1. The Cenobites from the Hellraiser Series

In the Hellraiser series, there are various extra-dimensional demonic beings, known as Cenobites, with awesome bondage-inspired and body-altering costumes, some of which are women. 

If you want to combine scary and sexy in one look, then terrifying, yet fascinating, Cenobite costumes are the way to go! Many of these costumes aren’t hard to recreate, but you must prepare for some heavy make-up depending on the character you want to portray.

A bald cap and a black leather dress can go a long way, but be careful with the wires to avoid getting hurt. When creating bloody makeup, consider using honey and red food coloring. If you don't want to use honey, you can use corn syrup to give it a thin consistency and realism. You can also add cocoa mix for extra thickness. 

2. The Grady Twins from The Shining

If you have a sister or best friend, you can recreate the Grady twins from The Shining for this year’s Halloween. Their matching pastel dresses and creepy, synchronized movements can give the chills to even the most hardcore horror fans and will make for some memorable group photos.

Consider rehearsing some movements with your partner to add further realism to your cosplay. Recreating pastel dresses is easy, while make-up is up to you. Generally, white make-up to give a pale appearance should suffice when recreating these characters. You can further customize your look depending on your preferences. The most difficult part of recreating the sinister twins is their hair but you can opt for wigs to complete the look.

3. The Nun from The Conjuring 

One of the most instantly recognizable female horror characters from recent years is, without a doubt, The Nun from the Conjuring universe. The possessed nun’s stark white habit and haunting, demonic visage make for an unnerving costume.

Recreating the makeup shouldn’t be hard and the best part is you won’t have to worry about doing your hair or getting a wig, as the hair isn’t exposed. The difficult part is finding a nun's habit but that’s still a whole lot easier than recreating other female horror characters from this list. This is the go-to choice if you want to give your family and friends a night to remember. 

4. Pan’s Labyrinth - The Pale Man/Woman

In Pan’s Labyrinth, an eerie and otherworldly creature with sunken eyes and sharp, elongated features made its appearance, which instantly captivated audiences. The creature is known as the Pale Man, but who says you can’t recreate that look and make it the Pale Woman?

Recreating this costume isn’t that hard, but it might be difficult to see in it. Still, you can have a friend assist you if necessary and if you put fake eyeballs in the palm of your hands, you will get some memorable reactions.

5. The Bride of Frankenstein - Elizabeth Lavenza

Picking a classic female character horror look can be a great idea, especially since it’s instantly recognizable. The best part? Frankenstein’s bride costume looks different for everyone wearing it and you can give it your own spin.

If you decide to pursue her classic look, preparing your hair will take longer than anything else. The make-up can be minimalist and the costume isn’t hard to recreate. Elizabeth Lavenza wears a white gown in the movies and most of the makeup showcases her stitches. You can visit a hairstylist to get the hair right but there are plenty of online tutorials centered on recreating her look, which you can view and do at home yourself.

6. The Bride of Chucky (Child’s Play series)

Everyone knows about the notorious killer doll, Chucky. However, did you know that Chucky had a bride? Chucky’s bride has a beautiful gothic bridal look. If you’ve ever wanted to wear a wedding dress again or for the first time, recreating this horror character’s attire is the way to go!

Her tattered wedding dress, completed with a black leather jacket, dark makeup, choker, and messy, unkempt hair, provides a non-traditional look that will surely catch everyone’s attention.

You can easily repurpose your wedding dress for this costume but if you don’t have a wedding dress, there are plenty of options to get one without going over your budget. You can ask a friend and borrow theirs, rent one, or simply look for a cheap option to recreate the character’s look.

7. Jeanette Voerman From Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Jeanette Voerman is a vampire with a personality twist from the classic role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. She is the direct inspiration for Batman’s Harley Quinn, greatly contributing to her modern look.

Thanks to her flirtatious personality, background, and exciting look, any die-hard vampire fan knows about this game, especially Jeanette. If you want to cosplay as a character similar to Harley Quinn, this is the look you should opt for.

Jeanette’s appearance is easy to copy as long as you have relatively long hair to get her twin braids. The gothic eye makeup shouldn’t be hard to do but you should definitely opt to integrate velvet, not just black eyeliner.

The red choker shouldn’t be hard to find, while the rest of the attire can be anything from her in-game look or the jeans and white t-shirt from the game posters. If you want to cosplay as a vampiress this Halloween and grab the attention of fellow vampire fans, dressing as Jeanette will surely turn some heads and spark some interesting conversations. Get some fake vampire teeth to complete the look and if you already know the story behind this classic character, you can also integrate some contact lenses as a wink to true fans.

8. Lucifer Morningstar from The Sandman Series 

In most media appearances, Lucifer is portrayed as a man but not in the Sandman TV show, where Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie plays the character. The best part about choosing Gwendoline’s look for this character is that you can customize it in various ways.

You don’t necessarily need to have short hair to do it. The most important aspect is getting the wings right. Whether you opt for the rest of the latex costume or the white/red costume is up to you. This portrayal of Lucifer requires little to no makeup. If you want to have fun with makeup, though, there are several other female characters in this show that you can recreate in real life for Halloween.

9. Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village

Lady Dimitrescu, or Alcina Dimitrescu, is a character from the survival horror game Resident Evil Village. She is mainly considered a ghost-vampire-like creature that can extend her claws. This character’s appearance and sex appeal have boosted her popularity since the survival horror game’s release in 2021, making her look easily recognizable.

Her attire consists of a typical 1930s dress and hat that partially conceals her hair. To recreate her look, you can opt for any gothic pendant, while the makeup can be centered on her pale look and deep-red lips.

Regarding her claw ability from the game, this can be an excellent opportunity to experiment with fake fingernails. Still, if you don’t want the hassle of doing your nails, you can always wear black leather gloves to complete the look. Fake contact lenses can also give your appearance a further twist.

Since the character in the game is stated to be over nine feet tall, you can opt to wear some high heels to recreate the character. However, moving all day in high heels will be tiring, so you should consider taking some spare shoes for the evening. Consider using the high heels only for photo shoots.

10. The Doll from Annabelle

If you want to take a different approach this Halloween, why not recreate the look of a spirit-possessed doll? Annabelle is a prequel to the horror film The Conjuring. This movie focuses on a malicious doll manipulated by demonic forces tha is up to no good.

The fun part about recreating the doll’s look is that it is unconventional and one of the funniest things about Halloween is leaving people scratching their heads about what character you are cosplaying.

Although Annabelle was a popular horror movie a decade ago, it still garners attention to this day. Few people will expect you to recreate a doll other than Chucky or his bride and it will take them by surprise.

Recreating Annabelle’s look isn’t hard. She wears a white gown with a few red elements and has twin braids falling on her chest. You don’t have to go overboard with her make-up but you should definitely focus on the cheek blush to make the look more recognizable.