Beetlejuice Halloween Costume: My Messy, Hilarious Night Out 🎃

Right, so this all started because I left Halloween planning till, like, the day before. Classic me. Every year I say I’ll be organised — plan ahead, order something cool — and then I blink, and it’s the 30th of October. Everyone else has sorted their fancy-dress bits weeks ago, and there’s me, scrolling eBay at 1 a.m. eating crisps.

And that’s when I saw it. The black-and-white stripes. The wild hair. The absolute chaos of it all. Beetlejuice. The Beetlejuice Halloween costume.

It just clicked, you know? Funny, creepy, iconic — and a bit unhinged, which, let’s be honest, matched my energy.

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The “It’s Showtime” Moment

I hadn’t watched the full film in ages, but I remembered enough. Michael Keaton being a menace, Lydia Deetz in all her goth glory, the whole “Don’t say his name three times” thing. It’s one of those movies that feels half nightmare, half comedy sketch.

Plus, with the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice film coming out this year, it’s all over TikTok again. People are remixing the sound, doing transitions from normal clothes into full-on dead landlord mode. I figured, why not join the madness?

So, there it was: the decision made. No cat ears, no basic vampire cape. This year, I was going full chaotic undead real-estate agent.

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Hunting Down the Costume

Here’s the thing: it’s surprisingly hard to find a Beetlejuice suit that doesn’t look like it’s made out of bin bags. Some of them online looked… shiny. Like, disco-ball shiny. I wanted grimy, messy, “I’ve just crawled out of a coffin” vibes.

I hit up a few UK shops — Smiffys, Party Delights, and even Asda’s seasonal aisle (you’d be surprised what you can find next to the pumpkins). Eventually I found one on eBay for £29.99. The description said “used once, washed” which could mean anything, but I thought, sod it, and bought it anyway.

It arrived smelling faintly of old perfume and regret, but fit perfectly. Win.

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Building the Look

I’ve always said — it’s not just the outfit, it’s the details.

The Shirt & Tie

Found an old white shirt in the back of my wardrobe (well, more like off-white, but close enough). Borrowed a black tie from my mate Josh, who immediately said, “You’re not getting that back, are you?” He knows me too well.

The Makeup

This part was honestly so fun. I sat on the bathroom floor with a mirror, a tube of pale foundation, and a load of cheap green eyeshadow. Looked like an art project gone wrong at first. But once I smudged it about and added dark circles round my eyes, it actually came together.

Then I added green patches near my hairline for that “mouldy corpse” effect. My mum walked in halfway through and just said, “Right… I’m not even asking.”

The Hair

Now this bit—absolute nightmare. My hair’s quite short, so teasing it didn’t do much. I bought one of those white hair spray cans from Superdrug (£4.99, bless them). The can said “temporary” but my pillow begged to differ.

I added some green streaks on top for the rotting vibe, and I swear, I looked disgusting in the best possible way.

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Party Time (aka The Chaos Begins)

Halloween night. Windy as anything. I threw on my Beetlejuice Halloween costume, shoved my phone, keys, and a pack of gum in my blazer pocket, and headed to my mate Liv’s house party.

The second I walked in — instant reaction. People went, “No way, that’s brilliant!” and someone yelled “It’s showtime!” across the room. That’s when I knew I’d nailed it.

Liv had done her living room up properly — fake cobwebs, orange fairy lights, plastic spiders on the snacks table. There was a punch bowl that looked suspiciously radioactive, and about three people were dressed as the exact same vampire.

And then there was me, full Beetlejuice chaos mode.

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Things Started Going Wrong (But in a Fun Way)

Half an hour in, I’d already smudged half my white face paint off because I kept laughing. Someone asked for a photo, and I did this dramatic pose — ended up bumping into a fake skeleton that collapsed on the floor. Whole room lost it.

Later, someone handed me a drink that turned out to be 90% rum and 10% Fanta. I nearly saw the afterlife for real.

