Easy Costumes for "A Christmas Carol"

The appearance of Marley's ghost is perhaps the most creepy, other-worldly moment in the story. Give it extra punch by creating a glowing, black light Jacob Marley using lighting and makeup effects. Paint the hands and face of the actor playing Marley using a glow-in-the-dark paint, then shine a black light spotlight on him during his first entrance. (Be sure to keep this light off Scrooge if he's wearing any white garb, or he'll glow, too.)

Finding Victorian-Style Garb

Dressing an entire cast in Victorian-era clothing is a challenge if you don't have a well-stocked costume closet. Devote the bulk of your resources to renting or sewing costumes for the main actors, as these will the be most scrutinized. Otherwise, search thrift stores for clothing items that will appear period when placed next to "hero" costume pieces, like plain button-up shirts, gathered skirts and men's pants with a "timeless" look (no obviously contemporary fabric or shapes). Spice up the ensemble costuming with some cheap, easy-to-find Victorian accessories like canes, top hats, women's muffs, bonnets and shawls.

Ghost of Christmas Past

Make your Ghost of Christmas Past interesting, and true to Dickens, by giving it a glowing light atop its head. The best way to make this look natural is to hide a battery-operated simulated flickering candle light within a bushy wig. Use the brightest light you can find. Give the actor a cap to cover it, per the description in the original book.

Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come

The greatest challenge with the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come is in making the character seem more frightening than a mere person in a cowel cloak. Consider making the cowel of a sheer enough material that it can drape to cover the whole face, suggesting that the Ghost does not see with human eyes. Traditionally, the Ghost's hands are done up in a skeletal fashion, which you can achieve through makeup or gloves, but you can also defy this standard by giving the hands an otherworldly appearance by enlarging them: give the actor extra-large, stretchy gloves and stuff the fingers for additional length.