Halloween is about creativity and self-expression, and this year, it's no different. But since we have already carved our pumpkins and hung up all the decorations, everything that remains now is to suit up.
For this list, Bored Panda put together a selection of bold and memorable costumes designed for the spooky occasion by people with disabilities.
These innovative outfits not only reflect the unique personalities and passions of their creators but also challenge stereotypes and promote inclusivity. What a way to celebrate!
#1 My Passion For One-Legged Halloween Costumes Continues To Burn
Image credits: joshsundquist
#2 My Wife Is Bedbound So I Made Her This Halloween Costume
My wife has been bedridden with a severe illness, but she loves to dress up for Halloween. So I made this costume for her.
Seeing her smile made the under-the-fingernail cardboard paper cut almost worth it.
(Credits: costume idea my wife’s, house design inspired by Aubree Originals, made by me)
Image credits: kitz2103
Artist Riva Lehrer, who reflects on living with disabilities in her memoir Golem Girl, once mentioned that it took her time to reach a point where she could enjoy Halloween as much as the people depicted in these pictures.
"I've never dressed up all that much for [it]," she wrote. "I remember once slathering myself in makeup and going as a Mary Kay saleswoman, and another time covering a leotard with several hundred Band-Aids and going as the self-destructive performance artist Chris Burden, infamous for crawling over broken glass and having himself shot with a gun."
"I see now that every costume dealt with the history of my body, whether I knew it or not. Covering myself with makeup, trying to feel female; covering myself with bandages, trying to wink at my wounds."
#3 Brantley's First Halloween Costume Was A Success! He's The Perfect Carl
Image credits: thathairmama
#4 "I Am Made Of Porcelain". Happy Halloween
Image credits: tilly.lockey
#5 Amputee Halloween Costumes Just Hit Different
Image credits: openbionics
Then, in her thirties, Lehrer hit a wall.
"When friends asked, 'What are you dressing as this year?' I'd reply: 'I am a costume of the future! My task is to perfect the details of being me.'"
"It was a joke, but also a response to a lifetime of being stared at, for my curved spine, orthopedic boots, arrhythmic limp, being short — in short, all the things that made me unacceptable. I felt that no matter what I wore, viewers just subtracted the costume right off my body. What was the point of putting a monster over a monster?"
#6 Halloween We Are So Ready For You All. Briella Is Wearing The Adaptive Cinderella Costume With Adaptive Wheelchair Cover
Image credits: briellaandme
#7 My Tree Nymph Halloween Costume From A Couple Of Years Ago, Complete With A Power Chair Transformed Into A Hollowed-Out Tree
Image credits: alia_vera
#8 Weatherman Blake
Image credits: meganmompher
#9 First Halloween In A Wheelchair, And I Knew I Had To Dress As Madame Leota
Image credits: ACirrusCloud
Lehrer said 'monster' because she felt like that was how she was treated. But writing Golem Girl allowed her to claim the 'monster' for herself.
In it, she traces the history of the legend of the Golem and how the concept of the artificially constructed creature has been woven into Western culture. That’s how she sees herself — as a rough body fashioned from clay, a being as much built as born.
#10 My Professor And His Friend As Forest Gump And Lt. Dan For Halloween
Image credits: DrHivesPHD
#11 Happy Halloween
Image credits: wagsofsci
#12 The Cutest Cowgirl In Town
Image credits: __rileyandmommy
#13 Jeremy’s Costume This Year: The Halo Warthog! We Had To Build One On The Rig
Image credits: ryansmiller
"Halloween is the time of monsters, of course," Lehrer said. "Creatures with damaged bodies, scarred faces, lumbering gaits, missing limbs; brutes that drool, emit miasmas, bleed, leak, manifest psychiatric conditions that put them beyond the pale of acceptable society. Frankenstein (a Golem); his Bride (a Golem); the Borg (a Golem, and so is Mr. Data); Dracula (infectious); the Wolfman (infectious); Darth Vader, Captain Hook (amputees); Freddy Krueger (facial disfigurement and mental illness) … I'll stop there. If I listed every disabled villain, I'd be here till I was not a Golem but a ghost."
#14 Barbie World. How Did We Do?
Image credits: wheelchairpapi
#15 I’m An Amputee. Here’s My Halloween Costume This Year. What Do You Think?
