Infected Lt. Ripley Costume

I love horror and sci-fi movies so I’m dressed as LT. Ripley from the Alien film franchise with the face-hugging parasite attached and the chest-buster (my baby daughter) exploding through my breast plate.

The chest-busting alien: To attach my daughter (the alien) to my body, I placed her in a Snugli baby carrier which then strapped around my shoulders, leaving my arms and hands free. I put on an over-sized long sleeve shirt which opened in the front so I could easily adjust it around the carrier for camouflage. I then took a large white T-shirt, cut and ripped a hole at my chest big enough for her head to come through, and covered the clothing and her head in fake blood and temporary tattoos of fake blood before slipping it on.

The face-hugger: I wadded up old plastic bags to form the main part of the parasite’s body. I used pages of rolled up newspaper to form each of its eight legs and long tail. Using glow-in-the-dark duct tape, I connected the legs, tail and body and covered them completely in tape to achieve the uniform look. I used twist ties to strap the hugger onto my face and curled its tail around my neck.
The name tag was a piece of sticky foam.

The costume looked great in daylight and glowed at night. Everyone loved it. Strangers even asked to take pictures of us.

Cost: Most of the items were already in my house such as old newspapers, plastic bags, twist ties, and over-sized shirts. The baby carrier was a gift, but it costs about $15. Glow-in-the-dark duct tape is $5-$6. Depending on how much fake blood you want to use, $2-$7. For the convenience of being able to hold your baby close (hands-free) while enjoying Halloween in a unique costume…priceless.