Viral news Halloween costume ideas for 2023 — that aren’t Barbie or Oppenheimer

Every Halloween party is sure to be crowded with Barbie and Ken, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, and Mario and Luigi this year.

But come on, be original with your costume.

A culturally relevant costume will let everyone know that you’re up to date on the latest trends and news and can also be a spook-tacular way to strike up a conversation.

Plus, what’s scarier than real life?

If you want to pick a costume based on some of the wackiest viral trends and or sensational scandals that made The Post headlines, look no further.

Here are a few creative options for dedicated Posties:

The human collie

He’s not doggone mad, but a Japanese native transformed himself into a canine after spending more than $14,000 for a custom-made collie costume.

The man, who goes only by “Toco,” went viral this year when he fulfilled his dream — and some people’s nightmare — of “becoming an animal.”

While most people probably don’t want to spend thousands of dollars committing as fully as this Japanese man did, there are plenty of dog costumes you can crawl into for the night and howl at the moon.

Chinese human bear

Get ready to spark some bear-y wild rumors.

While the Hangzhou Zoo had to formally address allegations that Angela the Malaysian sun bear was in fact a real animal and not a human in a bear suit, why not wave at people while wearing a bear mask and refuel some rumors?

French bed bug

While everyone at Paris Fashion Week was trying to say au revoir to the infestation of bed bugs, we’re saying bonjour to being a sassy French bed bug for Halloween.

Who doesn’t want to carry a baguette and flute of champagne with them all night? Just add some bug accessories and a fashionable outfit and you’ll be the toast of the town.

‘Send rats packing‘

Are you wanting a trashy costume? Well, look no further than the New York Department of Sanitation’s “send the rats packing” campaign.

After government officials insisted “the rats don’t run this city, we do,” the department announced new trash set-out times. When they went into effect on April 1, ads for the initiative provided yet another iconic and local costume idea.

Forget pizza rat, this year’s ratty accessory is a suitcase.

Nepo Baby

Nepo babies were a hot topic of conversation this year after a long list of A-listers who inherited more than just some family heirlooms — and maybe an agent and millions of dollars — were publicly called out.

Some new celebs, like Hailey Bieber, embraced the title while others fought to defend their success.

There are plenty of nepo babies to choose from, but Mrs. Bieber’s bold “Nepo Baby” T-shirt is a cute and obvious costume choice.

‘Not real plane woman’

This one is just plane wacky. The “not real plane lady,” aka Tiffany Gomas, had her 15 minutes of viral fame when a video circulated showing her screaming, “That motherf—ker back there is not real,” during an American Airlines flight.

Although her fellow passengers never got an explanation from Gomas as to what exactly went down during her meltdown, consider this costume an excuse to rant all night.

So, slick your hair back, throw on a gray high-neck halter tank top, ripped skinny jeans and a Goyard bag and start shouting at random corners of the party.

George Santos

From accusations of having performed in drag years ago to having committed identity theft, New York Rep. George Santos is practically already a character in costume himself.

The congressman was sworn into office in January and quickly became a not-so-funny joke and a terrifying disgrace to American politics.

So pin an American flag to a suit jacket draped over your preppiest sweater and add a pair of black squared framed glasses and wreak havoc on the city.

RIP Twitter

X marked the spot where Larry the Bird, Twitter’s mascot, died.

After Elon Musk paid $44 billion to get his hands on Twitter, the social media app quickly imploded. The tech giant hemorrhaged employees and users for months before the multi-billionaire officially killed Twitter renaming the site X.

So here’s a way to remember the good ole days with the blue bird.

Roman Empire

If you want to make sure your man is thinking of you often, dress like a gladiator or a Roman goddess this Halloween.

The Roman Empire was trending on social media — just a few centuries after its fall — as women were shocked to discover how often their partners and male friends thought about Rome from 27 B.C. to 476 A.D.

Now he’ll have but no choice to have you on his mind.

Britney Spears dancing with knives

Oh, baby, baby! How were we supposed to know Britney Spears would give us yet another amazing costume idea?

The princess of pop has provided a plethora of incredible costumes throughout the years, usually inspired by her iconic music videos or incredible stage performances, but this year her Instagram provided plenty of headline-making content, including the viral video of the star dancing with knives.

Twirl around in some white bathing suit bottoms, a red crop top with white polka dots and puffy sleeves and prop knives — bought from the Hand Prop Room in Los Angeles for real accuracy — and you’re sure to drive pop culture fans “Crazy.”

Scandoval

What do you get when you mix a “worm with a mustache,” a “diabolical, demented, disgusting, subhuman,” and a red hot revenge dress? One of the biggest scandals of reality TV and the potential for an amazing group costume.

Tom Sandoval, Racquel Leviss, Ariana Madix and the rest of the “Vanderpump Rules” cast shocked the nation when their secret love triangle was revealed in one of the most talked about seasons of television this year.

Aliens

From “non-human” alien corpses being displayed and dissected in Mexico to the US government officially sharing information about UFOs, it’s not just kooks with tinfoil hats raving about aliens anymore.

Dress as an alien if you want a costume that’s out of this world but not totally unrealistic.

The possible reality of extraterrestrial life makes this costume all the more spooky.