I do enjoy Dean Burnett’s posts on his Brainflapping blog (one of the Guardian science blogs) and his Oct. 31, 2013 posting is no exception (Note: A link has been removed),

Halloween is upon us. But what if you’re someone who has dedicated their life to science? Halloween typically means dressing up as something “scary”, and almost everyone interprets this as something with supernatural, paranormal or just flat-out impossible origins. So what is a rational scientist type, who lives in the real world and doesn’t believe in anything without empirical evidence, to do? You want to join in the scary fun, but can’t be seen to encourage unscientific things.

Don’t worry though; there are still plenty of things from the world of science that you can dress up as that are fun, interesting and genuinely terrifying as they really are out there.

Burnett’s suggestions including dressing up as MRSA, (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), Entropy, Cotard Delusion (someone who thinks they are dead), Peer Review, Transhumanism, and more. He even gives costume suggestions.

Let’s give this a Canadian twist, shall we?

• a Canadian communications officer for a government science agency (costume suggestion: a giant cone scrawled with excuses for refusing to release information about research,, e.g., we don’t want to offend anyone particularly anyone in the Prime Minister’s Office so it’s best not to say anything at all; the Canadian public will misunderstand the phrase ‘fewer fish’ they’ll think that means we have fewer fish; etc.)
• Canadian bureaucrats advising entrepreneurs on how to commercialize science (costume suggestion: casual dress such as shorts, jeans, sandals, pocket protectors, polo shirts, etc. worn as camouflage over standard business dress including a briefcase filled with unfathomable forms that have to filled out in triplicate)
• NCC (nanocrystalline cellulose)  stockpile (costume suggestion: it’s all nanoscale, so you don’t have to dress up as you have nowhere to go) This costume cuts down on your socializing and trick-or-treating options but it could be perfect for some folks.

If you have you any suggestions for Canadian science costumes that inspire horror, please do feel free to add them in the comments.