I love the original Ghostbusters. Like Back to the Future, the far-fetched equipment had that garage-built look to it, and the characters were unlikely heroes. So, for Halloween 2000 I created a Ghostbusters costume.

I was on a tight schedule and budget, so I went against my normal obsessive tendencies and avoided trying to build exact replicas. For example, my Proton Pack is 2/3 scale and varies in detail from the "real thing." I have included an abbreviated equipment and materials list:

Ecto-Goggles Welding goggles, PVC pipe, film canister, a video camera lens, sunglasses, assorted knobs, and homemade labels.

Proton Pack PC power supply, Frisbee, planter, Hot Wheels track, air freshener, VCR tape, film canisters, lamp, Nerf gun, and homemade labels.

Ghost Trap Video camera power supply, razor blade packaging, cassette tape case, metal rods, video cabling, and homemade labels.

Labels These were fun. I included references to Star Trek and Back to the Future. One label warns the user not to operate nuclear-powered equipment while intoxicated.

Store-bought Items Flight suit, belt, arm-pads, boots, gloves, toy walkie-talkies (harder to find than you'd think), medical tubing, and the Ghostbusters patch.

The designs are based on the movie and schematics gathered from several fan web sites, including eraser99's Ghostbuster Prop Page, Ghostbusters Central, Ghostbusters Online, and The Prop Vortex.

The costume won first prize in my office's Halloween costume contest. For some added fun, I mounted speakers inside the Proton Pack and attached a portable cassette player onto the belt. So on Halloween night as my family went door-to-door in our neighborhood we listened to the music from Ghostbusters. If you've never added a musical component to your Halloween costume, I highly recommend it.