10 Costumes That Incorporate Amputations and Wheelchairs

Josh Sundquist said, “When life hands you lemons, make awesome Halloween costumes.” That’s just what these folks did, using a physical disability to take cosplay and Halloween costumes to a new level.

1. and 2. The Black Knight

Redditor whaaaaaaaaales posted a picture of a friend’s Halloween costume from last year. He’s a wounded veteran who prefers to remain anonymous, which is very possible with a full helmet. He is the Black Knight from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In case you aren’t familiar with the character, you must see the movie clip. The unnamed veteran has plans to improve the costume for this year.

Next year: red pipe cleaners over the prosthetic, arranged as spurts of blood. May also feature a small squeeze bottle for my arm, with surgical tubing leading from the bottle to the arm stump so it can squirt food coloring. I only wish the Taliban could see how much fun I'm having.

Daniel is a quadruple amputee, which made for the best Black Knight cosplay ever. This picture was taken at the Edmonton Expo. To comment on the discussion about it, he took the awesome reddit handle butascratch. 

3. Tyrion Lannister

Photograph by Wil Wheaton.

Mica Bethea played music until a 2005 auto accident left him quadriplegic. He is a writer and arranger for the Mica Bethea Big Band. He cosplays in his spare time, and wowed the internet with his excellent Tyrion Lannister on the Iron Throne cosplay at Megacon.

4. Superman

Comedian Lloyd Ravn makes awesome costumes for his sons, including the clever flying Superman costume. He stuffed a Superman costume with cotton batting, and then suspended the legs from the chair handles with filament.

5. Heavy Equipment Operator

Photograph by Cassie McLelland.

Caleb McLelland is a nine-year-old with spina bifida. His mother, Cassie McLelland, has fashioned a clever costume for his wheelchair every year for trick-or-treat, and she has a blog about wheelchair costumes for children that features both her designs and those submitted by others. The picture above is Caleb’s first Halloween costume from when he was three years old. See a selection of Caleb’s costumes from over the years. 

6. Leg Lamp

You can buy a Leg Lamp Halloween costume referencing a prop from the movie A Christmas Story. But redditor mjr214 has a friend who has only one leg, which made her homemade costume so much more authentic -and awesome! You can see the comparison in this photo. 

7. Shark Attack

Redditor notsohipster has a young cousin who has no legs. He and his little sister trick-or-treated in these clever costumes portraying a shark and her surfboarding victim.

8. Dr. Arliss Loveless

This cosplayer was spotted at Florida Supercon 2014. He is playing Dr. Arliss Loveless from the movie Wild Wild West, in his steampunk wheelchair.

9. Cherry Darling

Photograph by Flickr user Cameron Yee.

The character Cherry Darling from the movie Planet Terror startled folks when they saw that one of her legs was a machine gun. Then it inspired some women to recreate the scene. Now, if you are an amputee like Lacey Henderson, who gained note as a college cheerleader a few years ago, you can make hay by cosplaying the character at fan events. Henderson inspired an annual competition for the best machine-gun-leg costume, which later expanded to include any amputee costume.

10. Flamingo

Josh Sundquist is a rapper, math nerd, and Paralympic champion. He lost his left leg due to cancer years ago, which gives him the ability to pull off some really clever Halloween costumes. Sundquist’s 2013 costume may take you a minute to figure out. Oh yes, he's a flamingo, but was he honestly up for doing this handstand for everyone who asks? Sure, he's an athlete, but that could get old when you're out trying to have Halloween fun. It'd be easier just to pull out the picture when someone asks what's with the pink bodysuit and that goofy shoe. See more pictures of the flamingo costume. And you might want to check in with Sundquist as the month progresses, because he's bound to have a killer new idea this year!