Melanie Daniels
from “The Birds”
Sometimes the best costumes come
from the most terrifying or famous scenes
— like when the character Melanie Daniels
gets attacked by birds in the Hitchcock
horror film “The Birds.” Astoria resident
Sue Elizabeth made sure she got this
iconic scene right when she dressed like
Daniels for Halloween last year.
“I got great reactions to the costume.
My friends had fun taking pictures of my
various attack poses, and people at different
parties really got it. The best part was
even if you didn't know what movie or
character I was, I was still a woman being
attacked by birds so it works all around,”
Elizabeth said.
The costume was a joint effort with her
and her husband. While she enjoyed shopping
at the craft store, Michael’s, to get the
killer birds and sewing them onto her suit,
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she equally relished going to Abracadabra
with her spouse to get scar wax and fake
blood so he could paint scratches on
her face.
“The hardest part was scrolling
through eBay finding the right suit,
in the right color and for fairly cheap.
The rest of it was getting birds to sew
to the suit jacket, getting hair clips to
attach the birds to my hair and scar
wax and blood for the bird scratches.
I also used some Velcro pieces attached
to the cuffs so the birds would
stand up straight. When I brought my
arm up it looked like they were going
to peck my eyes out. And last was going
to the hairdresser for a bouffant (that is
outside of my skill set when it comes to
hair),” Elizabeth said.
If you’re looking to be a bird-victim for
Halloween, Elizabeth recommends setting
an eBay alarm for green suits and
finding pictures to get Daniels’ hair right.
Also, find birds with wired feet so it is
easier to wrap around clips.
Pinhead from “Hellraiser”
The appearances of staple horror movie
villains like Jason, Freddy Kruger and
Michael Myers have nothing on Pinhead
from "Hellraiser." Astorian Sherri Keveson
saw the opportunity to dress as one of the
most evil and menacing characters and
totally nailed Halloween last year (pun
intended).
“It was really fun going out dressed
like that. I’m usually a very bright, upbeat
person, so I got to take on a whole different
role. I marched in the Halloween
parade in the Village and had a ton of
people ask to take pictures with me,
which was also a lot of fun,” Keveson said.
Keveson’s Pinhead drew even NY1’s
attention as she was asked to be pulled
aside for a brief interview. She said they
asked her what it took to make her outfit
and how long the process was.
“I had to make what looked like nails out
of Q-tips (I took the cotton tips off, melted
the ends down into flat surfaces, and then
painted them silver). Then I had to paint all
of the details onto a bald cap and then insert
the nails,” Keveson said, adding that the
process took four to five days.
“The makeup itself took several hours,”
she continued. “I had to paint the lines
onto my face so that they’d line up perfectly
with the bald cap, and then I had
to pin the rest of the nails onto my face
(which was a lot harder than I thought it
would be). I made the skirt and the little
jacket with the high collar.”
If you so dare to remake this look for
Halloween, Keveson advises you to get to
work ASAP and to buy a second bald cap
in case you make any mistakes.
HALLOWEEN
Photos courtesy of Sherri Keveson
Photos courtesy of Sue Elizabeth