Back In The Day Show

In honor of Halloween last week, here are a few photos of us in our Halloween costumes from years past, which were described in detail in episode #7. These are some of the most awesome homemade costumes you’ll ever see! Hit the link below to see larger versions of the same photos.

First up, we have Chris dressed up as Skeletor from Halloween 2006. Skeletor was the main villain in the 80s cartoon, He-man. Here, it looks like someone is trying to steal his drink. You’d think an evil guy like Skeletor would be able to chill out on Halloween of all days. Tough break. Although constructing this costume mostly just invovled a lot of time in the garage with spray paint, it was no easy task. The mask was just a run-of-the-mill, store-bought thing; the challenge was finding a muscle suit that didn’t have a superhero logo attached. The solution? South Park’s Satan. And for those of you who think turning a red, foam bodysuit bluish-purple is an easy process, you’ve obviously never tried. It’s also kind of hard to go barhopping when your costume doesn’t have pockets, but any true supervillain knows how to get around that.

Next, there’s me (Rob) as a kid, clearly influenced by one of the most iconic heroes in video game history, Link from The Legend of Zelda. The precise time frame of the photo is unknown, but since the game came out in August of 1987 and I didn’t play it until later, we’re going to put this one at Halloween ‘88 or ‘89. Notice all of the elements of the perfect Link costume are in place: the magic word, the shield, the green tunic and cap, and the homemade cloth boots pulled over the sneakers. The accessories completing the outfit are the belt and sheath, elf ears, and you can’t see it, but I’m wearing the magic blue ring. As it turns out, the magic boomerang (referenced in episode #7) was discovered later at a toy store, and it actually worked… sometimes.

We move now to Josh’s Dracula costume also from Halloween ‘88 or ‘89. Whether Josh was representing the arch villain of Castlevania or he was just attracted by the traditional Dracula character hardly matters. Thanks to mom’s handiwork, Josh is the epitome of the evil, blood-sucking Count. While the typical dress shirt, pants, and shoes form the foundation of the costume, the cape, vest, and tie are all homemade. The teeth with enlarged canines are there, although you can’t see them. Add white makeup for a gaunt look, mom’s red lipstick, some generic, artificial blood, and don’t forget the slicked-back hair. Now you’ve got a pretty intimidating Dracula… or at least as intimidating as you can be at seven years old.

Finally, we have me and Josh from the Halloween of… I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure we were a bit younger in this one. I’m dressed up as Rambo, and Josh is Dracula. Apparently, Josh had a taste for blood as well as candy. As you can see, mom’s creativity shines once again. The makeshift, canvass shirt (homemade), beat-up jeans, and work boots are clear indicators that my costume is the Rambo from First Blood. Then of course there’s the signature headband (homemade) and combat knife. The camo facepaint was thrown in for effect as well as some weird pistol that shot penny-sized, plastic discs instead of suction-cup darts. Josh is pretty much wearing the same kind of Dracula costume as before except with a black vest instead of gray and no dripping, fake blood. Here it looks like Dracula is a bit more vulnerable up against the deadly Green Beret Vietnam vet.

Hope you enjoyed this small collection of Halloween photos. Go ahead, tell us about some of your costumes from years past in the comments. Again, to see larger versions of our photos, click the link below.