super cheap. I was going to be a gingerbread man but that didn’t work. So I used the ginger hair part of me to make it good.”
What is your biggest fear?
Visser: “Heights, probably heights would be my biggest fear.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Visser: “I don’t think so.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Melnychuk: “Um, well, I am wearing a hippie costume. I just decided to dress up as it because it’s more of a last minute costume idea. I had so many ideas and then I realized I already had a lot things that went with this costume, like tie dye, floral pants; it just worked. And sometimes my friends joke that on a daily basis, I look like a hippie. So I was like, ‘I’ll dress like one for Halloween.’ “
What is your biggest fear?
Melnychuk: “Oh dear, that’s a big question. Biggest fear. Probably loneliness I think.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Melnychuk: “I’d say my house is pretty creepy because it’s really old. So whenever I watch a horror movie, I swear I’m extra sensitive to what’s happening, like noises and stuff like that. It’s scary.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Mullin: “So I got an email from my work saying I had to dress up. I work at Zehrs. My boss was like, ‘Yeah, everyone’s gotta dress up.’ So it was like, 9 o’clock this morning and I was like, ‘Oh crap.’ So I went to Value Village and here I am.”
What is your biggest fear?
Mullin: “I am terrified of ladybugs. That sounds really weird but I am actually, like, petrified of ladybugs. This sounds super weird, but do you know Babybel cheeses? I just hate the way that their wings open up like a Babybel cheese.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Mullin: “Oh my God, yes! It was like, a Grade 9 birthday party and my friends and I decided to play an Ouija board, which is like, don’t do that ever. We were like joking around like, ‘Give us a sign.’ There was like this toy lightsaber, it had no batteries in it or anything and it turned on for a second. We freaked out and I’ve never touched a Ouija board since.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Baird: “I’m dressed as a goth. I don’t own a lot of black so I wore my darkest clothes and got fishnet tights, wore a choker, dark makeup, stuff like that.”
What is your biggest fear?
Baird: “Um, probably dying. I don’t know, I’m just really scared of dying.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Baird: “Um, not really. I used to think there was someone living in my basement, but there wasn’t, I was just going crazy.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Bartz: “Well, it got inspired by our dance mix ’90s event that we did a live remote for. And so I figured I’d dress as if it’s the ’90s for Halloween. Usually I go as Robin but I wanted to change it up this year.”
What is your biggest fear?
Bartz: “Probably not being financially stable. That is a worry.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Bartz: “Yes, kind of. Well, we first moved into our house a long time ago, seven or eight years ago. And it was the first night we were all in our rooms. We heard something coming up the stairs, but nobody went up or down the stairs. So it was really creepy. But my mom was like, ‘Oh it was just, y’know, the previous owner checking in on us.’ “
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Wade: “I am Jay Mewes from Jay and Silent Bob, the Kevin Smith movies. I just grew my hair out so I thought it would be a good costume. I grew it out specifically for this. It took me two years to grow out.”
What is your biggest fear?
Wade: “That feeling of being in the very middle of the ocean with absolutely no land around you whatsoever in any direction and you’re just kind of floating there. The worst. That’s the worst thing I could think of.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Wade: “One time I was watching this movie called The Fourth Kind and the aliens always come at 3:33 a.m. So literally I looked at my watch and it was 3:33 a.m. and then my buddy’s cat jumped on my face. It was at night, we’re watching this movie in a super dark room and this cat jumps on me right at the time that the aliens were supposed to come in the movie. I lost my mind! I started freaking out.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Miller: “Well, I’m a criminal. They let me out early here. I lost the top, it’s supposed to be a sexy criminal, but that’s not really fitting for school. So I just went with a grey and black top.”
What is your biggest fear?
Miller: “My biggest fear is heights. I am terrified of heights, which is ironic because I’m 6’4”.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Miller: “I’ve never had a paranormal experience but my parents have. My dad was looking out the window of the apartment when they first got together and he saw his grandfather walking down the street, but his grandfather had passed away years ago, so it was kind of crazy. And when he turned and told my mum, they looked back and he was gone.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Hanson: “It was $50. It was worth it though. I got it all at Value Village. The wings came separately. The rollerblades are separate too, that was just spur of the moment. Owls are cool.”
What is your biggest fear?
Hanson: “My biggest fear is dying alone.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Hanson: “Yes. One time in my house, it was very late at night. My house is very old. My mom, dad and sister were out of the house and I was there alone, gamin’. It was like, Grade 7. I heard noises in the upstairs area and thought ‘Oh hey! Mom and dad are home!’ I heard, like, talking, voices engaged in conversation. And I walk upstairs and all the lights are off and nobody was home, so then I sh*t myself. And then I went to bed and all throughout the night I could hear footsteps walking around my house. Sometimes at night I can still hear them. Sometimes it scares me but I’m still used to it. I told my parents but they don’t believe me.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Garlow: “I’m a sloth!”
