Two orders build a gothic Halloween costume that reads as a horror hostess rather than a woman in a plain black dress: our Wicked Witch Short Dress Costume ($42.95), which arrives with the dress, a lace-up corset belt, and a witch hat, and our Black & Red Ombre Wig ($22.95). Call it $65.90. The dark makeup and the black shoes come out of your own closet, and we do not sell either.
Gothic here is a mood rather than a character: dark glamour, high drama, no one persona to copy. Want fangs and a cape instead? That is a vampire costume, and we keep the two apart, in our vampire costume guide and our vampire costume for women guide. What follows is the wardrobe version: two dresses that both work, the sizes each one really runs, and a straight answer on what the model is wearing in the photo that does not arrive in the box.
Table of Contents
- What you need for a gothic horror hostess costume
- The dress: a velour neckline and a corset waist, not a plain witch costume
- The hair: one long ombre wig does the job
- A second look: swap the dress for our gothic nun costume
- Finishing the look: makeup and accessories we don't sell
- Why this guide leads with witch and nun, not vampire
- How these three are sized, and how to wash them
- Frequently asked questions
What you need for a gothic horror hostess costume
Four things, and only two of them are ours to sell you: the dress, the hair, the makeup, and the shoes. Our Wicked Witch Short Dress Costume ($42.95) covers the first, a black dress with a velour sweetheart neckline, a lace-up corset-style belt, and a witch hat in the same box. Our Black & Red Ombre Wig ($22.95) covers the second, one size, straight, center-parted, black fading to red down the length. The makeup and the black shoes you almost certainly own already, and there is no good reason to buy either from a costume brand.
- Dress: Wicked Witch Short Dress Costume ($42.95), velour sweetheart neckline, corset-style belt and a witch hat included, six sizes S to 3XL
- Hair: Black & Red Ombre Wig ($22.95), one size, straight, black fading to red
- Makeup: pale base, a dark lip, and a dramatic eye, from your own kit or a costume-makeup range, not something we stock
- Footwear: black heels or boots, whatever's already in your closet
The dress: a velour neckline and a corset waist, not a plain witch costume
The velour-finished sweetheart neckline is what separates this dress from the flat polyester smock the words "witch costume" probably have you picturing. Our Wicked Witch Short Dress Costume ($42.95) pairs that neckline with a lace-up corset-style belt of its own stretch at the waist, over a short black skirt. The hat is large and scrunched rather than a stiff cone, and it is in the price, so that is one fewer thing in the basket.
Six sizes, Small (US 4-6) at one end and 3X-Large (US 24-26) at the other, ordered off your usual clothing size. The waist is fully elasticized and the belt stretches on top of that, so sitting between two sizes is not the problem it would be in a fitted dress. One honest note on the product photo: the fishnet gloves and fishnet tights on the model are styling, and they are not part of the order. The dress, the belt, and the hat are. Hand wash only, the three washed separately to protect the velour, then air dry flat and out of direct heat and sunlight.
The hair: one long ombre wig does the job
Our Black & Red Ombre Wig ($22.95) is straight and center-parted, black at the root fading to red down past the shoulders, and it is the smaller of the two load-bearing orders doing the most work. Put the same dress on someone with a short bob and her own mid-brown color and the look drops straight back to "nice black dress." One size, one order, done.
Plenty of your own hair underneath needs pinning flat first, or the wig rides high and bulks out at the crown. Hand wash it gently in cool water without wringing or twisting the fibers, air dry away from direct heat, and keep it on a stand between wears. A drawer puts a fold in a straight wig, and a fold in a straight wig shows.
A second look: swap the dress for our gothic nun costume
Our Womens Gothic Nun Costume ($20.95) is a whole second look rather than an accessory swap. It arrives as a black dress with white lace trim, a black habit, and a string of beads with a cross attached. Same dark glamour, different shape, and twenty-two dollars cheaper than the witch dress. Wear the Black & Red Ombre Wig underneath, or leave it off and let the habit cover your hair entirely.
