Cursed Cam
The Yellow Rooms Wallpaper: a DIY Halloween costume made from cardboard, worn by Arlo, AI-generated model

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

The Yellow Rooms Wallpaper

The online legend of endless yellow rooms with a humming light is one of the creepiest ideas of the year, and a box covered in damp-stained yellow wallpaper is a very good costume for it. Add a flickering strip light on your head and a small sign saying 'No exit', and everyone will know. About $14 and 90 minutes.

TIME
90 min
COST
about $14
SKILL
Some cutting

What you need

  • A large cardboard box that fits over your torso, with the top and bottom cut away
  • Mustard-yellow paper or paint
  • A brown or green sponge for damp stains
  • A small battery light strip or tealight
  • A headband
  • A black marker and a small card for the 'No exit' sign
  • Rope for shoulder straps

How to make it

  1. 1

    Cut the top and bottom off the box and cut arm holes in each side. Test that it slides over your shoulders.

  2. 2

    Paint or cover the box in mustard yellow. Draw faint vertical stripes with a marker.

  3. 3

    Dab brown and green on with a sponge in drips and blotches, so it looks damp and old.

  4. 4

    Tape the light strip to the headband so it hangs above your head like a bad ceiling light.

  5. 5

    Write 'No exit' on the card and hang it at the front of the box.

  6. 6

    Wear plain clothes and hum a low note if anyone gets too close.

Make it better

  • Add a few cardboard cracks around the bottom for extra atmosphere.
  • A tiny speaker playing a low hum makes it much creepier. Keep it quiet.
  • Stand in a corridor and wait to be found.

Questions

Is this the Backrooms costume?

It is a homemade nod to the internet's yellow-rooms horror legend and the film inspired by it. It is not official merchandise.

How do I make the wallpaper look damp?

Dab on thin brown and green paint with a sponge, and let it run a little. Messy stains look more convincing than neat ones.

Can I wear it all night?

It is light, but the box is bulky. Make the straps adjustable and keep the arm holes wide.

Inspired by an online horror legend and a 2026 film. Not made, sponsored or endorsed by the film's makers.

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 monitorSee how it works

Goes with

More costume ideas

ALL COSTUMES