Note: An earlier version of this story ran in 2024 and in 2023. This article has been been updated with even more costumes.
Halloween is just a few days away. Do you still need a costume?
If a store-bought witch or Spiderman leotard isn’t your look, dressing up as these characters with ties to Indiana might help you stand out.
Here’s our list of Halloween costumes inspired by their Indiana connections and how to pull them off, even at the last minute or if you’re on a budget.
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Kokomo-native Norman Bridwell struggled to land a job as a children’s book illustrator until hitting pay dirt (or is it pay dog?) with a story about a cuddly, clumsy red canine the size of a house. Today, more than 134 million copies of “Clifford the Big Red Dog” sit perched on the bookshelves of children the world over, according to Scholastic Books, where Clifford serves as the company mascot. The Clifford franchise includes two animated TV shows, a movie and learning-style video games.
What you’ll need: You can find costumes for Clifford the Big Red Dog in various sizes sold online. If you’re wanting a DIY approach, all you need is a whole lot of red. Wear red sweats and apply red face makeup. The red ears, red tail and black collar can be done easily enough with most crafting fabric.
Abe Lincoln
Roughly four paragraphs and seven words ago (count it, we dare you), our editors brought forth, upon this publication, a silly listicle, conceived in novelty, and dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal in their desire to dress in Halloween costumes befitting their appreciation for Indiana.
Rocking out as Abraham Lincoln fits that bill, yo.
While Lincoln may have lived in Illinois, he grew up in Indiana. From age 7 to 21, the 16th president of the United States spent his formative years in what would later become Spencer County. His boyhood home is available to visit in Lincoln City.
What you’ll need: A suit comprised of a black broadcloth coat, vest and trousers, along with a white shirt and black tie. A stovepipe hat and beard completes your ensemble. Like John Dillinger, we strongly suggest you avoid going to any theaters while dressed as Lincoln this Halloween.
John Dillinger
American gangster John Dillinger was born in Indianapolis in June 1903. His first recorded crime as a teenager was a car theft. Before he died after a hail of gunfire in Chicago, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover listed Dillinger as “Public Enemy No. 1” after a string of bank robberies and daring prison escapes.
What you’ll need: Slick your hair back and dress in your best dapper suit. A toy (emphasis toy) Tommy Gun makes the ensemble work or, better yet, a carved wooden handgun as a nod to Dillinger’s second prison escape from a cell in Crown Point. As a historical side note, maybe avoid hanging around any woman wearing a red dress — especially if you’re going to the theater.
Kylo Ren
For “Star Wars” fans, there’s an Indiana tie to one of the characters from Episode VII, VII and IX, but the only catch is you’ll have to be willing to go join the “dark side.”
Kylo Ren, also known as Ben Solo from the “Star Wars” sequel movies, is played by Adam Driver, who grew up in Indiana and graduated from Mishawaka High School.
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What you’ll need: Due to the popularity of the “Star Wars” movies that continues to prevail year after year, a Kylo Ren costume shouldn’t be hard to find in stores. If you’d rather DIY it, all you really need is a black cloak and a red lightsaber to really sell the look. And of course, don’t forget to use the force.
Sammy Terry
Hoosiers of a certain age might fondly recall a grinning ghoul by the name of “Sammy Terry,” who either amused or scared the hell out of them when they were kids.
Sammy Terry actor Bob Carter hosted WTTV Channel 4’s “Nightmare Theater” in Indianapolis from 1962 until 1989. He was accompanied by his trusted spider companion, George, and a litany of awful puns. Hoosiers and insomniacs alike adored him.
What you’ll need: To begin, a whole lot of personality. But to get the look right, don a red cape and hood, yellow gloves, black shirt and pants, and a skull necklace. Apply white or green face makeup with shadowing as needed. You get bonus points for carrying around a large spider but, more importantly, work on your most malevolent and sinister-sounding laugh.
‘Stranger Things’ characters
Netflix’s popular TV series, “Stranger Things,” takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. With enough friends, your squad can go as the whole cast. If not, fan-favorite characters include Eleven, Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, Jim Hopper, Murray Bauman, and of course, Eddie Munson.
What you’ll need: Thanks to its popularity, most stores selling Halloween costumes have “Stranger Things” merchandise readily available. Absent that, vintage clothing shops with ’80s apparel are worth checking out. And if you’re unwilling to shave your head like Millie Bobby Brown’s character (seriously, where’s your Halloween spirit?), a wig, fake blood for your nose and a white leotard will do the job.
To go as Eddie Munson, find an ’80s rocker wig, jean jacket, baseball shirt with 3/4 sleeves and wear some torn jeans — bonus points if you can shred the guitar solo on Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.”
Corn
There’s more than corn in Indiana, as the slogan goes. But still… there sure is a lot of it — Indiana corn production totaled 975 million bushels in 2022 and was the leading source of income for Indiana farmers the previous year, according to Purdue. An acre of the state’s ubiquitous crop can put enough moisture in the air to fill a swimming pool.
What you’ll need: A store-bought costume is probably the easiest way to achieve that “Indiana corn” look on short notice. If unavailable, try finding a sewing pattern at a crafts store or hit up your most creative relative who owns a sewing machine.
Going to a Halloween party with a friend? See if they’ll dress as a werewolf. Together, you’ll be a “corn dog” (that was a corny pun — thanks, we’ll show ourselves out).
Taylor Swift
Look! It’s world famous pop-star Taylor Swift! Back for another sold-out show in Indianapolis, for one night only: Halloween!
Swifties don’t necessarily need a reason to dress up as their favorite singer, but the fact that almost a year ago now she was here to perform three sold out shows at Lucas Oil Stadium is a stellar reason for Hoosier Swifties to put to use their concert outfits to use another time.
