Psycho Shower Tribute Couple Halloween Costume

First of all, let me start by saying that one of the most inspiring, suspenseful, intriguing masterpieces of film was brought to the big screen by legendary film maker Alfred Hitchcock. I’m referring to none other than the thrilling movie, “Psycho”. He brought terror to us by a simple everyday routine, taking a shower. Back then and even today, who would’ve thought our relaxing time with the hot water and soap running down our bodies could be blended in with BLOOD. I’m a sucker for classic horror and Psycho is one of my all time favorites. So… October 2012 was rapidly approaching and the gothic, industrial, fetish club my wife and I go to in Boston, Ma. every month was having a costume contest called Bloodfeast. People from all over New England go to this awesome venue so we knew we had to come up with a “killer” costume. For a few months my brain was working overtime to come up with a costume that would “slice up” the competition and strike “fear” in the judges….heh, heh, heh. The first week in October, after researching classic movie scenes I had a brainstorm, the shower scene from Psycho. Why not, it’s perfect, no one has come up with that idea, and the way I had envisioned it, it would “stab” the competition in the heart (figuratively speaking of course). Lol… So for the rest of the week I planned and sketched my idea on paper, rustled up the materials needed and fyi, only spent under $8.00. Everything was just about homemade. So sit back and enjoy, step by step, the making of this awesome “murderous” costume that won first prize worth $1000.00 at Bloodfeast !!!!!!!!!!!

PUTTING IT IN MOTION !!!

Well now that I have your full attention, lets start by stating again that I only spent under $8.00 for certain materials. Everything else I either personally had or scavenged around the house for. It actually was fun pretending I was on a treasure hunt. My wife was getting annoyed with me most of the time by asking her over and over, “do you need this?”, “can i use that?”. I had to keep reminding her “hey, you and I are in this together, it’s for a thousand bucks”…lol. This costume was a little time consuming but not at all hard to make. The only snag I had experienced was how to suspend a shower curtain over my wifes’ body. Other than that issue, every thing was falling into place as I had foreseen. So without further ado heres the blueprints or should I say, bloodprints for the shower scene from Psycho. Materials that were needed is as follows: 2 white shower curtain liners, 1 case of shower curtain rings, 1 small hula hoop (it wasn’t mine), 1 to 1 1/2 thick styrofoam enough to make a faucet, hot and cold handles and the shower head. I will explain those items later, tin foil, 1 cardboard box, big enough for a “tub” again I will explain that too, string, elmer’s glue, clear industrial tape, a cutter (razor to cut through the cardboard), scissors, white poster boards enough to cover the outside of the tub, heres where the issue was trying to figure out how to suspend the hula hoop above my wifes’ body. But we figured it out and went to A.C. Moore and purchased 2 wire plant holders you stick in the ground, a FAKE knife, a clear empty plastic bottle that fits into your hand and a clear piece of tubing the length of the knife, and last but not least, heres where the fun is, homemade blood !!!! yummmm!!!!! Oh yeah, almost forgot, you will need a willing and able partner preferably female for the effect, but you can choose who you want. :) That does it for what is needed for this ultimate bad #$$ costume. If your curious and want to know how it goes together, please by all means continue…

YOU GOTTA BE PSYCHO TO MAKE THIS !!!

