Vampires are the ultimate cool Halloween monster, and Count Dracula is the coolest of them all. Vampires are sexy, they get to wear capes, and they live forever. Who wouldn't want to be one? We may not be able to make you into a vampire, but we can show you how to make a Dracula costume that will be the life - or rather, death - of any Halloween party.

Bram Stoker's Dracula was named after a real man named Vlad Dracula. Vlad was a Romanian prince who was born to Prince Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Devil) and Princess Cneajna of Moldavia. Vlad was responsible for the violent murder more than 40,000 people in Transylvania. The character Dracula was not based on his life, but bears his name.http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/vlad-dracula.htm

• To assemble a costume befitting Count Dracula's sumptuous and formal style, you can make your costume as elaborate as you wish (see the Variations and Tips section below). But to begin with, there a few basic elements common to most store-bought Dracula costumes which you probably might already have in your closet:

1. White dress shirtCostume Craze: Adult Dracula Costume
2. Black shoesCostume Craze: Adult Dracula Costume
3. Black dress slacksBuyCostumes.com: Universal Studios Monsters Dracula Plus Adult Costume
4. Dark- or light-colored formal vestBuyCostumes.com: Gothic Vampire Elite Collection Adult CostumeCostume Craze: Adult Dracula Costume
5. Close-fitting glovesBuyCostumes.com: Universal Studios Monsters Dracula Plus Adult Costume

• There are also a couple vital components to the Dracula costume which you are less likely to have lying around the house:

1. Black cape (with red satin lining if possible)Dracula in Whitby: Dracula Halloween Costume
2. Gold-colored medallion with red-ribbonCostume Craze: Adult Dracula Costume

• Despite his ghoulish nature, on the outside Count Dracula was a normal (if elegant) guy. So, although you have the option of sewing together the different pieces of clothing, wearing them normally is just fine.Dracula in Whitby: Dracula Halloween Costume

• Now that you've got the right outfit, it's time to make your complexion as pale and sinister as possible. Luckily, you don't need to be a professional makeup artist, or even that much makeup, to get the job done right.Make Digital: Halloween 2007: Macabre Makeup - The Vampire (October, 2007)

• Without the right makeup, you're just a guy in fancy clothes. To get that classy, undead Dracula look are as follows, you'll need a few things:

1. Greasepaint in various ashen shades, including white, black, gray, and even green!Make Digital: Halloween 2007: Macabre Makeup - The Vampire (October, 2007)
2. Black eyebrow pencilMake Digital: Halloween 2007: Macabre Makeup - The Vampire (October, 2007)
3. Light-colored face powderHalloween Online Magazine: How Vampires Are Made
4. Fake blood (or if you're in a pinch, red lipstick)LoveToKnow: Halloween Vampire Makeup

• The goal here is to make your face look pale and shadowy. The following general techniques will help you look sinister, but not outright monstrous.

• Apply greasepaint over your entire face to create a pale, ashen foundation.Halloween on the Web: Gruesome Makeup Tips
  1. Use your fingers, rather than a brush or pad, so you can blend the makeup more gently and evenly over your face.Halloween Online Magazine: How Vampires Are Made
  2. Start with white for the base layer has been applied, but gradually blend in other colors of greasepaint to create a more natural-looking unnatural shade.Make Digital: Halloween 2007: Macabre Makeup - The Vampire (October, 2007)
  3. Don't forget to apply your base layer to your neck and ears; they're supposed to be just as undead as the rest of you is!Make Digital: Halloween 2007: Macabre Makeup - The Vampire (October, 2007)
  4. Apply enough makeup to alter the overall hue of your face, but don't lay it on too thick.Halloween Online Magazine: How Vampires Are Made
  5. When you're finished, set your greasepaint makeup so it doesn't rub off on anything:Halloween Online Magazine: How Vampires Are Made
     1. Apply face powder onto all the areas where you've applied makeup.
     2. Gently dust off any excess powder with a cotton ball.Make Digital: Halloween 2007: Macabre Makeup - The Vampire (October, 2007)
     3. The powder will mix with any excess makeup, so it won't run.Halloween Online Magazine: How Vampires Are Made

• You may not be able to replicate Dracula's infamous glowing eyes. You can, however, use makeup to give your eyes a menacing, shadowy look:
  1. Color both your upper and lower eyelids with greasepaintHalloween Online Magazine: How Vampires Are Made
  2. Apply dark-colored greasepaint around the outsides of your eyes to create a dark, sunken-in look.Halloween Online Magazine: How Vampires Are Made
  3. Use a black eyebrow pencil to draw in small hair lines on the eyebrows.Halloween on the Web: Gruesome Makeup Tips
  4. Augment your eyebrows by making them thicker, and angled downwards towards the center of your face.LoveToKnow: Halloween Vampire Makeup
     • - Make Magazine recommends that you use your eyebrow pencil to draw in the edges of the eyebrows in the shape of hairs, to get a more natural appearance.Make Digital: Halloween 2007: Macabre Makeup - The Vampire (October, 2007)

• For a step-by-step walkthrough to applying your makeup, consult Mahalo's page on How to Do Vampire Makeup.

• Now that you're dressed the part, and made up with a vampiric complexion, there are a few final details to complete your Dracula costume.

• The two most important parts of Dracula's hairstyle are the dark, slicked-back hair, and the sharp-pointed hairline called a widow's peak.Castle of Spirits: Vampires/DraculaInkling Magazine: A Dose of Vampire's Medicine (December 18, 2006) The easiest way to get the right hairdo without mussing up yours is to pick up a wig from a costume or specialty store.Make Digital: Halloween 2007: Macabre Makeup - The Vampire (October, 2007) But if you don't feel like shelling out extra cash, you can also style your own Dracula hair:

1. Use some sort of thick hair product with a reasonable amount of hold and comb back your hair so it doesn't fall over your face.Make Digital: Halloween 2007: Macabre Makeup - The Vampire (October, 2007)
   • - If your hair is long enough, you can simply pull it back and tie or clip it in place.About.com: What Ever Do I Wear for Halloween?
2. There are a couple tricks you can use if your hair doesn't fall in a natural widow's peak:
   1. If your hair isn't too long, you can simply comb your hair forward into a point and let it sit on your forehead.Halloween on the Web: Gruesome Makeup Tips
   2. You can also use your black eyebrow pencil and draw a widow's peak into your natural hairline.About.com: What Ever Do I Wear for Halloween?

• Don't forget to get a set of fangs! Dracula is nothing without his bite! You can purchase ready-made fangs from costume shops, specialty stores and even major online retailers like Amazon.com.VampFangs.com: Official SiteAmazon.com: Products tagged with vampire fangs

• If you're feeling particularly crafty, you can even set about making your own personalized set of vampire fangs. The process is somewhat complicated, and requires extra materials including plaster, clay and alginate--a gooey substance commonly used to makes molds of body parts. The process is somewhat involved, but here are two excellent guides for the entire process:
  1. MAKE Blog: DIY Vampire Fangs (Video) (Time: 11:14)
  2. Halloween Online Magazine: Casting Fangs and Teeth