25 Asheville-inspired Halloween costumes 🎃

Believe it or not, Halloween is just around the corner, so it’s time to brainstorm your Halloween costume. Whether you’re trick-or-treating with little ones, going out with friends, or staying home, there’s something special about being able to dress up as whatever you want and get away with it.

This year, we recommend going local. We wanted to know: What are the most Asheville Halloween costumes you can think of? We put together a list of our favorites based on our ideas + your feedback from Instagram.

For example, I’m planning to be a red panda to celebrate the Nature Center’s new Prehistoric Appalachia habitat, and Audra is going as Zelda Fitzgerald.

Now that we have our costumes squared away, we wanted to inspire you all this Halloween. Check out all 25 ideas for local inspiration, from tourists (actual tourists and the baseball team) to murals and breweries to bachelorettes, here.

And there’s more: AVLtoday is running a Halloween costume contest. Show us your spookiest (or silliest, most creative, etc.) Halloween attire on Instagram by tagging #AVLtoday, and you’ll be entered to win some creepy cash (a $50 gift card). Tag us in your posts by Oct. 31 by 11:59 p.m. You’ll vote on the finalists Nov. 1, and we’ll announce the winner Friday, Nov. 2.

👻 Spooktacular

The Pink Lady | A young woman in a pink ball gown allegedly fell to her death from the Grove Park Inn’s balcony… or was she pushed? 😱 Rumor has it you can still see her, floating through the halls of the Grove Park Inn. For the costume: Pull out your best pink flapper ball gown + powder your face a ghostly white.

Helen’s Ghost | The bridge near Beaucatcher Mountain (above Tunnel Rd.) has a reputation as one of Asheville’s spookiest spots. Legend has it that the bridge is haunted by the grieving spirit of Helen, a woman who hanged herself from the bridge after the unexpected passing of her daughter in a fire. Tourists + locals alike report car trouble beneath the bridge + floating orbs of light. For the costume: Cover an old-timey dress in soot + ashes and go around asking for your child.

📖 Asheville Arts + Culture

Grace Kelly in The Swan | DYK: Grace Kelly filmed The Swan, the final movie of her career, in AVL + at the Biltmore? The film tells the story of Princess Alexandra (played by Kelly), a minor princess stuck in a love triangle between her tutor and the crown prince. For the costume: Pompadour your hair, and find a sun parasol and an elegant white dress to mimic her wardrobe in the movie. Watch the trailer for more costume ideas.

Moonshiner | N.C. has a rich history of moonshine-making, from the late 1700s to today, when distilleries like Troy and Sons craft legal corn-based sips. DYK: NASCAR began when moonshiners raced their products across the region evading the law (and the tax collectors)? For the costume: Take a cue from WNC’s own Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, maybe the world’s most famous moonshiner. You’ll need a flannel button-up, jean overalls, and a long, gray beard. Of course you should probably also carry a jug marked with a few X’s, in case people are confused. See a picture here.

Thomas Wolf(e) | Of course you could always dress up in a slightly rumpled suit like Asheville’s favorite literary son, but we recommend taking the pun level way up. For the costume: Pair the suit with a wolf mask or wolf makeup + hair to take this costume to the next level. Be sure to add a name tag that says “Thomas.” Protip: Thomas Wolfe was 6’6”, so you may want to add some platforms. We think the OG Thomas Wolfe would approve.

A Chihuly sculpture | Pay homage to the Biltmore’s recent exhibition of sculptor Dale Chihuly’s whimsical, colorful glass pieces. For the costume: Pick one or two colors to dress in from head to toe, and then add weird shapes made out of balloons, cardboard, papier mache, etc. We do not recommend actually making these out of glass.

👀 As seen in Asheville

A busker | Everyone has a favorite busker in town, so pick yours (long-running Asheville staple Bobby Sax, Abby the Spoon Lady, that guy who always plays the drum set?) or BYOB (that’s Be Your Own Busker, y’all). For the costume: Look to the Asheville greats for inspiration, but you’ll definitely need an instrument and a tip jar.

A hippie | Even with its hipster + craft brewer sheen, Asheville is still a hippie town at heart. Unleash your inner flower child and celebrate all things peace and love in the mountains. For the costume: Long, swooping fabrics with natural dyes, lots of patchouli, and either a djembe or a didgeridoo.

A red panda from the nature center | The Nature Center will welcome its first red pandas to its Prehistoric Appalachia exhibit soon (construction is underway now on the habitat). DYK: A now-extinct relative of the red panda was native to this area? For the costume: Red or orange-red leggings + shirt plus some red felt ears (grab some here or make your own). Be sure to do black and white highlights across your face to create those distinctive markings.

