The Pumpkin Witch Costume

Dressing up as a witch for Halloween does not necessarily mean having to look drab, scary, or ugly. The pumpkin witch costume, in which the color orange is featured prominently, is a more glamorous twist on the traditional witch costume that looks more like a fairy princess than a sinister sorceress with straggly hair and warts on her nose stirring her boiling cauldron and casting evil spells.

In many ways, dressing up as a pumpkin witch is like going as the beautiful Good Witch Glinda from the Wizard of Oz. The pumpkin witch costume is a great style for girls, women, and toddlers alike and is especially well suited to those who love orange.

The above image is available as a poster at zazzle.com.

The origins of the very first known pumpkin witch in either fiction or folklore are not well documented, but there is a Pumpkin Witch character in the 2010 animated film, "Shrek Forever After" (a.k.a. "Shrek: The Final Chapter"). This movie is the last of a 4-part series about the adventures of Shrek, a fearsome green ogre. Co-starring in "Shrek Forever After" is Rumpelstiltskin, a wily con artist based loosely on the character from Grimm's Fairy Tales.

In this final sequel, Shrek has settled down and is now happily married with three children, with his days of being a fearsome ogre behind him. However, he misses those times and has a midlife crisis. Rumpelstiltskin takes advantage of Shrek's discontent and tricks him into accepting an offer to live like a "real" ogre for a day in exchange for a day from his childhood that he will not remember being erased. Unfortunately, that one day happens to be the day that Shrek was born. Although he becomes a fearsome ogre again, Shrek grieves for all he has lost and struggles to get back to where he was before he made his ill-fated deal with Rumpelstiltskin.

Shrek encounters many characters along the way, including the Pumpkin Witch who is a part of Rumpelstiltskin's entourage.

The above image is available as a poster at zazzle.com.

With this beautiful costume, your little girl will look more like a fairy princess than a witch. This ensemble has the look of a pumpkin witch with its full-length orange dress topped in black. It also includes a lace-up top and black witch's hat with purple band. For older children, a witch's broom can be added to complete the look (sold separately).

This festive pumpkin witch costume has an orange tulle skirt, a purple and orange bodice with green laces, and a black peplum top with puffy orange sleeves and a green bow. A small orange witch's hat with a black and green band tops off this ensemble.

This multi-colored pumpkin witch costume for pre-teens and teens has an orange skirt with green crinoline and belt, with black top and short orange sleeves. A green-trimmed black witch's hat, black leggings, and glovelettes complete the look.

This colorful costume has a mini dress with a black top, short orange sleeves, an orange puffy skirt, and a green belt, fake leaves and other ornaments, plus an ornate witch's hat with a pumpkin top.

This simple yet elegant Gothic witch costume has the look of a pumpkin witch with its long orange dress and black cloak-like covering.

This variation on the pumpkin witch costume theme has a short orange dress topped with a black lacy, see-through long coat. The hat, dress, and coat are all trimmed with faux fur.

This sassy little number includes an orange and black mini dress, a fitted black jacket, and a pointy black witch's hat with an orange band.

Most of the costumes featured above do not come with brooms. You can either make your own or check out amazon.com's wide selection of witches' costume brooms.