Oh good your back! Thought I lost your interest with my *yawn* writing…lol. Okay you’ve waited long enough, LETS GOOOOO !!!!!! First thing, get your partner and measure the white curtain liner from her/his neck to their ankles. You don’t want it lower than that for obvious reasons. The reason for it to start at the neck is to see their face and head “in the shower”. Next attach the shower rings to the hula hoop and then the curtain liners. I used two liners just so you couldn’t see inside. If you use two, over lap them so they reach around nicely. Hold up the whole thing with the person inside and see if it “fits”. Next take the two wire holders and bend each one according to the persons shoulders. They should rest on the shoulders comfortably. I had to bend a small portion of the wire around the hula hoop so it stays secure. With that all attached, place on the shoulders and it should balance fine. You can tape up the wire part that is resting on the shoulders for comfort. Put the whole thing off to the side and we’ll start with the tub. Take the cardboard box and cut the flaps off with the cutter. After that, have the person stand inside the middle of the box. Cut out a large enough hole out of the bottom so the person and the shower curtain goes through it. When its all done it will look like the person is in the shower standing in the tub. (The tub will be attached to the wires on the shoulders with string if your wondering). Next, most all cardboard is brown so you want to cover the entire outside with the white poster board using the clear tape. Don’t worry about the inside of the tub. But if you want to do the inside too, its fine. Put that to the side and we’ll work on the faucet and shower head. Take some styrofoam and cut out the shape of a faucet and hot and cold handles, any design will work. Cut out a long piece of foam at least 15 in long for the pipe that the shower head would be attached to. Cut out a “J” shape and a shower head shape and glue the pipe, “J” shape and head together, let dry. While thats drying, cut thin strips of tin foil for the “water” and attach them to the shower head with clear tape only after the glue foam is completely dry for the “spraying” effect. Cut out a notch at the bottom of the pipe to fit around the hula hoop. Tape that to the hoop so its hanging over the back of the person, meaning the person will be facing the front of the tub where you will attach the faucet and handles. Attach the faucet and handles to the front of the tub with glue. When everything is dry, have the person step into the tub, put the hula hoop with the curtain attached on the shoulders and pick the tub up so the curtain is hanging through the hole. Size the tub up to about where the persons thighs are and to where it will hang. Put it down, cut holes in the 4 corners of the tub, measure out the string and attach the ends through the holes and tie them. Cut small slits in the curtain so the string can go through to the wires on the shoulders, around that and down through the back of the curtain to the back of the tub and tie them off. Now the tub should be suspended up by the strings that are attached to the wires that are resting on the shoulders with the hula hoop attached and shower curtain. So now it should look like the person is in the tub taking a shower with the curtain drawn around them. They can even walk around because its not heavy. What adds to the reality of it is a shower cap they can wear and a brush for their back. Whew !!! That was too much to take in. Lets take a break and I will see you at step 3…Bye for now….

THE MAKING

BLOOD, BLOOD EVERYWHERE !!!!

Ok kids, we’re almost done with the costume but there are a few minor details to make it complete. First lets get some ingredients for the fake BLOOD….yeah!!!!! I had so much fun mixing and stirring this stuff together, I felt like a mad scientist. Muhhhhhaaaa!!! You will need red, yellow, orange and blue food coloring, baking powder and flour. You are making enough blood to fill the plastic bottle I mentioned in the supply paragraph in step 1. I had to go on youtube to learn how to make it just right. If you need to, go on it. So experiment and mix all that together and make sure its bloody red. Pour the blood into the bottle and put the cap on. If the cap doesn’t come with a hole, carve one out a little bit smaller than the clear tube. Push the tube through the hole and put some tape around it to hold it in place. Squeeze the bottle a little to see if the blood comes out. Next, tape the bottle to the handle of the knife and run the rest of the tube along the blade to the tip and tape down. Now when you’re slicing and dicing your partner, squeeze the bottle and it will look like your actually stabbing and blood will be all over the place… Awesome effect. Now follow me to the last step of this sick and twisted costume….

I’LL GO IN THE SHOWER TOPLESS IF YOU WEAR THAT WIG !!!

What a crazy title that is, but not far fetched. Let me explain… If your partner is a female, she might not want to do this. Remember, my wife and I were at a goth, industrial, fetish club so anything goes. If she agrees to this it would make the costume even more insanely realistic. Have her in the shower topless with tape covering you know where. When the people saw my wife like that they were going crazy !!!! Now we all know Norman Bates was a guy but dressed like a woman to kill. What I’m trying to say is that you’re Mr. Bates and you have to wear a dress and a wig….Don’t flip out, it will be okay. Your manhood will still be there when its all said and done….lol. The next step is the conclusion, so what are you waiting for, GO!!!!!

AND THE HOUSE CAME DOWN !!!!

The house came down is just what had happened that night when it was our turn to show off our costume on stage. My wife went out first and had set up in the middle of the stage. The dj played the psycho theme as I came out as Norman, yes wig and all. Just like in the movie, I pulled the shower curtain aside so the crowd could get a glimpse of her and then proceeded to “stab” her repeatedly. With blood squriting out of the knife onto her and the curtain, the crowd was screaming and cheering us on. It sounded like a crowd in the Roman Colosseum wanting the kill. They’ve never seen a costume like ours. We were the only ones with a homemade costume and the people were in awe, especially with the scene we did. We won the grand prize of $1000.00 in a landslide. At the end of the night everyone couldn’t stop talking about it. And to this day , when we go to the club, they still ask us about the Psycho costume….

WILL WE WIN?