With Halloween just around the corner, it’s almost that time for our favorite TV shows to air their annual Halloween episodes. And let’s be honest some shows are significantly better at Halloween than others.
Anyone who knows Modern Family knows that the Halloween episodes are usually awesome. Every year, we look forward to the hilarious costumes and Claire’s all-out haunted house mayhem. Sadly, this year will be the last year we get to see them in the spooky spirit, so hopefully, they make it a good one.
While there are so many great Modern Family costumes to choose from, here are ten of our favorites.
GLORIA AS AN ALIEN (SEASON 4)
In Season 4’s Halloween episode, “Open House of Horrors,” Gloria dresses up in a green alien costume — and somehow still looks better than everyone. This costume was mostly hilarious because of Gloria’s pregnant belly sticking out — but also for the fact that someone at Mitch and Cam’s party made a comment about her being an illegal alien, which prompted her to fly into a fit of pregnancy rage.
CAM AND MITCH AS MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY (SEASON 10)
The real star of this duo was Cam’s Meghan Markle. He was clearly living his best life, embodying his inner royalty, and he completely nailed it. Of course, Mitch as Prince Harry is also a perfect look, given that they are both red-haired and have fair skin. But you just know that Cam was living out his dream with this one. In fact, we’d bet he had this outfit sitting in his closet waiting for the perfect costume opportunity to come up.
CLAIRE AND PHIL AS CORPSE BRIDE AND GROOM (SEASON 2)
These were Claire and Phil’s costumes during the show’s first Halloween episode in Season 2, “Halloween.” This episode basically introduced us to the fact that Claire is obsessed with turning the entire Dunphy house into a haunted masterpiece every year. So, naturally, these perfectly spooky costumes just completed that whole experience and were very well done.
CAM, MITCH, AND LILY AS BATMAN, ROBIN, AND BATGIRL (SEASON 8)
Who wouldn’t love to see Cam and Mitch joining forces to be Batman and Robin? This costume was a fun choice for the Tucker-Pritchett clan to choose because it celebrated their whole family and was perfectly designed. In the spirit of Batman, Cam chased down a neighborhood kid because he believed the kid threw an egg at them. Later on, we find out it was Claire.
ALEX AS RUTH BADER GINSBURG (SEASON 10)
It’s no surprise that Alex chose Ruth Bader Ginsburg as her Halloween costume. She is a vocal admirer of intelligent and accomplished women. But despite the fact that it was totally predictable, it was perfect for her. She nailed the look and even completed it with the gold RBG chain.
MANNY AS DALTON TRUMBO (SEASON 8)
This costume was pretty over-the-top, even for Manny’s standards. Manny decided to dress up as Dalton Trumbo, and went to a high school party trying to talk to girls, but was upset when no one there recognized who he was. Fortunately, he does meet one young girl who recognizes him instantly, and who is having the same trouble with people recognizing her own costume. At this point, it seems as though he’s met his match, but has also discovered the problem with wearing a bathtub as your Halloween costume — way too bulky.
JAY AND GLORIA AS JOE DIMAGGIO AND MARILYN MONROE (SEASON 5)
This was definitely another costume that was fitting for the characters who wore them. Sofia Vergara basically is a Latina Marilyn Monroe anyway, so it’s no surprise her character chose this one. Even with a tacky blond wig that clearly doesn’t belong on her head, she still looks amazing. And Jay as Joe DiMaggio is just perfect for his character, as it represents a nod to the “good ol’ days” of America he talks about so often. Let’s also acknowledge the fact that this isn’t a couples’ costume that always gets a lot of attention, so it’s pretty creative on their end as well.
CLAIRE AS A CREEPY SPIDER (SEASON 5)
The Halloween episode in Season 5 was derailed by the shocking news of DeDe’s death, but the costumes were still on point. This spider costume takes a simple concept and makes it into an elaborate piece. Claire gets also tons of admiration points for this one because it looks like it took a lot of effort to both make and wear the costume. We’ve all worn a bulky Halloween costume at some point in our lives and understand the struggle. Bonus points for Phil, who dressed up as a fly to go along with Claire’s spider.
JAY, GLORIA, AND JOE AS JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH (SEASON 8)
Given that Gloria has pretty strong spiritual beliefs, this costume was a hilarious choice. In this episode, Jay discovered that Manny was going to a party at his enemy’s house, and convinced him to play a prank on him as well as steal something out of his bedroom. Gloria, dressed as Mary, was extremely worried about Jay doing this while dressed as Jesus. When Jay’s enemy, Earl, appeared dressed as the devil, Gloria just about fainted with the fear of God. The highlight of this costume was little Joe as Joseph.
PHIL AND CLAIRE AS JUNE CLEAVER AND A BEAVER (SEASON 8)
In this take on Leave it to Beaver, Claire chose to embody a pun by putting a cleaver on her head and Phil dressed up in a big furry beaver suit. They put their parenting skills to the test when they tried to get people to come to Luke’s Halloween party. To do so, Phil (disguised in his beaver costume) showed up as the new cool kid on the block, Rod Skyhook.