A bear | Who hasn’t seen a bear at their trash can (or in their car) this year? For the costume: As one reader noted, “Cover yourself in TRASH and go where you don’t belong.” 😂

A tourist | Asheville’s been on so many “Best of” lists this year we lost track. For this costume, you can either be a tourist visiting Asheville or an Asheville Tourist (i.e. the baseball team). For the costume: If you’re a visitor to Asheville, don a fanny pack, some sandals with socks, and your favorite Asheville-branded t-shirt. Carry around a tourist map (grab one at the Chamber of Commerce in Montford or downtown at spots like Malaprop’s Bookstore & Cafe) and hold it while you look straight up and stand in the middle of the street.

If you’re an Asheville Tourists team member, head here to get some branded gear. Bonus point if you go as the Tourists’ mascot, Ted E. Tourist, who combines all the parts of this costume idea (plus brings in the bear costume).

Orbit DVD | West Asheville’s long-running DVD rental store (781 Haywood Rd.), which also has games, comics + more, has quite the horror collection, so it’s only right that they should be Halloween inspo. For the costume: Grab some DVDs from their sales bin to decorate yourself with, print out their logo, and stick it all over yourself. Wear all black or all silver to be a VHS or a DVD.

The Dolly Parton mural on the side of Beauty Parade | Gus Cutty’s rendition of the famed country singer had heads turning when it was completed. For the costume: Dress up like Dolly and wear a necklace made of giant flowers.

Flora + Forage Coffee Shop | The plant-draped spot at 428 Haywood Rd. in West Asheville is a perfect place to get cozy on these chillier days. For the costume: Cover yourself in plants and hold a chai latte all night. Bonus: Hang a local candle around your neck (please keep it unlit, guys).

LaZoom | Be your favorite tour guide or character or dress up as the unmissable purple and gold bus. For the costume: If you’re the bus, deck yourself out in purple and gold. Or take a tip from your favorite LaZoom personality to create the perfect look.

High Five Coffee | Keeping you caffeinated since 2007. For the costume: Wear a High Five t-shirt, hold a cup of coffee and walk around giving everyone high fives.

French Broad Chocolate | In honor of their new factory (set to open in November). For the costume: Deck yourself out in French Broad Chocolates gear and pass out truffles. Trick-or-treating kids will love you forever.

Asheville music venues | The Orange Peel, the Mothlight, the Grey Eagle...there are so many great venues in town with names that practically create their own costumes. The Mothlight might be especially apt this year given the recent “Moth-Lamp” meme craze. For the costume: Take a cue from your chosen venue in terms of colors + accessories to pull this one together.

💕 Two is better than one: Couple’s costumes

Scott + Zelda Fitzgerald | Asheville’s most famous star-cross’d couple means you can deck yourself out in Roaring 20s attire. For the costume: A flapper dress and a period hat for Zelda, a dashing suit with a bow tie for F. Scott.

A Thirsty Monk + Sister Bad Habit | Combining inspiration from both the Thirsty Monk brewery + pub and LaZoom, we think this is a match made in (Asheville) heaven. For the costume: Friar attire (brown and baggy) with a bald cap for the monk and a nun’s habit and black-rimmed glasses for Sister Bad Habit. Extra-tall bike optional.

Appalachian Trail hikers | The 2,190-mile trail passes through nearby Hot Springs and other points nearby. For the costume: Be your best Hiker Trash – don’t shower for a few days, then slide into your hiking boots, hiking pants or shorts, and a flannel (since fall on the trail can be nippy). Wrap a bandana around your sweaty brow and grab a walking stick for good measure. Bonus: Go as an undead AT hiker couple by adding ghoulish makeup.

Wanda + Michael Green | The County’s favorite scandal could be your next great couple’s costume. For the costume: Don professional clothes and walk around with a suitcase full of gift cards, offering to sell life insurance all night.

🎢 #SquadGhouls: Group costumes

Local breweries | Be a local brewery for the night by decking yourself out in merch from your favorite local spot. Bonus points if you actually dress up like their logo – e.g. the green man of Green Man Brewing, a grim reaper for Burial, the Scotsman of Highland Brewing’s former label, Rocket Girl from Asheville Brewing Co., etc. Get a group together and go as a few of them. For the costume: There are so many ways to take this one, but grabbing a t-shirt or hoodie from the brewery of your choice is a good place to start. We recommend heading to a craft store for some of the more in-depth costumes.

A bachelorette party | Because who doesn’t see one of these downtown every weekend? For the costume: Veils, fake pearls, “questionable” accessories, t-shirts that say something like “Bride Squad” or “Team Bride.”

Black Mountain College students + faculty | The short-lived school was a destination for many of the biggest names in avant-garde and modern art. Check out its history + some of its most famous attendees here. For the costume: Choose from characters like Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage, Ruth Asawa, and Susan Weil – or get really creative + go as one of their works.

As an Ashevillian, I’m already ready to love the local, and this list is pure inspiration. I’m super excited to put my red panda costume together. Because let’s face it, I love red pandas, and my first priority is staying warm. 🐾

Can you think of a good local costume that isn’t on this list? Let us know by replying here, or telling us over on Facebook or Instagram.

Creep it real, Asheville.

– Ali and Stephanie (AVLtoday intern)