18-Year-Old Asks if He’s Overreacting After Friend Dressed as His Late Brother for Halloween; ‘I’d Feel Sick About It,’ Says Commenters

A post shared in r/AIO on Oct. 25, 2026, describes a friend dressing as the poster’s late brother for Halloween. The poster, who is 18, asked commenters what he should do after seeing photos of the costume during a break at work.

The thread had drawn more than 267 upvotes and 64 comments at the time of publication.

The Redditor wrote that his younger brother died at age 6 in a case he said had been widely covered by true crime channels. He withheld other details because he did not want to “answer more questions about him or his death.” He described his friend as a true crime enthusiast and said he had known her for nearly two years before sharing the post. He initially kept his brother’s death to himself but eventually confided in her. “She was super understanding and said she’d heard of it but didnt [sic] want to pry,” he wrote.

The poster wrote that he opened his phone during a break at work and saw photos from his friend’s Halloween party. He said she was dressed as his brother as he appeared shortly before his death. “She is definitely dressed as him,” he wrote. “Next to the photo of her was a photo of him, she was wearing a matching outfit and everything,” he added. He asked commenters what he should do next.

One commenter said the costume would be inappropriate regardless of who wore it. “The fact that you’re friends makes it 1000x worse,” they added. “Dressing up as a true crime victim seems tasteless and evil. I love true crime, and this has quite literally never crossed my mind to do,” they wrote.

Another commenter suggested possible next steps, depending on whether the poster felt comfortable speaking to his friend directly. They told him, “I wouldn’t be able to hold back in this situation and would confront her about it.” For someone who wanted to avoid a confrontation, they added, “Just cut off contact with her and move on with your life, you don’t need friends like that.”

Other commenters sympathized with the poster and suggested ways he could respond to his friend’s Halloween photos. “I’m truly sorry about the loss of your brother,” one commenter wrote. “I’d feel sick about it. You don’t need to confront her, she’ll only minimize your pain.”

“My family’s loss is not for your entertainment,” the commenter wrote. “What you have done is so offensive that you can consider our friendship over.” The commenter suggested that blocking the friend afterward would spare the poster from hearing her excuses. “I just don’t see how you can continue to be friends with her,” they added. “I couldn’t.”

The Daily Dot could not independently verify the events described in the post. The details above reflect the poster’s account as shared on Reddit. The identities of the poster and commenters have not been confirmed.

Anyone coping with the death of a loved one can call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.