Image credits: DeadZeppelin011
#16 Frida-Inspired Halloween Costume
Image credits: uniplegic
#17 McDonald's Fries Are Always Better With Ketchup. Bros For Life
Image credits: meganmompher
It can be incredibly hard to leave the house if you feel like a monster and don't want to be seen. But in a way, Halloween levels the playing—at least for one night—allowing everyone to embrace their individuality without fear of judgment. On this day, costumes become a way to celebrate differences rather than hide them, and who among us hasn’t felt like they were lacking that sense of belonging at some point?
#18 Wheelchair Costumes
Image credits: bawsey
#19 Was A Good Halloween
Image credits: awalkwithsebs
#20 Halloween Couples Costumes Is Kicking Off This Year With Maddy & Jacob’s Hot Dog Stand
Image credits: wagsofsci
#21 Pee-Wee Herman And Chairy: First Trick-Or-Treat For This Sweet Boy In His Wheelchair
Image credits: michkennedy
#22 Happy Halloween From Lieutenant Dan! We Ran Into Forest And Jenny Too
Image credits: alittlegramming
#23 "Toss A Coin To Your Witcher"
Image credits: patrickivison
#24 Halloween Was Made A Lot Sweeter For These Kids, Thanks To The Team At Shriners Children's Salt Lake City And The Wheelchair Costume Clinic
Image credits: shrinershospitals
#25 Halloween 2023 Was One For The (Leather-Bound) Books. We Hope You Enjoyed Our Costumes
Image credits: silas_saga
#26 From A Bride In Her Coffin To Sitting On The Iron Throne, We Love How People Take Advantage Of Their Wheelchairs And Incorporate Them Into Their Costumes
Image credits: accessnowapp
#27 Happy Halloween! Yes, I Made The Leg Myself
Image credits: organic_hobnob
#28 Happy Halloween From ET, Elliot, And Gertie. What Are You Dressing Up As This Year?
Image credits: coupleinthekitchen
#29 Taking Reservations For Your Next Corporate Event, Holiday Party, Or Food Truck Festival - You Name It! Maddux Has You Covered For All Things Burgers, Fries And Shakes
Image credits: whatamithankfulfor
#30 Four Events With This Awesome Halloween Costume
Image credits: peppernappo
#31 Happy Halloween From Our Little Meatball
Image credits: hopeniccolle
#32 The Cutest Bowl Of Mac And Cheese I’ve Ever Seen
Image credits: meganmompher
#33 Blake’s Halloween Costume This Year
Image credits: blake.sacre
#34 "I Wanna Rock… Rock"
Image credits: chelrupp
#35 Happy Halloween From Paul Hollywood, Noel Fielding, And Our Very Own Star Baker
Image credits: jenniferidamason
#36 Another Successful Halloween! Not A Funny Costume This Year, I Was Limited For Time, But I Think This Turned Out Well
Image credits: briannaseewald
#37 My Son As An Ohio State Football Player
Image credits: AnnArborBuck
#38 First Outing Of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band And The Yellow Submarine
Image credits: samvsvwm
#39 Happy Halloween From Our Little Bookworm
Image credits: ourrealrarelife
#40 Halloween Was So Much Fun This Year! I'm Glad We Got To Spend It With Great Friends
Image credits: candicemccool.fit
#41 "You’ll Always Have Me, And I’ll Always Have You". Elsa And Olaf Have Always Been Besties
Image credits: masontaylor1312
#42 So This Year's Halloween Theme Was Moana And I Was Te Fiti
Image credits: rachelles_wheels
#43 It’s All A Bunch Of Hocus Pocus! We Had A Blast As A Family At This Year’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Image credits: wheelsuplife
#44 Pirate Costume With A Paw, Stick, And All The Details (Though Only For The Photo, Since I Couldn’t Actually Walk Like That). What Do You Think Of The Costume?
Image credits: natyboat
#45 Presenting Harry Potter And Buckbeak. She Looks Pretty Fantastic, I Must Say. Even Hermione And Dumbledore Showed Up To Take A Few Pictures
Image credits: josie.rae.c
#46 Sometimes Angel, Sometimes Demon, But Always Me
Image credits: lavalientedany's profile picture lavalientedany
#47 Happy Halloween
Image credits: zoes_story
#48 I Turned My Son’s Wheelchair Into An AT-ST Walker For Our Trip To Disney. It Is Going To Be Absolutely His Halloween Costume
Image credits: crrude
#49 Did My First Official Troop In The Wheelchair Clone Trooper Armor Today! The Modifications Went Well. I'm Going To Make A Few Small Adjustments, But Overall I'm Pretty Happy With It
Image credits: deez_lees
#50 Trunk Or Treat: Aladdin And Prince Ali
Image credits: ourspecialspecialworld
