History Main / BecomingTheCostume

%%* ''Fanfic/ThisBites'': In the third Halloween special, [[Manga/OnePiece the Straw Hats]] (and many allies) are transported to HalloweenTown from ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', and this ensues.%%What does?

[[caption-width-right:350:L - R: [[RichBitch Emily]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Wilfred]], [[JerkJock Wilfred Jr.]], and [[{{Narcissist}} Paula]] after receiving some [[KarmicTwistEnding karmic justice]].]]

May be the subject of a HalloweenEpisode.

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13501363/34/Chaos-Effect Chaos Effect]]'': The first [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Filler Arc]] sees the people of Domino City (specifically those who bought villain costumes) being transformed into their characters by a [[HolierThanThou self-righteous]] fanboy who thinks that defeating them while playing the role of the hero will somehow break society's obsession with RootingForTheEmpire. [[SelfInsert Edwin]] is less than impressed with this, least of all because he recognizes it as a WholePlotReference to ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.

* One of the side stories in ''Fanfic/HeroChat'' sees Team Miraculous face an akumatized villain with this power while attending a fan convention. As they were wearing cosplay while already transformed, they end up with the abilities of whoever they were dressed as alongside their usual powers -- for instance, Honeybee gets to use [[Anime/MyHeroAcademia Katsuki Bakugo's Explosion Quirk]], and Roi Singe dual-wields his staff and [[WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender Lance's Bayard]].

* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse'': ''Costumes'' revolves around this trope. In an attempt to promote her wares, Rarity uses a Zebrican ritual that she thinks will make her costumes more realistic. Unfortunately, in something of a RunningGag for the Lunaverse, she misunderstands the ritual's function -- it was designed to allow a zebra to take on the physical form and powers of a totem. So everyone wearing one of Rarity's costumes (and most of Ponyville was wearing one of Rarity's costumes) is turned into whatever they were dressed up as, and gains whatever abilities they subconsciously believed their new form should have.
** Rarity, for example, is turned into [[OurVampiresAreDifferent a vampony]] and gains hypnotic eyes and blood-sucking fangs. Further, the spell causes all victims to believe that they actually are whatever they'd been dressed as. Luckily, Trixie and Twilight had made their own costumes and are able to dispel the curse. But not before several adventures occur...

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ltimateSpiderMan'' HalloweenEpisode "Strange Little Halloween", Baron Mordo casts a spell that transforms trick-or-treaters into the monsters they're dressed as. Non-monstrous costumes are interpreted more ... creatively ... so they ''still'' turn into rampaging monsters (astronaut into alien monster, princess into ''zombie'' princess). The spell is also pretty liberal in its definition of "costume" -- Spidey is shielded by protection magic Dr Strange cast on him in a previous episode, but Ant-Man's helmet is enough for him to turn into a giant ant.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' has "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E145TheMasks The Masks]]", which provides the page image, where a dying millionaire forces his worthless heirs to wear masks caricaturing their worst personality traits -- if they take them off before midnight, they get cut out of his will save for some fare to take the train home. At midnight, he dies, and they shed the masks... and discover their faces have taken on the shapes of the masks permanently save the good-hearted millionaire, who retains his human face. It should be noted this isn't set on Halloween, but Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Not to be confused with BecomingTheMask (which is about a pretense turning sincere) or EvilCostumeSwitch. Can overlap with TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody, which is [[FaceMonsterTurn bad news]]. Related to EvilMask. [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity might ensue]] if overlapped with ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself. Can lead to a MonsterMash if there is a large assortment of costumes.

** ''Series/{{Angel}}'': The same trick is pulled on a convention in the later comics, turning a bunch of nerds into superheroes and villains, and turning Spike into Angel. Or, at least, [[HilarityEnsues Angel as Spike sees him]].

* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'': In "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS2E5SlavesToFashion Slaves to Fashion]]", Tuskernini, the villainous walrus filmmaker, creates a gas that causes people to take on the personality of whatever costumed character they dressed up as. HilarityEnsues. The gas doesn't actually affect our hero, though, because [[ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself he came to the party as himself]].

* This is the premise of the third episode of ''WebAnimation/CrashZoom''. Kate, bored at a LARPing event, transforms everyone into their costumes and summons a huge monster for them to fight.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13501363/34/Chaos-Effect Chaos Effect]]'': The [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Filler Arc]] sees the people of Domino City (specifically those who bought villain costumes) being transformed into their characters by a [[HolierThanThou self-righteous]] fanboy who thinks that defeating them while playing the role of the hero will somehow break society's obsession with RootingForTheEmpire. [[SelfInsert Edwin]] is less than impressed with this, least of all because he recognizes it as a WholePlotReference to ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'': This happens to Mojo Jojo, dressed as a cat for Halloween, in "Witch's Crew", thanks to Princess Morbucks's potion she originally used to make herself more beautiful and powerful than the titular heroines, which backfired thanks to their intervention. In the process, Morbucks was turned into an ogre and the Powerpuffs into [[WickedWitch evil witches]]. Mojo and Morbucks are then forced to work together to reverse the spell.

