We Can Pass As Twins, Right?

Imagine yourself standing in a Spirit Halloween, fiercely googling and wildly pacing the aisles. Your past Halloween costumes have earned you quite the reputation and you know you have to deliver this year. You and your costume-partner-in-crime (who also happens to be your older male cousin (for context, I'm female)) have done everything from Jack and Rose (no romance scenes were reenacted here) and Lydia and Beetlejuice to Gomez and Morticia (wow, another couple? yikes) and Yzma and Kronk (an ambitious journey that ultimately ended poorly). As creepy and line-crossing as it sounds, it's all too innocent. You've just about given up. You know you want to be something scary, not too complicated but unique. Suddenly, it hits you. Well, actually, you can stop imagining if you'd like. This is about me. It hits me. The terrifying Jack Torrence and one of the spooky Grady Twins. 'But wait', my cousin expresses, just as I'm thinking it, 'you can't have just one twin.' So, through a burst of wheezing laughter, it's decided. We'll both be the twins. We can pass as twins, right? I, with my 5'7, 150 lbs frame, alongside my stocky, 6'0, heavily-bearded cousin, posing as twin little girls in flouncy dresses. The thought was beyond comical to us, and we knew, then, that it was the one. The winner for our costume of Halloween 2020.

We bought wigs, ordered dresses, and scoured the internet and Walmart for the perfect finishing touches and accessories. And then it was time for the dress rehearsal. I don't consider myself a pro at makeup by any means but I do feel dead inside, so I was pretty good at conveying the corpse look in our makeup.

We pinned ourselves in, dusted ourselves in powder to be deathly pale (an easy feat for me), and topped it all off with our identical mom-wigs. Overall, this was one of our easier costumes, and most likely the cheapest. But the payoff was going to be amazing; we both felt it already and it wasn't even Halloween yet. After a (sadly not viral) TikTok, we called it for the night, proud of our results and excited for the big day.

Our lovely niece had the honor of being born on this glorious holiday, so we had a small, safe gathering for her 1st birthday, which is where we debuted our murderous costumes. And they were a hit! We got a photo op in front of a cheery, juxtaposing background.

While we didn't feel quite ourselves in our costumes from the previous year, these got us back in our groove. We were confident in our dresses, even my cousin! As we safely showed them off in our small town, we were asked for photos, laughed at (or with), and basically gave everyone some very interesting eye-candy. This also earned us our fair share of real candy, the good stuff, too. The Grady Twins were making out like bandits on this Halloween night.

Halloween costumes were always a way to express ourselves but, moreover, to bring joy to others. Seeing people light up as it clicks in their minds who the characters are, getting to take pictures with members of our community we might not have otherwise ever communicated with, it's all so heartwarming. And to do so in such a dark time for our world is all the better. Halloween is about camaraderie, costumes, and of course, candy. And also a celebratory tradition of an IHOP breakfast for dinner, but I suppose that's optional.

So, as I finish up writing this while snacking on a full-size KitKat, I know I'll look fondly on this night for years to come. Although, I am already in the mindset for next Halloween. Grinch and Cindy Lou Who, anyone?