AI-generated picture to show the idea. Yours will look handmade.

The Too-Cheerful Unicorn Mascot

This year's most-searched Halloween costume on Google is a children's-TV unicorn that has gone badly wrong, and it is one of the easiest to copy at home. All you need is an orange hoodie and sweatpants, a cardboard horn on a headband, a purple heart on your chest and a smile you hold for slightly too long. It costs about $12 and takes 45 minutes.

TIME: 45 min
COST: about $12
SKILL: Easy

What you need

An orange hoodie and sweatpants (yours, or from a charity shop)
One cereal box or other thin card for the horn
Gold or yellow paint pen
A headband and a roll of tape
A pink bandana
Purple card and a marker for the heart
Optional: red lipstick for a little fake blood at the corner of the mouth

How to make it

1
Cut a long, fat cone of cardboard about 25 cm tall and roll it so it holds its own shape. Tape the seam on the inside.
2
Paint it gold with the pen, adding a few spiral lines so it reads as a unicorn horn from across a room.
3
Cut a half-circle tab at the base of the cone, fold it flat and tape it firmly to the headband so the horn sits on your forehead.
4
Cut a big heart from the purple card, outline it in marker and tape it to the middle of your chest.
5
Tie the pink bandana round your neck and pull the hood up over the headband.
6
Practise the smile in a mirror: wide, still, a little too long. That is the whole performance.

Make it better

Do not blink more than you have to. The unease is the costume.
A tiny smear of red lipstick at one corner of the mouth says everything without a word.
Stand very still at the edge of a party and say 'Hello, friend' in a bright voice.

Questions

Is this the Buddy the Unicorn costume from the film?

It is a homemade parody inspired by the cheerful unicorn mascot in this year's horror-comedy. Nothing here is official merchandise.

What is the easiest way to make a unicorn horn that stays up?

Roll a cone from thin card, then tape a half-circle tab to a headband. A plain headband with a flat tab holds much better than a horn taped straight to your hair.

Can I do this as a last-minute costume?

Yes. If you already own an orange top, you only need a cereal box, a pen and tape. Allow about 45 minutes.

A homemade parody of a horror-film mascot. Not made, sponsored or endorsed by the film's makers or distributors.

Wear it in front of your own haunted CCTV

Upload four photos of your house and Cursed Cam turns them into a night-time security monitor where something is very wrong. Put it on the TV by the door.

Make my monitor See how it works