Saturday night, zombies of all shapes and goriness flooded the streets and made their way to the Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis for the 13th annual Zombie Pub Crawl. Thunderstorms only added to the night’s eerie atmosphere and the rain made spooky costumes even scarier. Here are the most noteworthy:
Tiffany Emerson, 30
Teacher assistant by day, retro-zombie by night
What she wore: Retro thrift-store dress, bloody make-shift fanny pack and bunny mask from Spirit Halloween.
Amid the bustle of basic torn flannels and shredded scrubs, Emerson stood out from the crowd.
“I mostly got my idea from a video game called ‘BioShock,’ and in that game it’s kind of retro, like 50’s style, but what [happens] is everyone gets infected and dies and becomes these mutant people,” Emerson said, adjusting the flap of fake skin hanging from her face. “So that was kind of my theme.”
Her friends called to her, evidently dying to get into the horde of zombies just beyond the gates.
Nichole Spiess, 45 and Kitty Smith, 25
Ice maintenance technician and food chemist by day, mummy-zombies by night
What they wore: Cotton fabric from Ikea, a mop head for hair, thrift-store cat mask, vintage werewolf gloves, Amazon camo fanny packs, Nikes and Target sneakers.
Pub Crawl regulars Speiss and Smith may have well been the smartest zombies of the bunch. They came dressed for the weather wrapped from head to toe in insulated mummy attire to keep them warm all night.
“This is from Ikea because all of their cotton was on sale,” Speiss said, holding out her arms wrapped in strips of white fabric. “I dyed it with tea, coffee and dirt.”
Over the four years they’ve participated together, the two have creatively expanded their zombie wardrobes.
“It’s super easy to put stuff together but you know, don’t gash your throat and put on grey makeup,” Speiss said. “Do a little more.”
Roman Chrischillese, 21
Senior at University of Northern Iowa by day, clown-zombie by night
What he wore: Clown shirt from a girl on Facebook, thrift-store hat, pants and loafers.
“I am pretty much a killer clown,” Chrischillese said, a zombie of few words.
The Iowan student must have crawled across cornfields to make it to Minneapolis for the night. After meeting up with a girl on Facebook who was a zombie make-up specialist — how convenient — Chrischillese and his posse got their bloody contouring done and hit the streets.
Colette Hermes, 30 and Nicole Kendricks, 36
Child Care Assistant and server by day, “Black Swan” zombies by night
What they wore: Corsets and tutus, a tiara, black platform boots, leggings, shawls for warmth and a lot of fake blood.
The duo didn’t have to do any shopping to look as cut-throat as they did. They got all of their pieces from Kendricks’ personal costume stash.
“We had basic pieces that we went with, and at the end we decided ‘Black Swan,’” Hermes said.
“Any reason to wear tutus, a corset and a crown!” Kendricks said.
Saturday night was their third Zombie Pub Crawl together, and they keep coming back for the people — ahem — zombie watching. “It’s [about] the community that comes out, the people that are dedicated to costumes and to Halloween,” Kendricks said.