Not to be confused with BecomingTheMask (which is about a pretense turning sincere) or EvilCostumeSwitch. Can overlap with TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody, which is [[FaceMonsterTurn bad news]]. Related to EvilMask. [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity might ensue]] if overlapped with ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself. Can invariably lead to a MonsterMash if there is a large assortment of costumes.

Not to be confused with BecomingTheMask (which is about a pretense turning sincere) or EvilCostumeSwitch. Can overlap with TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody, which is [[FaceMonsterTurn bad news]]. Related to EvilMask. [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity might ensue]] if overlapped with ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself.

Compare ClothesMakeTheSuperman and ClothesMakeTheManiac.

** In the third segment of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E4TreehouseOfHorrorXVI Treehouse of Horror XVI]]", "I've Grown a Costume To Your Face," a witch curses everyone in town by making them become their costumes, except for [[ButtMonkey Hans Moleman]] who got turned into a mole [[GuiltByAssociationGag despite not wearing a costume]].

* Website/{{Fenspace}}: This is a possible result of handwavium accidents. The most drastic example to date is [[http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?title=Wave_Convoy a guy]] who built a Transformer using handwavium and got shot by a police sniper after being mistaken for a terrorist. He passed out in the cab, with a burst pipe leaking handwavium into the wound, and woke up with his mind now in the Transformer body. Likewise, [[http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?title=Shuko the first catgirl]] was created when a con-goer in a handwavium-enhanced catgirl costume ate food contaminated with Guacamole (a strain of 'wavium specialized for bio-modification), and [[http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?title=Jet_Jaguar another guy]] became a cyborg when he [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy accidentally]] drank a bottle of handwavium while wearing a suit of PoweredArmor.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' has "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E145TheMasks The Masks]]", where a dying millionaire forces his worthless heirs to wear masks caricaturing their worst personality traits -- if they take them off before midnight, they get cut out of his will save for some fare to take the train home. At midnight, he dies, and they shed the masks... and discover their faces have taken on the shapes of the masks permanently save the good-hearted millionaire, who retains his human face. It should be noted this isn't set on Halloween, but Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', the leader of a cult dressed in a goat's head and used a snake as a fake penis. He gets transformed into an Apostle Spawn, which turns him into a real goat-headed, satyr-like monster with a snake for a penis. [[spoiler: Before his transformation he was about to perform a sexual ritual with Casca, who was believed to be a goddess by the cult. After transformation the only thing he can think of is raping her. Luckily for her, he runs into Guts.]]

* In ''ComicBook/{{Silverblade}}'', the longer Jonathan remains in the form of one of his movie characters, the more he starts to believe he is that character. While in the form of Franchise/{{Dracula}}, he gets staked through the heart and 'dies' (because that would have killed Dracula in the film). When Milestone finds his skeleton and removes the stake, that 'revives' Dracula (again because it would have in the film). However, because of the time he has spent 'dead', Jonathan now believes he truly is Dracula.

* The [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Filler Arc]] of ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13501363/34/Chaos-Effect Chaos Effect]]'' sees the people of Domino City (specifically those who bought villain costumes) being transformed into their characters by a [[HolierThanThou self-righteous]] fanboy who thinks that defeating them while playing the role of the hero will somehow break society's obsession with RootingForTheEmpire. [[SelfInsert Edwin]] is less than impressed with this, least of all because he recognizes it as a WholePlotReference to ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.

* ''Fanfic/ThisBites'': In the third Halloween special, [[Manga/OnePiece the Straw Hats]] (and many allies) are transported to HalloweenTown from ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', and this ensues.

* In ''Film/{{Halloweentown}} II: Kalabar's Revenge'', Kal plans on turning every human who dressed as a monster into that monster (and conversely to turn monsters into humans). He even has Gwen wear a horrific mask so that she would become a terrifying, hag-like goblin.
* In ''Film/HallowsEnd'', the characters become their costumes when they die.

* In ''Film/NightOfTheDemons3'', the demonic Angela Franklin turns characters into their demon, CatGirl, and snake-armed gorgon costumes.

* Literature/FlossieTeacakes's magical coat may be a benign version of this -- a particularly fabulous coat that she finds in her older sister's room turns out to magically transform dowdy ten-year old Flossie (when she plays at dressing as her sister) into [[OlderAlterEgo the young woman that she dreams of being]].

** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E6Halloween Halloween]]", a powerful spell transforms everyone in town into whatever they had dressed as for the night -- Willow becomes a ghost, Xander a trigger-happy soldier and Buffy a hapless 18th-century noblewoman. Only the costumes from one specific shop, the one run by the guy who did the spell, do this -- regular Halloween costumes have no effect on their wearers at all.
** Exploited in the Season 4 episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E4FearItself Fear Itself]]", where the gang attend a college Halloween party and all of them dress up as someone or something that would actually be useful should history repeat itself. This time, though, it's just the Halloween decorations at the party -- spiders, bats, skeletons, peeled grapes posing as eyeballs -- that get brought to life.
** The same trick is pulled on a convention in the later ''Series/{{Angel}}'' comics, turning a bunch of nerds into superheroes and villains, and turning Spike into Angel. Or, at least, [[HilarityEnsues Angel as Spike sees him]].

