I Loved Being Maurice More Than Howie Mandel

Halloween 2020 has been really rough on my heart. Because of the way things played out for me through the pandemic and such, I just couldn't make a costume work this year. I figured I would take this opportunity to highlight one of my personal favorites from the past years.

While there are many a folk that consider my Beetlejuice to be the best, and while I personally have a soft spot for being The Mask, Maurice from the movie Little Monsters won the top spot in my pride column overall. I had been debating on creating this character for years but was slightly worried that the film wasn't well-known enough to win any contests (which is always my end goal).

In 2018, I said "Screw it, I have to do this. He checks all of my Halloween qualification boxes."

• He's ridiculous and a fun character to act out.

• He's unique. This is not a costume that you normally see around and even if someone isn't familiar with the film, they're going to take notice.

• It's an artistic challenge. I knew I would have to make myself completely unrecognizeable with special effects makeup and of course I couldn't leave it at that. The dog hand scene was way too memorable of a moment (for me) to not add that as a cherry on top.

• It's monetarily acheivable. One of my greatest skills is being able to think outside the box. I love being able to repurpose or upcycle inexpensive items without sacrificing integrity or attention to detail. I knew I could pull this whole costume off for less than $100.

And most importantly...

• It satiates my nostalgic side, my inner child.

The Creation:

• Horns: I sculpted air-drying Crayola modeling material, then painted with acrylic.

• Dog Hand: It started with a glove and trying to sculpt the modeling material around it with one hand, so that was a fun challenge. After it was dry, I covered it in dyed fabric. The gums, teeth and nose were all sculpted, painted and then super glued directly to the fabric. Lastly, I used makeup to add the shading and the spots.

• Vest: I found a fake leather jacket at Goodwill, cut off the arms, added a bunch of pins that I already had and hand-painted the image for the back patch.

• Headpiece: The horns and a cut up Goodwill wig were super glued to a bald cap and then covered in makeup.

• Makeup: Water-activated light blue Mehron Paradise, dark blue Ben Nye cream, eyeshadow and setting spray.

• Details: Painted skeleton earring, sculpted modeling material on the ears, Goodwill denim shirt and Mehron Tooth Effects.

To give you a completely different idea of how the process actually goes, here is a direct status from that year:

Thoughts while I can't sleep:

Why do I prefer creating art on the floor?

I hope this costume is worth it.

My back is going to grow arms, grab a knife and murder me; it's so mad at me.

My clean sheets smell nice.

I do not smell nice.

I haven't showered in 3 days.

Why does my stomach hurt?

Oh, because I've eaten shitty food the whole week.

My stomach is going to grow arms, grab a baseball bat and murder me.

Man, I love Halloween.

Be ready for me 2021. I've got plans.