At one point, a random lad came up to me and said, “Say Beetlejuice three times!” so I yelled “BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE!” — and the Bluetooth speaker literally died mid-song. I’ve never seen people look so scared and impressed at the same time.

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Costume Malfunctions Galore

Here’s where it gets funny (and slightly tragic).

By the time we went outside for air, it had started drizzling — properly British weather, of course. The white stripes on my suit started to… run. Like actual ink bleeding down my legs. Looked like I was melting.

The green hair spray began dripping too, leaving faint streaks on my forehead. Someone said it looked like I was sweating radioactive goo.

But honestly? It worked. It made it even more authentic. Beetlejuice isn’t meant to look clean.

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Random Compliments & Cider Spills

At some point, a girl in a vampire cape told me I was the “most unhinged but creative” person there. I took that as a compliment.

Then, mid-dance, someone accidentally knocked their cider onto my trousers. Cold. Sticky. Sugary. The smell of apple and despair. I just shrugged and said, “Adds to the decay, love,” and kept dancing.

By midnight, I was an absolute state — suit soggy, face half white, half green, hair defying logic — but still buzzing.

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Budget Breakdown (Because I’m Skint)

If you’re broke — honestly, just do your own. Get an old white shirt, tape black stripes on, throw green eyeshadow on your face, and you’re sorted. No one at a party is inspecting your seams.

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Couple & Group Costume Ideas

I saw a couple dressed as Beetlejuice and Lydia that night — she had this flowy red dress and a black veil. Looked amazing.

If you’ve got mates joining in, you can totally make it a group thing:

• Beetlejuice & Lydia Deetz – The classic goth-romance duo.

• The Maitlands – Go for the “dead newlywed” vibe, white shirts and ghost makeup.

• Multi-Beetlejuice Squad – Everyone dresses as a different chaotic version. I’d pay to see that in a pub crawl.

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Quick Tips & Little Hacks

• Baby powder works weirdly well for pale skin if you’ve run out of makeup.

• Old eyeliner = best for dark circles.

• Green food colouring mixed in water can tint white hair spray (test first, please).

• Smudge your makeup. Seriously. Too neat = too wrong for Beetlejuice.

• Learn one line from the film and shout it occasionally. Instant crowd-pleaser.

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Late-Night Reflections

Walking home at 2 a.m. in that outfit was… interesting. I passed a group of lads who just stared, and one of them went, “Mate, Halloween was YESTERDAY.” It wasn’t. It was literally still Halloween night. But sure, okay.

Got back, peeled the suit off, and immediately realised I’d stained my neck green. Woke up the next morning looking like Shrek’s cousin. My flatmate just went, “You look how I feel.” Fair enough.

But honestly — that Beetlejuice Halloween costume? 10/10.
It wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be. It was loud, messy, funny, and a bit tragic — everything Halloween should be.

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FAQs

1. Can I make a Beetlejuice costume at home?

Absolutely. White shirt, black stripes (use electrical tape or paint), pale makeup, and messy greenish hair. The scruffier, the better.

2. Do I need a wig?

Not really — white hairspray does the job. Tease it up like you’ve been electrocuted. If your hair’s short, grab a cheap wig from Poundland.

3. What about kids?

You can make a kid-friendly Beetlejuice by skipping the gross bits. Just stripes, pale face, and silly energy — they’ll love it.

4. Where can I buy one in the UK?

Try Smiffys, Party Delights, or Amazon UK. Asda and Tesco also bring in Halloween lines around mid-October.

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Final Thoughts

You know what? I think Beetlejuice might actually be my new Halloween tradition. Every year I used to panic-buy cat ears or devil horns, but this felt different — more me, weirdly enough.

You don’t need perfection with this one. You just need confidence, some dodgy hair spray, and a sense of humour.

Because when you’re standing in a kitchen full of fake cobwebs, cider in hand, and someone yells “It’s showtime!” — it really is.e untouched.

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