The Secret of Scream Queens
How a great Halloween costume has the power to transform you: and your fears.
By: Catie Taylor
Carley Dellaratta photographed by Elizabeth Gelber for MWAH Collective
As women transition from girlhood to adulthood, Halloween changes along with us. When we were kids, it was a night of endless possibilities filled with tricks, treats and laughter with friends. But as we grow up, the allure of Halloween evolves, becoming a form of escapism from our busy and complicated lives.
No matter what a girl is going through, a costume can make her forget her problems by stepping into the shoes of another. It’s the one night a year one we can become whoever we want, and that is liberating.
Audrey Valentine Weisburd, a senior at Syracuse University, became Lydia Deetz from the cult classic “Beetlejuice,” as a model for our “Halloween Scream Queens” shoot.
Audrey Valentine Weisburd photographed by Elizabeth Gelber for MWAH Collective
“Halloween is the time of reimagining and redefining fear,” Weisburd said. “As we get older, especially as women, we are exposed to the world’s more sinister potentials. It happens slowly and then all at once.”
The truth of being a woman in society begins to haunt us as we grow up. We’re suddenly afraid of the world. From standing in a room of strangers to being alone at night, reality can incite more fear than fiction ever could.
Fear is deeply ingrained in our culture when it comes to the perception of Halloween: haunted houses, horror movies, gory costumes and more. But Halloween takes the idea of fear, and redefines it as something that doesn’t have to be scary. It’s campy and light-hearted rather than truly terrifying.
To reclaim that fear, our models entered a graveyard at night, a place that would normally make Weisburd nervous. This experience challenged her own ideas of comfortability.
“I am highly superstitious and jumpy, but while dressed as Lydia, I felt strangely comfortable walking through a place that would normally make my stomach churn,” Weisburg said.
Her experience speaks to the transformative nature of costume. The longer she was dressed up as a character, the more she started to channel the character, leaving her own fears behind. It allowed her to step out of that part of herself and gave her the opportunity to be someone else. Someone braver.
Kyra Zabretsky, another SU senior, dressed up as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. For Zabretsky, wearing a costume makes her feel more courageous.
Kyra Zabretsky photographed by Elizabeth Gelber for MWAH Collective
“People feel more inclined to branch out on Halloween when they look and feel nothing like themselves,” Zabretsky said. “I felt like I was shapeshifting.”
No matter what you want to escape for a bit, becoming a different character may help you find the confidence or relief that you were seeking. Who knows, the magic of costume might even stay with you after you put your own clothes back on.
