Ghosts. Ghouls. Apparitions. Spirits. Spooks. Whether you are a believer or not, as long as man has walked the earth, there have been tales, legends, beliefs and even sometimes fear of these beings. In ancient days, superstitious people would dress as ghost-like beings in order to scare off the spirits of the recently departed, as on All Hallows Eve, legend taught that the spirits of the dead were out and about, roaming the earth freely.

Thus, it can be pretty safe to assume that the ghost may be one of, if not the most, classic Halloween costumes out there, as the tradition of this type of costume literally goes back for thousands of years.

Dressing up as a ghost-like being on Halloween not only is a time-honored tradition, but it can also be a very fun way to get into the true ghostly and scary spirit of Halloween. From looks that are super creepy, to those that are more light-hearted and whimsical, morphing yourself into a ghostly look needn’t be time-consuming or difficult.

We have put together an easy to create ghost makeup look, using the Ghost Stories Makeup Kit found at Halloween Express. Just about everything you need to create a truly ghostly look that is simply haunting is found in this kit.

Here are the make-up items we're using to create this Ghostly Gentleman Look:

• Ghost Stories Makeup Kit # DPM511193
• Colorset Setting Powder # DD321

Follow These Six Steps to Create Your Ghostly Gentleman Look

Step One:  Using the Ghost Stories Makeup Kit (#PM511193), apply the white cream makeup to the entire face using a damp sponge. Avoid the eye area, as you will be using a darker shade later to shadow in this area of the face.

Step Two: Using the lightest shade of grey found in the Ghost Stories Makeup kit palette, apply this color as a base around the eyes. Use the darker grey to deepen the shadows around the eyes and also as contouring around the mouth and face. You can dab the grey color on with a damp sponge or your fingertips whichever is easiest. Continue shadowing with the grey color in places on the face where natural shadowing would occur. (Around the outer edges of the face, under the cheekbones, under the lower lip, on the sides of the nose, etc.) Have fun playing with the grey shades and shadow the face until you have achieved the ghostly pallor you desire.

Step Three:  Using the black color found in the Ghost Stories Makeup Kit, apply this to the eyelids and underneath the eyes in order to give them a very dark, sunken in look that is truly ghostly and frightening. Blend in well.

Step Four:  At this point (and any others along the way) it’s a good idea to apply a setting powder to prevent your makeup from smearing or smudging! We have used Colorset Powder (#DD321) in order to accomplish this. The powder also has the added bonus of enhancing the pale pallor of your ghostly character!

Step Five:  Using the stick black makeup crayon found in the Ghost Stories makeup kit, add some creepy details to your ghostly face. Use this crayon to draw in eyebrows if desired and also to create “wrinkles” which will give the face an older, more aged appearance. The easiest way to create wrinkles that look natural is to smile, pucker and wrinkle your forehead and draw with the stick makeup along those natural lines in the face. Blend in well with your finger. The effect is amazing!

Step Six: Add the stick makeup to the lips, applying as you would lipstick. Powder the entire face one last time and finish off the look with setting powder. (#DD321)

This ghostly and very spooky look works very well for a wide variety of haunted beings and costumes, both male and female that you will find on the website. We have dressed our video ghost in the Ghostly Gentleman costume (#FM56529), accessorizing his look perfectly with this White Wig (#DG14660). The female ghoul apparition that mysteriously appears in the end of our video is wearing the Ghostly Gal costume (#FM57477).

For a frightening look that speaks volumes about things that go bump in the night, make one of these spooky characters yours this Halloween!