Need a last-minute Halloween costume? Here are 10 Austin-themed ideas, from silly to scary

Happy Halloween, Austin!

If you're like us, you're looking for a last minute Halloween costume. We came up with some Austin-themed costumes that'll make you the talk of your party. Check them out and let us know which one you choose:

Need a group costume? Try grackles.

We are ridiculously proud of this idea. Grab a couple friends and dress as the grackles that congregate on power lines near H-E-B grocery store parking lots at sunset. Find some black clothing to wear, and some sort of string. Tie the string to yourself and your pals so you can look like you're a bird on a power line, obviously. Choreograph the moment when you all scatter and then get back into a line. Carry an H-E-B bag as your purse!

If you're going for scary, pick a highway.

Is this kind of a lame dad joke? Probably. Do we care? No. You tell us — is there anything scarier than getting on Interstate 35 or MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) at rush hour? We actively avoid Austin highways between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. That's how bad it is out here. For your costume, we suggest dressing in all red to simulate what the maps app looks like on your phone at rush hour. Carry a toy car, or tape pictures of cars to your red look. You'll scare every one.

More: Like your Halloween scary? Check out these haunted Central Texas experiences

Be a ghost, but an Austin ghost.

Austin has a lot of ghosts. We're not talking about the ghosts of old governors or anything. We mean the ghosts of restaurants and businesses that have closed in Austin. You have a ton of options for this one. Threadgill's, Hut's Hamburgers, Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds costume shop, Cain & Abel, Spider House Cafe and Nau's Enfield Drug, among many more, are all now-closed Austin institutions. For your costume, grab a white sheet, poke some holes into it for the ghost look and attach a sign from your business of choice. Easy, peasy.

Go as the guy who can't get over his college years.

Alright (alright, alright), this one is fun. Find some burnt orange formal wear. If you don't have a three-piece suit like some college heroes, that's perfectly fine. Burnt orange pants, a polo shirt, a tie, or button-down shirt will do just fine. Add a "Hello my name is" sticker to the outfit and fill it in with "Minister of Culture."

If cute is your Halloween vibe, we suggest being a bat.

Is there anything more Austin than being a little bat? Celebrate the 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats who live under Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge by wearing all black and fashioning some wings out of cardboard. This works for your pets, too. We'd also accept a Batman T-shirt that includes a speech bubble taped on top that says: "Hi! I live under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge." For extra effort, get some bat ears on a headband.

More: It might shock you to learn when Austin’s last total solar eclipse was

Another scary one — dress up as the 45-day streak of triple-digit temperatures Austin saw over the summer.

Ah! AHHHH! Sorry, we got scared just reading that. The scariest thing we could think of was the seemingly never-ending, scorching temperatures Austin recorded this year. To commemmorate the horrors, find some straw to put in your hair to represent the dry grass we had, and a water bottle, which we feel is self-explanatory. Heat equals thirst. Draw cracks on your face to represent the drought and make sure to wear a tank top. You should also write triple-digit temperatures like 100 degrees and 103 degrees on your arms probably. Add some sunscreen to your nose.

Go as Willie Nelson.

Two braids, a red headband and a guitar — boom, you're Willie Nelson. Need we say more?

If you're looking for a controversial costume, dress up as the Zilker Park Vision Plan.

How does one dress up as a sidelined vision plan for the city's most beloved park, you ask. Well, obviously you must dress up as a parking garage, which is part of the proposal. Wear an all green outfit to represent Zilker Park and then wear a big, hollowed out cardboard box on top. Paint the box grey and glue some cars to your box. Voila, you'll look silly but educated because you keep up with current events!

More: 'Ring of fire' solar eclipse brought ACL Fest to a standstill on Saturday and we loved it.

For a partner costume, pretend to be two driverless cars.

The hot gossip lately has been all about driverless cars. Surely you've seen the white Cruise vehicles taking themselves around downtown Austin. We figured they'd be perfect Halloween costumes because of how topical they are and how easy it is to dress as a car. You'll need cardboard for this one, too. Cut out a panel, and try to shape it like a car. Add a window and wear the car across your stomach, leaving the window side outside your body. That way it looks like no one is driving. Add cobwebs for a spooky effect.

Dress up as the hawks who terrorized the U.S. Postal Service.

Remember our story from July about the hawks in Travis Heights who were attacking postal workers and residents? We think they make the perfect villians to dress as this year. For our outfit, we found a fake bird at a Halloween costume store and taped him to a bucket hat. We wore a light blue shirt and dark blue shorts, just like a real postal worker. For maximum Halloween effect, add some fake blood! Spooky!

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Need a last minute Halloween costume? Try our Austin-themed ideas.