Make a Glam Vampire Attack Necklace for Gothic Cosplay

The end of April is officially halfway to Halloween, and this month has been a pretty good one for vampires. Definitely not the sparkly kind, but the good old school nasty bloodsucker of lore and the GOAT of the vampires: Dracula.

The comedy about Dracula’s long-suffering assistant, Renfield, hits this weekend, and the first trailer for the summer horror The Last Voyage of the Demeter, based on the first chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, has also been released.

We need to accessorize accordingly for this month with a bloody fun chocker DIY. There have been various versions of the “vampire necklace” at art festivals and online art sites, and they are all very cool.

Here is a way to make an easy version of your own glam vampire attack necklace for cosplay, concerts, or even a spooky date night.

Find a few strands of cheap Mardi Gras or party beads in dark purple, black, or white. Cut it to the size of your neck (not too tight, please), and add some simple jewelry latches to the back. You can get these at any craft store or upcycle them from old costume jewelry pieces.

If you are working with plastic party beads, one of the easiest ways to add links is to just fold the beads in half, and then attach the links at the ends. It will give you two strands of beads to work with.

Now, dig up some red beads of different shapes and sizes. Plastic pony beads, faceted rhinestone beads, or red pearl-like beads are just a few options. Gather as many as you can and string them in strands of varying lengths.

Add a small chain link to the top of each strand, and hang them randomly along the pearl strands, but keep them all on one side. This gives a stylized abstract sense of blood without actually being too gory. It is actually very pretty if done right.

Now, I know there are some horror and goth fans who want just a little bit more creepy blood effects. Dabbing a few drops of red nail polish on the strands of beads makes it look a little more like a bite was taken out of the neck.

It all depends on how far you want to take it.

For an even quicker (and much less bloody) version, hang two red beads or jewels on chains, one longer than the other, and attach them to a black or dark-colored ribbon. This looks like the classic “two fang bites” than an actual ripping of flesh.

This is also an easy thing to add to a vampire costume for tweens or kids who want to look scary without taking it over the top.

As the downward slide through the summer and spooky season gets going, enjoy the Dracula-themed movie offerings coming to theatres, or invite some friends over for a favorite classic vampire tale.

If you add the right jewelry, you can look “killer” with whatever you watch.