Gothic Victorian Pre-Raphaelite Ghost Halloween Costume DIY Guide

Zombies are not a new invention. They've walked the pages of horror fiction for centuries. The undead have plagued generations of Devil's night, Samhain and Walpurgis revelers. Looking to recreate some of those vintage creeps of yore? Here's a DIY guide to make Gothic Revival Victorian costumes for women.

"Gothic" doesn't mean the same thing as "Goth" styles (black hair, dark clothing, vampiric overtones) of today. Gothic referred to a high medieval architectural style. Modern Goths are a throwback to the Gothic Revival (mid 1700s to early 1900s). They are influenced by the Victorians' dark obsession with rigid morality, morbidity and sexual frustration.

Pre-Raphaelites figure in this melange, too. This group reacted to Victorian repression in art and literature, but had a intense fixation on the color red, especially in women's hair. With all this erotic energy and no outlet but a quill or brush, no wonder Dr. Freud found such a field for psycho-sexual study. It's the perfect medium for Halloween.

Pre-Raphaelite maiden costume: Take for a model, Shakespeare's nymphmaniacal Ophelia (from Hamlet) or Tenneyson's fatalistic "Lady of Shallot." This costume is eerie and will work well in a vintage haunted house. Make your zombie a hanging or drowning victim. You will need:

* a white shift, chemise or nightgown. For a drowned zombie, wet the garment in muddy water, wring it out and let it dry wrinkled. You can also draw dirt smudges on with marker. It should be torn with a jagged edge, too. You can paint lacerations that show through cuts in the garments. This is not supposed to be "sexy," except in an innocent, ethereal way.

* a flowing flame-red wig (or color your hair)

* artificial flowers. Weave flowers into a halo or plait them into your wig or hair. They are meant to represent funeral bower or flowers that entangled in the hair in death (the Pre-Raphaelites had a very romantic notion of death).

* a rope (for a hanging victim)

* delicate sandals, or ballerina flats (barefoot is best but it may be too cold)

* white, purple, red, blue and black makeup

* black or blue nail polish

To create the makeup, cover all visible skin with basic white or very pale foundation (or creme base if you have theater makeup). Apply blue and purple to the lips eye sockets and sides of the nose. Blend to look like shadows. Outline the eyes with black eyeliner. Around your neck, make a thick band (about three inches) of blue and purple with lines of black. This will simulate rope marks. Tie the rope around your neck (gently like a scarf, not tightly; you don't want to injure yourself) and let it dangle.

If you are using this costume in a haunted house, give her a background story (hung herself to avoid having to marry a despised suitor, because she was forbidden to marry someone or because she was jilted by a lover). She should wander about aimlessly crying. She isn't a true zombie because she doesn't feast on flesh, but she is always trying to get unwary victims to join her beyond the grave. You can also make her a lonely spectral creature doomed to walk the earth, looking for friends, but scaring everyone away in the attempt.