The ‘gay Halloween’ costumes taking over X are a hyper-online ode to queer subculture

Art Donaldson’s signature serve from the 2024 film Challengers. “The Unknown” from the AI-generated Willy Wonka experience. Smoking French children paying tribute to Serge Gainsbourg in 1988. While the preceding couple of sentences might seem like word salad, they’re actually three examples of ultra-niche Halloween costumes that have recently gone viral.

For anyone who’s logged into X in the last few days, extremely specific costume ideas have been pretty much unavoidable, as countless users jump on a trend sharing how they’re celebrating “gay Halloween.” The meme format goes something like this: “I hate gay Halloween, what do you mean you’re [insert niche Halloween costume here]”—the subtext being that these costumes are, in fact, really good.

The irreverent trend pays homage to the queer community’s tendency to opt for unusual Halloween costumes that reference specific pop culture moments or imagery; often choosing ideas that might be most recognizable to other gay people. Nicole Kidman’s AMC ad appearance, for one, is beloved by many, but has been frequently parodied by queer creators (notably, popular drag queen Katya Zamolodchikova), giving it a particular resonance among gay viewers.

Niche costumes aren’t exactly new. Earlier this month, The Cut published a costume guide for the “pop culture literate,” including pygmy hippo Moo Deng and the Hawk Tuah girl, based on a TikTok meme. And back in 2023, the LGBTQ+ publication Them’s costume guide suggested “Nonbinary Water,” “Gay Fruit Flies,” and “The Rotting Corpse of Twitter” as possible concepts for Halloween. However, this is the first year that such a large trend has cropped up on X celebrating the concept of “gay Halloween,” and it’s giving even more niche ideas—many of which are, frankly, design masterpieces—the flowers they deserve.

It’s worth noting that niche Halloween costumes have not been without their cultural criticism. As early as 2013, USA Today lamented the idea that ​“dressing up for Halloween has reached a specific Internet-influenced turning point” wherein the speed and “incessant dissection” of social media culture made it difficult to choose a Halloween costume. Just last week, The Atlantic published an article titled “The Chronically Online Have Stolen Halloween,” arguing that today’s meme-based costumes require layers of context to understand, which not everyone is familiar with.

And while it’s true that niche, internet-based costumes may not be broadly recognizable, they shouldn’t be bashed simply because they lack a universal target audience. Instead, they should inspire viewers to learn some new lore (and, just maybe, have a few laughs along the way).

With that, here are a few highlights of “gay Halloween” so far, and a brief recap of their origins.

The tennis ball POV from Challengers

I hate gay Halloween, what do you mean you’re the tennis ball POV from Challengers pic.twitter.com/e6q67WAl86

After Challengers hit theaters this April, the film became a near-instant sensation on X and TikTok, both for its will-they-won’t-they central throuple and for its unique sports cinematography. In the final 10 minutes of the movie, the viewer watches an intense tennis match through extreme close-ups of the players’ eyes, from beneath their bodies (shot by director Luca Guadagnino through a literal glass floor), and even from the perspective of the tennis ball itself.

This Halloween costume, featuring a monochromatic neon green get-up and a hand-held camera, is the visual embodiment of the tennis ball’s POV. It’s an ace in our books.

The female Oompa Loompa from Glasgow’s failed Willy Wonka Experience

I hate gay Halloween, what do you mean you’re the female Oompa Loompa from Glasgow’s “Willy’s Chocolate Experience”?? pic.twitter.com/0BRWJIE1RT

Early this year, a Willy Wonka-inspired exhibit in Glasgow, Scotland received quite a bit of negative attention for wildly overselling itself on social media. The AI-generated marketing materials promised a magical, larger-than-life wonderland, while the actual event looked more like a drafty empty warehouse with a few plastic decorations slapped here and there.

Two paid actors emerged as the heroes of this lackluster event: “The Unknown,” a creepy, silver-masked character who does not appear in any Willy Wonka adaptation, and an Oompa Loompa bartender who looks one Fizzy Lifting Drink order away from quitting on the spot. We think this costume perfectly encapsulates her air of defeat.

Mercutio from the 1996 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet

i hate gay halloween cause what do you mean you’re gay mercutio from the 1996 baz luhrmann adaptation of romeo and juliet? pic.twitter.com/QZjakyZk08

“Gay Halloween” doesn’t necessarily have to be meme-based. This simple-yet-tasteful costume is a recreation of Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 modernized take on Romeo and Juliet, wherein the character is depicted as openly gay—an idea that plays on queer fans’ speculation about Mercutio’s sexuality in the original Shakespeare play, which has been debated for decades.

French children playing tribute to music legend Serge Gainsbourg

I hate gay Halloween what do you mean you’re French children playing tribute to music legend Serge Gainsbourg in 1988? pic.twitter.com/ncnqXFV4bp

This final “gay halloween” costume pick is a deep cut to an iconic tribute performance from 1988, wherein a gaggle of young singers pay homage to French singer Serge Gainsbourg by dressing in his quintessential outfit: A black top, jeans, sunglasses, a lit cigarette, and a glass of dark liquor.

The emotional nature of the sound is somewhat undercut by the image of a crowd of kids advancing toward the audience with a practiced, Gainsbourg-esque swagger. Not many will recognize this costume on sight, but those that do will never forget it.