Two sizes, Medium (US 8-10) and Large (US 12-14). That is the entire run, and it is the one thing that keeps this off the top of the page: outside those two, order the witch dress and its six sizes instead. The listing carries no care instructions of its own the way the dress and the wig do, so treat it like our other lace and velour pieces, hand washed in cool water and laid flat to dry, nowhere near a washing machine or a dryer.
Finishing the look: makeup and accessories we don't sell
Three makeup moves do most of the work: a pale base a shade or two lighter than your skin, a dark lip in black, deep plum, or blood red, and a heavier-than-usual dark eye. MorphCostumes sells none of that, so raid your own kit or pick up a cheap costume-makeup palette. Black heels or boots finish the outfit. Fishnet gloves and tights are worth adding if they are already in a drawer somewhere, because neither our Wicked Witch Short Dress Costume nor the Gothic Nun Costume ships with them.
Why this guide leads with witch and nun, not vampire
Witch is the single most popular adult Halloween costume nationally. An estimated 5.6 million adults planned to dress as one last year, more than double the 2.7 million who planned a vampire (National Retail Federation, 2025 Halloween consumer survey). Our own search demand splits closer than that. Site-wide, about as many shoppers look for a straight vampiress costume as for every gothic witch, nun, and fairy costume put together, which is a genuine two-way split rather than a landslide either way. So the witch dress leads here and the nun costume is a real alternative, not an upsell bolted on at the end. Pointing every gothic shopper at one vampire product would be easier for us and wrong for about half of them.
How these three are sized, and how to wash them
Three picks, three different charts, and no single number carries across them: clothing size on the witch dress, a two-size run on the nun costume, one size on the wig. All three come out of the same process: every costume we make is measured across 30+ points. That tells you how consistently the garment is built, nothing about how it will sit on your shoulders. Read the row below against your own measurements, not against the model in the photo.
| Pick | Price | In the box | Sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wicked Witch Short Dress Costume | $42.95 | Dress with velour neckline, corset-style stretch belt, witch hat | S (4-6) to 3XL (24-26) |
| Black & Red Ombre Wig | $22.95 | Straight wig, black fading to red | One size |
| Womens Gothic Nun Costume | $20.95 | Dress with lace trim, black habit, beads with a cross | M (8-10), L (12-14) |
Nothing here survives a machine or a dryer. Plan the weekend around the wig, since it dries slowest and wants reshaping by hand while it is still damp: if the look is out Friday and again Saturday, the wig goes in the wash the moment you get home, not the next morning. The two dresses dry flat and out of direct heat, and they take their time about it. Everything else on the gothic and horror shelf sits in our Halloween costumes hub.
Frequently asked questions
What do you need for a gothic horror hostess costume?
A black dress with drama in the cut, long dark hair, dark makeup, and black shoes. Our Wicked Witch Short Dress Costume ($42.95) brings the dress, a corset-style belt, and a witch hat; our Black & Red Ombre Wig ($22.95) brings the hair. That is $65.90 spent and two things left, both of which you probably own. Skip the wig and what you have is a black dress, not a gothic costume.
Is a gothic costume the same as a vampire costume?
No. A gothic horror hostess look is a mood, dark glamour and stage presence, built out of a dress, hair, and makeup rather than one character. A vampire costume is a specific look with its own fangs and cape, and our vampire costume for women guide handles that separately. Both read as gothic; only one of them is a vampire.
What size should I order for the witch dress?
Order your usual clothing size. Our Wicked Witch Short Dress Costume runs six of them, Small (US 4-6) through 3X-Large (US 24-26), and between the fully elasticized waist and the stretch in the belt there is room to be wrong by a little without it showing.
Can I wear the gothic nun costume if I'm not a size M or L?
Not from this listing. Our Womens Gothic Nun Costume currently ships in two sizes only, Medium (US 8-10) and Large (US 12-14). Outside that range, the Wicked Witch Short Dress Costume's six-size run, S to 3XL, gets you the same gothic mood in a size that fits.
Are these gothic costumes machine washable?
No, and we would rather say it here than have you find out. The witch dress, the nun costume, and the wig all take a cool hand wash. Dry the two dresses flat and away from direct heat, and reshape the wig by hand while it is damp so it can finish on a stand rather than folded over a rail.
