Horror-loving couple celebrates Halloween with 'It'-themed photo shoot
Nothing says romance during Halloween like an adorable couples’ costume, such as Peter Pan and Wendy or Popeye and Olive Oil — or a murderous clown demon and their victim.
While Pennywise from “It,” the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s chilling classic, doesn't necessarily inspire romance to most, one horror-loving couple in Oklahoma felt appearing as the terrifying dancing clown and one of his young victims would be the perfect way to ring in the Halloween season.
Maci Ann Tate, who created the uncanny enlarged forehead, red wig, and shoes through a lot of "trial and error," started to design her Pennywise costume in January to attend horror conventions with her boyfriend, Jonathan Krell.
"The idea for the photo shoot, in particular, came from how long I have been putting this [costume] together. I figured I’ve invested so much time and money into the costume and practicing [the makeup, I] might as well make lasting memories from it," Tate tells Yahoo Lifestyle. She says Krell is "definitely my match. We are both into the same things, and convincing him to play the role [of Georgie] didn’t take much."
Tate turned to her friend, Sarah Bergeron, to help her document her vision.
"I picked Pennywise as he seemed to be the most challenging of costumes to do and looks as theatrical as possible," Tate says, adding that applying her makeup took over two hours.
"I was blown away when we met at her house before the shoot," shares Bergeron, who tells Yahoo Lifestyle that this was her first photo shoot besides the ones with her child. Bergeron added that when she arrived at Tate’s home on the day of the shoot, her friend ran out to her car and completely terrified her with the final look.
While frightening her friend was one thing, Tate did take precautions as to not scare any passersby.
"I contacted The Village, the small suburb of Oklahoma City that I live in, on their non-emergency line, along with citizens on the suburb's Facebook page," Tate says. "[I asked] them to not call the police."
To her surprise, the post resulted in some community members visiting the local park to watch Tate and Krell reenact a key scene from “It,” where Pennywise tricks his first victim, Georgie.
"The mood of the shoot was amazing, laughter from all around," Tate says. "People walking their dogs throughout the park definitely were shocked and surprised, but immediately followed with laughter. It was really cool."
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
