CREDIT: STEPHANIE LAI
Marvel Comics' character Deadpool is just one of the many options there are for costume ideas.

With Halloween just around the corner the last minute scramble for a Halloween costume is in full swing. If you’re anything like me, you’re only just realizing that you’re going to need one soon.

Fortunately for us, the realm of geekdom provides an almost countless number of ready-made costume ideas that are sure to make you recognizable in a pinch. From the terrifying to the heroic, these properties are guaranteed to provide a good number of the costumes you will see this year.

Doctor Who

Another year, another outfit and more proof that the Doctor is the only guy on television whose clothes I am concerned about. The longest running on show has always proven to be a widespread source of many costumes, ranging from the highly recognizable to the completely obscure. The tweed suit and bowtie of Matt Smith’s Doctor have been replaced with the severe black and white of Peter Capaldi, and while it’s far less recognizable than his predecessors, you are sure to see quite a few of them on the streets this October 31. If you don’t want to don the uniform of the Time Lord, then take your pick of the widest variety of iconic monsters available: Daleks, Weeping Angels and many others are bound to been seen prowling through your costume party.

The Walking Dead

Yeah sure there’s nothing unique about a zombie costume, but zombies are hardly the biggest concern for the intrepid band of survivors from the hit AMC show. If this is your inspiration for your costume, you can get mighty creative, terrifying, and push the boundaries of taste. Dress as Hershal with a sword in his neck or a one-handed zombie Merle, or just toss on a filthy white T-shirt and carry an axe as a PTSD Rick Grimes. The possibilities are endless. With the popularity of the show at such an insane level, it’s sure to be a popular choice this year and you’re going to want your choice to be something different. Or just be boring and be a regular zombie – that works too.

Game of Thrones

If you hadn’t heard of Game of Thrones yet, then congratulations on being defrosted and welcome to 2014. The most popular thing in television since The Ed Sullivan Show is also the source for some of the most elaborately detailed costumes ever conceived for the small screen, and provides Halloween goers with approximately a million choices for the end of the month. Is it going to be cold? Then grab some furs and a giant shield and go as a hearty Northman or wildling, get your sleaze on with a pointy goatee and a couple of whores as Littlefinger, or just toss on an overelaborate dress and go as one of several noblewomen of the harsh old queen Cersei or the sultry queen-to-be Margaery Tyrell. If that’s not to your taste, get warm, toss on a blonde wig and join what is sure to be a long procession of Daenerys Targaryens with a trio of dragons in tow.

Comics

Sure making this one section is cheating, but I could have filled the paper with comic book inspired costume ideas if I decided to divide everything by title. A quick glance at movies and television in the last couple years proves that superheroes and their opponents are all the rage right now. Not only can you find a last minute individual costume, but with the rising popularity of teams like the Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy, you can put together the perfect group costume as well.