Modern dating, to put it gently, can be a nightmare. Because of the sterile ease of apps and technology, it makes it easier than ever to blow someone off. So just when you think you’ve made a connection with someone, the next thing you know–poof! You’ve been ghosted.
Ghosting, which is defined by Urban Dictionary as “to avoid someone until they get the picture and stop contacting you,” has become so prevalent and commonplace in our society, that Party City even made it into a Halloween costume this year.
The “Womens Ghosted Costume” (there is no “Mens Ghosted Costume,” because apparently only women get ghosted, cool cool cool) retails for $24.99 on the Party City website, and is described as a “a hooded white dress designed to look like a ghost with a series of unanswered texts on the front.”
The truly terrifying string of blue iMessage texts read in sequence: “See u tonight?,” “???,” R U OK!?,” “Hello!,” and “Guess not!”
“Eager texters will know not to bother you in this Ghosted Costume,” the description adds, which … doesn’t even really make sense, but whatever. Wouldn’t the person wearing it want you to text them? Or have they simply died from the mortification of having been ghosted and become an actual specter manifested to haunt whoever ghosted them out of existence?
So many questions, and naturally, Twitter had some thoughts.
I’m fucking crying they made being ghosted into a costume 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Q85VV6kBi1
— Sam 🌙 (@sighitssam) September 17, 2018
They made being GHOSTed a costume for people who can’t find a BOO https://t.co/yawetSdq4D
— 👁 (@isbryanmartinez) September 22, 2018
Ok fuck Party City for this 😒 pic.twitter.com/5xtMMJQwdp
— J*jo S*wa is 40 years old 💇🏼♀️👱🏻 (@arieella_) September 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/ShePartyRocks/status/1042620058562904064
And then a few people used the costume as a way to give a head’s up to someone who was ghosting them:
Sent this to the person that’s ghosting me and they didn’t reply lmaooo https://t.co/LWMKIqfCFR
— Cat (@cairneycath) September 22, 2018
I apparently ghosted someone and today she asked me if she should get this for Halloween 💀 pic.twitter.com/SJW3rY4aLN
— Matty (@SanoianDesigns) September 22, 2018
Oddly enough, the costume-designing geniuses at Party City were not even the first to come up with the idea. Last Halloween, Ohio State professor Claire Kamp Dush tweeted a photo of herself wearing a similar DIY version (for anyone who doesn’t happen to have 25 bucks lying around) to put a scare into her students.
My students loved my costume today! #ghosted #OSUhdfs2200 pic.twitter.com/O2vKqJ4hHQ
— Claire Kamp Dush (@ClaireKampDush) October 31, 2017
Let’s all try not to actually ghost anyone this Halloween though—a little kindness goes a long way.
