Video: One Chicagoan's Epic Dystopian Machine-Animal Halloween Costume

By Kate Shepherd in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 27, 2015 5:05PM

via Reddit

Halloween is almost here and a Chicagoan came up with one of the most creative costumes we've seen yet.

41-year-old Michael Tapson, an Edison Park resident, won praise for a picture of his "machine-animal hybrid from a dystopian future" costume and the little girl it protects (his 9-year-old daughter Mia) when he posted it on Reddit Monday.

The viral video of the costume in motion will blow your mind:

With all of the Internet attention, it's been an exciting couple of days for the father and daughter.

"The outpouring of positivity from the internet has been great, and my daughter was so excited to learn that she was "internet famous" for a day," Tapson told Chicagoist. "I've enjoyed reading the hundreds of comments about the costumes."

People who have seen Tapson in the costume in person are hesitant to approach it and even Mia, who helped build it, wouldn't go near him the first time he put it on, he said.

A lot of work went into planning and creating the epic costume. It took him about three days to build but it took longer to plan and get the materials. He used drywall stilts, extra tall medical crutches, many yards of fabric over upholstery foam, spray paint, electroluminescent wire, wire scraps and a whole lot of hot glue to build the costume. There's even sound that plays through a Bluetooth speaker.

What's next for Tapson and his machine-animal hybrid? He's excited to go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood with Mia and see people's reactions. They're also considering entering the costume contest at nearby restaurant Moretti's.