What is your biggest fear?
Garlow: “My biggest fear? Ooh. Dark, open spaces. Nope, bad. I also don’t do spiders.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Garlow: “Yeah! I’ve seen a few things. My childhood home growing up was built in the 1800s. So super, super old, super, super creepy. We had a big spiral staircase. Across from that staircase was a frosted mirror. If you looked in that mirror, you could see someone standing on the stairs. Wasn’t fun.”
Have you ever told anyone that?
Garlow: “Yep, my parents knew. They saw the same thing.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Hedges: “Jaclyn Sparrow. I had to get up at 6 a.m. to get to my 9 a.m. class and this took that long. It’s all not purchased; I’ve had all of it for a while.”
What is your biggest fear?
Hedges: “Going to Conestoga jail! I’ve been there before. (When asked to elaborate on what Conestoga jail is, she said) No, no, no. . . No elaboration, thank you.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Hedges: “Yes. My parents have both passed away and both of them come see me at my house. I live in an old house. And they’ll turn off the lights and I can talk to them. I’ll say, ‘Is that you?’ and they will flash the lights. I am really happy with it. We’ve made a pact. It’s been happening since they died — I would say seven years. They were 95.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Ciupa: “Typical white girl, I’m just a cat. I couldn’t come up with anything else. I didn’t have anything else, so I’m just a cat.”
What is your biggest fear?
Ciupa: “Spiders! No, no. Not a fan of spiders. Or heights.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Ciupa: “Um, not that I can remember or think of. If I did, I probably blocked it out because it freaked me out. So, I don’t know.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Ottmann: “It was a last-minute thing and it’s just supposed to be a skeleton zombie kind of thing.”
What is your biggest fear?
Ottmann: “Worms!”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Ottmann: “No.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
James: (He made a penguin noise first) “I’m a penguin. I waddle around and I tell people that they should give me fish. I thought, ‘Hey, what’s cuter than a penguin? A penguin with an umbrella!’ “
What is your biggest fear?
James: “Oh, jeez! That’s a big question! By the way, what terrifies you? Probably just losing everybody I care about.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
James: “One time. I’m not a big believer in ghosts or anything, but one time I was sleeping in bed at my mother’s old house and I woke up in the middle of the night. It was almost like a fever dream. And I felt like somebody was touching my hand and I immediately was terrified because I knew nobody was in my room. I got the weirdest feeling like it was somebody I loved, like as if it was my mother holding my hand, but it definitely wasn’t anybody. So that’s the spookiest thing.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Waugh: “My costume is very pink. It’s a school girl/bunny. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now, slowly escalating with the costume, getting more and more pink and girly. It’s fun, it makes people laugh.”
What is your biggest fear?
Waugh: “Spiders creep me out.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Waugh: “I can’t recall. No, I don’t think so.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Lavigne: “I’m a postal worker. I kind of chose this costume just ’cause I thought it was ironic since they’re on strike right now and a lot of people are really upset about it, so I was like, ‘Why not?’ and it’s really funny, so.”
What is your biggest fear?
Lavigne: “Spiders. I hate spiders. They’re just gross and scary. I’ve always been scared of spiders.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Lavigne: “There’s a restaurant that’s haunted where I’m from, Aurora. I was there late one night drinking and weird stuff started happening. Stuff kept falling off of shelves and stuff and no one was moving it. So that was kind of creepy. Ghost Hunters went there; they did an episode on the place. Apparently it’s haunted. Everyone was really drunk, no one really took notice but then one of the staff was telling me it gets really creepy at night and they hear things.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Brown: “Well, I’m the Super Excited For Christmas Guy. I got the idea for this costume when I was wearing this sweater in September and I thought, ‘Hang on a minute. I’m gonna wait and wear this for Halloween.’ Because everyone makes a big deal about being too excited for Christmas. I’ve heard people shouting at me saying, ‘I love it and I hate it at the same time.’ “
What is your biggest fear?
Brown: “Being stranded out in the middle of the ocean. That’s it. Just ‘cause it’s like, ‘Well there’s no way out of that one,’ and you just end up dying.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Brown: “Nah. Well, one time when I was younger I saw, like, weird flashing lights in the sky. Turns out it was those paper lanterns. At the time I was like, ‘Whoa, what’s that?!’ Then I learned what those were.”
Program assistants from the school of health and life sciences and the school of community services.
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Hesch: “Well, originally I wanted to be a brick. Just because it would be a really simple costume to do. Just spray paint something red. Then I realized you can buy painters tape and make a brick pattern, so I wanted to be a brick wall. Then I realized that this box is very slimming, so I became a chimney. It evolved with me.”
What is your biggest fear?