What you’ll need: During the Eras Tour, Swifties all around the world created outfits and costumes taking inspiration from looks Swift herself has worn throughout the year to wear to the shows. So there’s likely thousands of videos on the internet that you can look to for inspiration.
One of the easiest Swiftie outfits to recreate is the look from her “22” music video, where she wears a white T-shirt with the words “Not a lot going on at the moment,” black shorts, red heart sunglasses and of course, a black fedora.
If you have a desire to be “Bejeweled” and love a project that requires copious amounts of patience and glue, making your own bedazzled bodysuit from the “Lover” set of her show is also a fan favorite to recreate.
You can also easily make this a couples costume by having your partner dress up as Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce, who is a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Garfield, Jon & Odie
Marion-born Jim Davis grew up on an Indiana farm with a lot of cats. To help pass the time, his mother gave him pencils and paper and the young Davis learned how to draw. The comic-strip world is better off for it. Garfield was introduced to readers in 1978 and is syndicated presently in about 2,100 newspapers. At age 47, the orange tabby is still hating Mondays and loving lasagna from his home in Muncie.
What you’ll need: Garfield costumes can be purchased online, but in a pinch, find an orange pair of sweatpants and matching sweatshirt. Black fabric from a craft store can be cut into stripes and hot-glued to the outfit. You can make a tail out of an old wire coat hanger and orange fabric. Not feeling crafty? Buy a stuffed Garfield toy and dress as his cartoon owner, Jon Arbuckle, using khaki pants and a blue sweater.
Also, great news for you Garfield-adoring fans: Halloween this year falls on a Friday.
Character from a John Green novel
Indiana author, John Green has written several young-adult novels, some with Indiana ties in the story itself. A few of his novels have been turned into movies, including “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Looking for Alaska,” “Paper Towns,” and most recently in 2024, “Turtles All the Way Down.” All of these have characters who could make for great costumes.
Some of Green’s characters touch on sensitive subjects, such as suicide and cancer. Use your best judgement when picking your favorite fictional person.
What you’ll need: Most of his novels are about teenagers, so dressing like a teenager shouldn’t break the bank or require too much purchasing of clothing. Whether you decide to create your own interpretation of the characters or base your costume more on how they were depicted in the movies, you have some creative freedom. Totally optional, but to help sell the look you could carry around the novel that your character is from.
Race car driver
There are two ways to feel like an Indy 500 race car driver: Wear a jumpsuit and racing helmet on Halloween, or take a lap on I-465 any given morning ahead of work — the first one is safer, probably.
What you’ll need: A jumpsuit with sponsor patches. If you can’t snag a fancy helmet, grab a checkered flag, don a pair of aviator sunglasses or an Indy 500 ballcap. Don’t have that last one? What, are you from Florida? Ask any Hoosier friend for one of their several commemorative race day hats. Then be sure to snag an Indy 500 ballcap of your own during next year’s race.
Woody and Colin from ‘The Duel, Gentleman’s Rules’
The 2023 film “The Duel, Gentleman’s Rules” starring Dylan Sprouse and Callan McAuliffe was filmed in Indianapolis and the city even hosted the film’s world premiere at Hilbert Circle Theater in 2024.
The premise of the movie is when Woody (McAuliffe), discovers his best friend, Colin (Sprouse), has been sleeping with his girlfriend. Woody decides to challenge Colin to a old fashioned duel with pistols. The twist? The story takes place in modern times.
What you’ll need: The fun thing about this movie is you have the option to dress more like modern day frat guys who just happen to be carrying around old-timey pistols, or you could opt for the formal duelists attire (hair slicked back, cloaks, boots, etc.) and then carry around red solo cups, like the movie poster depicts. Either way, it can be a cool costume to do with a friend.
Raggedy Ann
Johnny Gruelle, a former Indianapolis Star cartoonist (cough, cough, bragging rights), is responsible for introducing children to Raggedy Ann thanks to his 1918 book, “Raggedy Ann Stories.” His inspiration for the doll came partly from Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, who wrote both “Raggedy Man” and “Little Orphant Annie” (yes, that’s the correct spelling). Raggedy Ann was enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2002.
What you’ll need: A crazy amount of red yarn and the kind of aproned dress your great-grandmother would be gosh-darned proud of. Costumes for Raggedy Ann can be purchased online, but to get the look right, you’ll want a powder-blue dress with white pantaloons, striped red and white socks, a white apron, and a mop of red hair that would make Ronald McDonald blush.
Captain Kathryn Janeway
A lot of famous starship captains hail from the Midwest, apparently.
Captain James T. Kirk has a statue in his fictional hometown of Riverside, Iowa. Captain Kathryn Janeway of TV series “Star Trek: Voyager” received a similar nod for her Indiana roots. Her May 20, 2336, birthdate in Bloomington was reason enough for fans to dedicate a statue there in her honor.
It doesn’t hurt that Jeri Taylor, a writer on the show, also is a Bloomington native and Indiana University graduate.
What you’ll need: A red Starfleet command uniform issued by the United Federation of Planets following years of intense study at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco. Good luck, cadet! Or, you know, you could just buy one online. If time or money is a factor, purchase a Starfleet pin instead and wear your normal clothes. Sure, you’re out of uniform, but it’s only because you’re an undercover time-traveler from Starfleet and it’s imperative you don’t blow your cover this Halloween. Something, something, “prime directive.”
John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.
Katie Wiseman covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Bluesky @katiewiseman
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Halloween costumes IN-spired by their Indiana ties: John Dillinger, Kylo Ren, Garfield and more
Reporting by John Tufts and Katie Wiseman, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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