Seeing all these spook-tacular costumes has definitely gotten us into the Halloween spirit! Curious about how these masterpieces are brought to life, Bored Panda reached out to two talented Redditors featured on our list: u/hipunen and u/throwbot3001.

u/hipunen shared some of the incredible costumes she’s crafted over the years, including Oswald Cobblepot (aka The Penguin from Batman), a Demogorgon, Darth Maul, and even the Babadook. With such stunning attention to detail, it’s hard to believe these aren’t the original characters stepping off the screen.

“It’s hard to explain why I love Halloween so much,” u/hipunen tells us. “I must have fallen in love with it around 1998 when I came across a chapter about Halloween in our English book. Since it wasn’t celebrated at all in Finland back then, it felt new and exciting. Around that same time, I discovered The Little Vampire book series at my local library, and I was hooked.”

“I just love the spooky aesthetic and the colorful, mysterious atmosphere. It lets you explore the more sinister side of things safely. I’ve always been a crafty person, and since Halloween decorations weren’t available here when I was a kid, I started DIY-ing everything. That tradition stuck, and it’s still what I enjoy most!”

u/hipunen’s costumes look so authentic because they require a lot of hard work. “I usually start one or two months before Halloween,” she explains. “Sometimes it can take more than 45 hours!”

“It takes quite a lot of time to put them together, especially since I don’t want to buy costume sets online,” she adds. “I try to craft and sew as much as I can myself, and for certain pieces, I rent from the local theater.”

When it comes to finding inspiration, u/hipunen draws from all over and keeps her ideas organized on Google Keep. “I usually pick ideas from movies, series, or games, and I like to choose costumes where even my own mom wouldn’t recognize me.” And we’re not surprised—every costume she makes transforms her into someone completely different.

u/throwbot3001 caught our attention with his creative, literal take on an Amazon Prime costume made entirely from cardboard. “I got the idea from a 2016 Buzzfeed article about a woman who made a similar Amazon Prime costume,” he says. “I’ve wanted to make my own ever since.” And the result is definitely pure prime delivery—straight to the costume hall of fame.

“For the head, I followed an Etsy template for Optimus Prime by Paperassa. The rest of the body was a lot of trial and error, but the overall visual inspiration is from an Optimus Prime tutorial by Dannyeurena on Instructables,” u/throwbot3001 shares.

“It took me two full weeks of working after hours to finish the costume,” he adds. “One week just for the head, and then another week to complete the body, arms, and legs after I got a hot glue gun.”

So where do you show off such elaborate costumes? u/hipunen loves to throw a Halloween party for her friends, complete with themed decorations. “We usually go to a local club or bar, where many places have official Halloween parties with costume contests,” she says. This year, she’s ready to celebrate on Saturday with a brand-new costume, this time based on her own original concept rather than a character.

u/throwbot3001 is just as determined to make the most of the effort he’s put in. “I plan to attend every event I can with this costume before it breaks down,” he says. “First up is an at-work Halloween party and costume contest. I hope to win this year and maybe inspire others to try DIY-ing their own costumes in the future.”

“This is the first time I’ve really gone ‘all out’ for a costume. Who knows what next year will bring?”

If you love the idea of Halloween but haven’t dressed up in years because you think you can’t pull off something half as impressive as the costumes in our list, u/throwbot3001 has some encouraging words for you.

“I just want to share this quote from Adam Savage’s book, Every Tool’s a Hammer: ‘It doesn't matter if you’re a model maker, a potter, a dancer, a programmer, a writer, a political activist, a teacher, a musician, a milliner, whatever. It’s all the same. Making is making, and none of it is failure.’”

With just a few days left until the big night, consider this your sign to try something special. Good luck, and happy Halloween!