I had to build it, but since I am lazy, I just used your final design for a guideline. Due to space constraints and preference, I set out to build a scaled down version. I assembled the bag portion from two large lawn bags, glue-gunned together. I reinforced the head with a small piece of cardboard glued to the inside. For a nose, I sketched up a spider, glued it to the face, and attached wads of black paper to make it “pop”. I followed the same procedure for the serpent eyebrows. For his greasy hair, I simply cut a few pieces of black construction paper 90% of the way lengthwise, and glued them to his forehead. I used some glad Tupperware to create the eyes (the pupils are just paper discs, weighted down with glue). I quickly sewed together some fabric to create a cape, and hot glued this to his body. At this point I had one hour left to get to the bar. How was I going to strap this monstrosity to my body? So, in the spirit of last minute rigging, I glued some very stiff cardboard along the back of his torso to create a rigid spine. I then attached a tie-strap to this which I could adjust to keep him taught against my frame. It worked perfectly! His hair would flop about manicly and his eyes googled like Mexican jumping beans as I danced about! At this point I crammed it into the back of a cab and set out to the bar. I was unsure what the public reaction would be – would anyone know what the hell I was? I was nearly crushed when, as I waited for the bouncer to check my i.d., I heard someone say “That is the WORST looking Spongebob I have ever seen!”. Luckily, the rest of the night fared much better. Crowd reaction was 98% positive, although occasionally downright bizarre. Most people knew what I was, but a few people were trying to guess what I was with ideas ranging from “a total assclown” (my personal favorite) to Sesame Street characters. 

My favorite was an older man who walked up to me right away, beaming with joy. He shook my hand and told me I had the best costume in the bar, and he knew what I was the second he saw me! He then proceeded to tell me that I was very bold to dress up as a character from the 1960’s, and that no one of my generation would know what I was. Having absolutely no idea what he was talking about, I played along. Whenever I had to pee, I wound up blocking two adjacent urinals, one on each side of me. This wouldn’t have been a problem if the bathroom had more than three urinals. Unfortunately, the Fandango vampire was not very popular in the men’s room. In addition, right at the start of the night, someone tore the front of his cape, so that it hung open all night. In any case, the Fandango vampire was an outright success – he was a wild man on the dance floor, although I was told that the interior of the bag smelled worse than vomit. Sadly, Fandango met a dismal fate outside of the bar when I set him down to order a chicken wrap, and a pregnant nun came running out of nowhere and stomped his gladware eyeball to oblivion, and then began wildly kicking his torso before I could rescue him. I am still not sure what inspired this hate crime. So again Rob, I would like to thank you profusely for your website – it is not only entertaining but home to a wealth of ideas for people like me. I hope you do not mind that I plagiarized your idea, I told anyone who would listen where I got the inspiration, and again, I regret that I could not have asked you in advanced! Attached you will find some pictures of Fandango at the bar at the end of the night. He has some battle scars on his face and his cape is torn, but you get the idea. I have also attached some pictures of him post attack showcasing his craptacular design features.Thank you for your help and I wish you the best of luck with your costume this year! From what I have seen, it looks to be a surefire winner!-Craig

 P.S. You should really consider dressing up for Christmas. That is my particular forte, I have a man-sized gingerbread man I constructed and I have begun an elaborate candy-cane outfit for this year. Since nearly no-one dresses up for Christmas, it is a great attention getter and loads of fun, especially if you can get a group to dress up. I know there are no prizes or competitions to win, but I’d love to see what you could create! Think about it!