The COVID-19 Halloween mask: Sign of the times or a horrifying costume?
Halloween costumes are always a sign of the times. Masks of presidential candidates in election years. Costumes for the hottest box-office characters, be it regal Elsa from “Frozen” or the demon clown from “It.”
This year?
People saw this costume idea coming way back in March.
“I don’t want to see a single COVID-19 Halloween costume this year. I know there are morons already thinking about (it),” wrote Twitter user @GylCad on March 19.
And thus it has come to pass.
Latex Halloween masks that look like the lumpy molecule of the SARS-CoV2 virus — the one that causes COVID-19 — began popping up on Amazon last month. Some are called “coronavirus” masks outright. One is simply the “horror virus” mask.
They all have the recognizable crown-like spikes of the virus that has killed more than 190,000 people in the United States.
Some are made in China.
Irony, thy name is Halloween.
“It’s a fun idea but you will need to air this out as it smells of chemicals terribly. It is made in China but arrived quickly,” wrote an Amazon reviewer of one mask that sells for $27.99.
“I washed it in antibacterial dish soap and will air it out to dry for a few days. It fits my child’s head well but I had to cut a slit in the back of it to help get it (on) and off to avoid suffocation.”
Cole Cordle of Shawnee is selling a handmade COVID-19 mask for $72 on her Light Up Your Life page on Etsy. She makes and designs LED products — including toys, clothing, jewelry — and her mask, made of rubbery latex material, has red LED lights with an on/off switch.
She touts it as “the most feared monster out there, Corona!”
Cordle and a friend who is helping her make them have sold about 20 so far, but plan to make more because they “seem to be pretty popular” with kids and adults, Cordle said. The first 10 sold quickly.
Some of the other masks available online are offered as costume party props, as is one $24.99 version made of blood-red latex, with an angry, wide-open mouth full of big scary teeth.
“Wearing this horror mask will give you an amazing and lasting impression,” reads the description, which deems this mask “suitable for Masquerade Parties, Costume Parties, Carnival, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, stage performances, craft decoration.”
Christmas?
One nauseously green version looks suspiciously like someone familiar — it has a golden-colored comb-over.
An Ebola Halloween flashback
Some folks on social media are shaking their heads.
Costume purveyors have been down this road before, and it was bumpy.
In 2014 during the Ebola outbreak, online costume retailer Brands on Sale ran into a buzzsaw of public outcry for selling a hazmat Halloween getup and a “sexy Ebola containment suit.”
The sexy suit came with this description, according to The New York Daily News: “The short dress and chic gas mask will be the talk of Milan, London, Paris, and New York as the world’s fashionistas seek global solutions to hazmat couture.”
Even Playboy grimaced.
A Google search turns up nothing like that this Halloween. No sexy first-responder costumes. No sexy PPE.
The “sexy scientist” costume is currently unavailable on Amazon, but that old standby, the sexy nurse, is still out there.
It’s anyone’s guess what Halloween will be like this year. Even the people who sell costumes aren’t sure.
“We know that Halloween will look different for many,” Steven Silverstein, the president and CEO of Spirit Halloween, recently told the National Retail Federation.
Maybe “different” this Halloween means that nothing could be as scary as real life.
Because as much as some people hate the idea of COVID-19 costumes, others are plotting how to mock the monster.
“Sure, maybe you could do something more creative,” wrote an Amazon reviewer who gave one of the masks, with blue eyes and yellow teeth, a 5-star rating. “But, this thing is so absolutely horrifying, it truly embodies the spirit of our hate for COVID19.”
Trick-or-treating safety tips for 2020
▪ Trick-or-treating can be safe, but don’t do it with a big group. Household members should stick together, travel in as small a group as possible and distance themselves from others.
▪ Children and adults should wear masks designed for COVID-10 safety, even outdoors.
▪ At home, designate one person — best to be an adult — to hand out the candy. Don’t leave the bowl out for trick-or-treaters to dig into.
▪ Avoid indoor gatherings. Because that’s where the spread of the virus can be truly frightening.
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