Halloween: the perfect time to cosplay as your favorite urban fantasy character or trope. Vampires, witches, ghouls–the staples of Halloween are also the major character types in urban fantasy novels.

Not sure where to start with your costume? This article should hopefully give you a few ideas. Some are easy, others more difficult, but all of them should add a little supernatural fun to your Halloween.

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Vampire

Vampires are a Halloween and urban fantasy classic. And they’re a great costume choice because they’re so versatile.

You can go old-fashioned and formal.

You can leather it up like you’re in the movies Underworld or Blade.

Or you can just wear your regular clothing, the better to blend in with the human population as you hunt your next meal. Because there’s really only one thing necessary for a vampire costume, and that’s the fangs.

Demon

A demon is another costume that can be relatively easy to put together. All you need is a pair of horns. Put on some business casual clothes, print out a fake contract, and walk around the Halloween party trying to persuade people to sell you their souls.

Now, nothing’s stopping you from going all-out with a demon costume…

It’s just going to be a lot more money and effort.

Fae

The fae are many and mysterious, and with their use of glamours, you can never really be sure what they look like. That’s good for costuming purposes though, because it gives you a ton of different options.

A good place to start is with a long, flowing dress and flowers in your hair.

A bit of makeup can lend you an otherworldly air.

And if you’re still not feeling fae enough, you can always add a pair of fairy wings.

Witch/Wizard/Other Magic User

A witch is another costume that’s great if you need something last-minute and are on a budget. Just put on some black clothes and buy a hat.

But just like there’s no one way to be a witch, there’s no one way to dress like one either.

Long dresses, gauzy fabrics, and lots of black can give you that witchy/sorceress vibe.

A long cloak and staff is another good option.

Of course, if you really want that “main character on the cover of an urban fantasy book” feel, you’ll need something more modern.

You can’t go wrong with a leather jacket.

And a long coat with a wide-brimmed hat brings to mind a certain wizard from urban fantasy.

But to get across that you’re a magic user and not just a normal (albeit stylish) human, you’ll need accessories. Look for spellbooks, pentacle jewelry, and wands.

Magic is all about the small details.

Zombie/Undead

If you want to go for a classic zombie look, your local Halloween store has probably got your back. It’ll take some makeup skills but is manageable.

Something else that takes makeup skills? A more stylized undead costume.

The results are super cool though.

Magical Academy Student

Start with clothes that look like a school uniform…

Add a wand, scythe, sword, or whatever magical item fits your school…

And bam, you’ve got a magical academy student costume.

The downside is that no matter what unique magical academy you’re pretending to attend, most everyone is going to assume you’re a Hogwarts student.

Shifter

…

Yeah, sorry. The only way to make this costume happen is if you can actually transform into an animal. And even then, you’d only freak out all the trick-or-treaters, so it’s probably best to stick with a classic werewolf mask.

Conclusion

Putting together an urban fantasy Halloween costume doesn’t have to be difficult. And while most people might assume you’re dressed as a standard monster rather than someone from your favorite book, you’ll know and be excited about it, and isn’t that the important thing?

Have you ever worn an urban fantasy costume? Got any tips? Share them in the comments below!