Hesch: “Spiders mostly.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Hesch: “Well, when I was younger, I was about five. I was doing some laundry with my mum. We lived in an apartment building so we went to the basement to do it. My mom always told me not to go into the third room on the other end of the hallway. Being five years old, I walked in and I put my toy down and there was a man standing there with no face, just standing there. He looked like a well clad man, sharply dressed. He took off his hat and bowed to me and put his hat back on, so I walked back out to my mom.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Fraser: “I had this from the last time I went out, which was last week. And I just took off my usual contacts and this is just what’s underneath.”
What is your biggest fear?
Fraser: “Bees. Cocaine.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Fraser: “Yes, I see dead people.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Ranni: “Well, it’s Wednesday. I found this shirt at the store. I wanted something quick so I thought I’d be a mean girl trying to dress up for Halloween.”
What is your biggest fear?
Ranni: “My biggest fear is homeless people. It’s an irrational fear. . .I help them out when I can, but they legit scare the crap out of me.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Ranni: “Every day. I have some dead relatives and I believe that they’re around all the time. I get really cold and weird. I believe in all that weird spiritual stuff.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Carere: “This is mostly things I actually already own. The only thing I bought for this was fake blood. I’m a Victorian vampire.”
What is your biggest fear?
Carere: “Abandonment.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Carere: “Yes, but not in like, the ghost kind of way. More like the psychic, prediction kind of way. Just dreams that I have and then things from the dreams will happen the next day or in the next couple of days.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Ramljak: “I spent a lot of money on it. It’s mainly from grant money. I’m very proud of it. My mom really isn’t happy about it. She took away some of my stuff, but I’m happy. I’m gonna use this for a lot of days. Might just wear this religiously. Help. I’m the sole survivor of Vault 111, I’m looking for my son. Have you seen him? Please, where is my son? Have you seen my son? Have you seen my son? Where is he? Where is Shaun? WHERE IS SHAUN?”
What is your biggest fear?
Ramljak: “Losing my kids. My fear is losing my kids.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Ramljak: “I got my wife shot. I spent two hours customizing her face and she got shot. Now my baby looks frickin’ ugly. Where’s Shaun?”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Harding: “I’m Mr. Monopoly. I actually have a box with little candy coins to give away to anybody who recognizes me or who is wearing a costume.”
What is your biggest fear?
Harding: “As Mr. Monopoly, bankruptcy.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Harding: “Yes. I once turned into my own game piece, the dog. And every time I walk in this certain area of the hallway, I get transported to a jail cell. I don’t know what happened. I can’t move for three days.”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Montgomery: “I am a bee for two reasons. One, I have been, like, obsessed with bees for the last few years because they’re dying and I’m always like, ‘Save the bees.’ So I was like, ‘Man, I should just be a bee,’ And then, two, I’m also really scared of bees. So I was like, ‘I should just be what I’m scared of. Bee what I’m scared of.’”
What is your biggest fear?
Montgomery: “Okay, there’s a lot. Aliens, time, needles, any bug that flies, not being able to see my feet while I walk and wasps. Wasps are the biggest though.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Montgomery: “We had a lot when I was younger. We lived in this house in Toronto. It was my mom, my sister, my nana and I. My sister lived in the basement and had the whole thing to herself and my nana was on the top floor. The previous owner had died there. You know when you rub a carpet the opposite way and it gets darker? There was always stuff rubbed into my nana’s carpet. There would be, like, a man’s body outline, one day it would be a giant question mark, just rubbed into the carpet. One time she came out, and I don’t know if this is true, but she said it said ‘Who am I?’ in her carpet. So that was pretty scary. And then we realized we were getting his mail. He had died but we were still getting his mail. His name was John Gilpin, so we just called him Gilpin all the time. Things would fall off of shelves all the time and my nana’s sugar dish would roll off of the counter out of nowhere and she would just be like, ‘Oh, it’s just Gilpin.’”
Tell Spoke a little bit about your costume.
Kajishima: “I am Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction after her overdose and after her adrenaline shot. I don’t know, I guess I just think she’s a pretty cool woman. She was pretty cool in the movie. It was a good movie — watch the movie.”
What is your biggest fear?
Kajishima: “My biggest fear is probably the dark, ghosts, snakes, anything scary, horror movies. I don’t know, I’m scared of everything, literally everything. Except for robbers. I’m used to robbers.”
Have you ever experienced anything paranormal?
Kajishima: “Since I’m scared of everything, I think everything is a paranormal experience even when it’s probably not. My roommate and I lived in a house in the summer that would always have weird things happen. We’d hear weird noises, things would be in other places when we didn’t put it there. We used to call her Lindsay because we thought she was a basic girl. So that was a basic girl name that we thought about. So that was Lindsay and we ended up being friends with her. She was a pretty cool ghost. Oh, and one day when I was 15 I want to say, I woke up with a cross on my back. It was kind of like someone used their nail to put a cross on my back but it would never go away. It was there for more than a week. That was pretty weird, it was huge.”
To be featured in an upcoming instalment of Fashion ICONdors, put on your best outfit and Spoke will find you, no matter where you are.
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