I once created a costume that was a bit different than usual. It was a monster carrying a coffin. In the coffin was a woman who's legs were bound by ropes. As the visitors approached the still monster, screaming was heard from inside the closed (upright) coffin. The monster then began to walk towards the crowd and the woman (me) would open the coffin and scream for them to help her get out.
The monster's upper torso was a mannequin and his legs were my legs. The woman's torso (above the waist) was mine and the bound up legs were fake.
The Coffin:
I purchased a 6' cardboard coffin which comes with an attached lid. A portion of the coffin's bottom was cut out so that I could step into the coffin and lift it up over my legs (like pants) and up to my waist. Since I was going to be the one walking, I had to be able to see when the coffin's lid was closed. I cut out a viewing hole in the coffin's lid (in front of my eyes) then later lined the whole outside of the lid with transparent black fabric. This allowed me to see (and breathe) from inside the coffin but didn't look cut when it was closed.
How to keep the coffin on:
The coffin needed to be sandwiched between me and the monster so I attached some straps through the cardboard coffin so that they would fit snuggly across my shoulders. I left plenty of slack in the straps to later attach the monster. I also had another strap that attached across my waist. This 5'2" body was going to be carrying a very large backpack!
The Monster
The monster was created out of a pvc frame. (see instructions for creating monsters) I attached him to the coffin using the straps that continued into the box and onto my shoulders. Then I dressed him, added a head and hands. I attached a large set of men's pants from the backside of the monster's blazer to the box and stuffed them with plastic grocery bags to make it look like he had a butt.
The Woman inside
The woman inside the coffin wore a long dress so I had to split it at the seams to my waist. When I stepped into the coffin, I also stepped into the pants and buckled them up as my own. I had to bring the coffin up at the same time as the pants because the monster was attached to the coffin. I stuffed the back part of the dress into the pants then strapped myself in. The front of the dress was draped over the straps on my waist and two PVC tubes that I dressed up with dark stockings to look like legs with shoes. Then the dress was tied around them with ropes. A long wig covered the straps on my shoulders.
A Word of Caution:
You really have to be committed to doing this because:
- The costume is heavy & hot
- You need help putting it on and taking it off
- The coffin can be claustrophobic
- You can't go to the bathroom
If you still want to do it...have a great time!!!
