Later, when the music is down and the snacks are gone, switch off every light, put one candle on the table and ask the oldest person in the room for a story. Chances are, that is the part everyone will remember.
The fan would slow to a stop, the inverter would beep its last, and someone’s nani would pull the candle closer before beginning, “Ek baar ki baat hai…” Every ghost story worth remembering began in a power cut like that. This Halloween, those stories make far better costumes than plastic fangs and pointed hats.
The last passenger
Dust the face with a little cocoa powder for a sepia, old-photograph look, dress in something from a grandparent’s trunk and carry a battered suitcase with a yellowed ticket dated 1952. Spend the evening asking guests whether the train has left yet.
Vikram and Betal
Remember the Doordarshan serial? It makes a brilliant costume for two. One friend plays the tired, grumbling king in a crumpled kurta and cardboard crown, and the other climbs onto the king’s back with a talc-white face, firing riddles at anyone who walks past. If a guest answers, Betal has to fly back to his tree, which in most flats means the balcony.
Moth at the tubelight
Paint dusty brown and gold wings across both eyelids, fix wire antennae into the hair and set the face with matte powder, then hover near every lamp in the room.
The mannequin
Build a flat, plastic-looking base, draw joint lines at the neck and wrists in brown liner and let a price tag dangle from one sleeve. Freeze the moment anyone looks over, and move only when they turn away.
The night caller
Grandmothers warned children never to answer a voice calling their name at night, however familiar it sounded. Hide a friend behind the door curtain to whisper each guest’s name as they walk in, and watch their faces.