* In ''TabletopGame/MonteCooksWorldOfDarkness'', all of the costumes at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis work this way. Once someone puts on a costume, they become that character -- even when the costume is removed. The effect is apparently irreversible. The theater is popular with suicidal people; by putting on a costume, they can cease to exist and instead become someone else entirely.

* In ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld'', the player can find a [[BearyFriendly Monzaemon]] costume in {{Toy T|ime}}own. If their partner Digimon is a [[JokeCharacter Numemon]], it can climb into the costume and take on Monzaemon's form. Since Monzaemon is an Ultimate-level Digimon (and is, in fact, required to gain access to Toy Town's main building), this is effectively a free Digivolution, in a game where meeting the requirements to Digivolve your partner to the Ultimate level at all [[GuideDangIt can be tricky]].

* In ''VideoGame/SunlessSea'', there is an island called Visage where all who visit the island must don a mask to go past the dock onto the island. Those who wear the mask take on the role of the mask, both mentally and physically. For example, those wearing the frog mask will only croak when they try to speak, someone wearing a locust mask will act like a locust, and while wearing the mask of the moon-moth it's mentioned "You briefly flicker your wings". However, once someone removes their mask they immediately become the person they were before.

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Anise can be given special dolls from other Tales or Namco games (such as Presea from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' and ) which sometimes prompt Anise's end battle quote to sound ''nothing like'' anything Anise would say and sometimes end up as nonsequitors, because she's channelling the character in question. They also allow her to use their special abilities (ie, Beast for the Presea doll)

* This is the entire plot of a downloadable game called ''The Theater'' by [=TestZero=]. It can be downloaded [[http://www.testzero.net/p/histrionica.html here]] or [[https://rpgmaker.net/games/4051/ here]].

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' has Franchise/{{Batman}} turn into a man-bat hybrid, Bronze Tiger into a tiger-human hybrid and Vulture, Fox and Shark turn into, you guessed it, subjects of {{Animorphism}}.
* In ''WesternAnimation/CostumeQuest'', the kids do this deliberately to fight monsters.
%%* The ''WesternAnimation/CreepSchool'' episode "Tricks That Treat" does this.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' Timmy wishes for this to happen on Halloween -- unfortunately for him, his wording of the wish prevents him from unwishing it. He wanted everyone's costumes to be "real and scary"... and his fairy god parents just had to dress as a "floating human janitor" and a "floating human nurse". Even worse, the popular kids were dressed as Crash Nebula villains capable of forming a DoomsdayDevice that can blow up a planet.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode "Curse of the Werewuff", Angelica convinces the babies that they will be transformed into their Halloween costumes.
* This happens to Mojo Jojo, dressed as a cat for Halloween, in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' episode "Witch's Crew", thanks to Princess Morbucks's potion she originally used to make herself more beautiful and powerful than the titular heroines, which backfired thanks to their intervention. In the process, Morbucks was turned into an ogre and the Powerpuffs into [[WickedWitch evil witches]]. Mojo and Morbucks are then forced to work together to reverse the spell.

-> '''Witch:''' Taint of mutant, scum of pond, thou shall become the guise thou donned!\\

* This happens to Mojo Jojo, dressed as a cat for Halloween, in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' episode "Witch's Crew", thanks to Princess Morbucks's potion she originally used to make herself more beautiful and powerful than the titular heroines, which backfired thanks to their intervention. In the process, Morbucks was turned into an ogre and the Powerpuffs into [[WickedWitch evil witches]].

* This happens to Mojo Jojo, dressed as a cat for Halloween, in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' episode "Witch's Crew", thanks to Princess Morbucks's potion she used to make herself more beautiful and powerful than the titular heroines that backfired. In the process, Morbucks was turned into an ogre and the Powerpuffs into [[WickedWitch evil witches]].

* This happens to Mojo Jojo, dressed as a cat for Halloween, in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'' episode "Witch's Crew", thanks to Princess Morbucks's potion she used to make herself more beautiful and powerful than the titular heroines that backfired. As the potion turned Mojo into a cat, Morbucks was turned into an ogre and the Powerpuffs into [[WickedWitch evil witches]].

* In Creator/SeananMcGuire's Patreon-exclusive short story "Face Your Furs", an unnamed theme park implants {{nanotechnology}} into the {{Goofy Suit}}s employees wear to turn them into PettingZooPeople. This is all [[ReadTheFinePrint perfectly legal]], but they're still treated more like property than employees, and complications arise when [[spoiler:the transformation turns out to be irreversible]].

** In the third segment of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E4TreehouseOfHorrorXVI Treehouse of Horror XVI]]", "I've Grown a Costume To Your Face," a witch curses everyone in town by making them become their costumes.