It was 2015, my junior year of high school, and I was obsessed with My Chemical Romance. Two full years after the devastating break-up of the band and even longer since their prime from 2005-2011. I was ten years too late, still clinging to that last breath of emo nostalgia and angst. In many ways, 2013 was the perfect time for My Chemical Romance to depart from us. It seems like emo music was never the same after they broke up, but their rowdy brand of elegance and energy was something that couldn’t be harnessed forever.
All good things must come to an end, after all. Nevertheless, the spirit they left behind endured and especially for me. So much so, that in 2015 I dressed up as Gerard Way (2004 Gerard Way, to be exact) for Halloween. The wonderfully androgynous, Prince of Darkness, Blood, and Bats Gerard Way—who was always my favorite.
The look was reminiscent of the style the band wore during the promotions for their sophomore
album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, arguably the greatest album ever released. I wore a black wig that looked like it was meant for an anime character cosplay, a black suit and red tie combo, and striking red eyeshadow. I also decided to wear fake blood and vampire teeth, because why not.
I was an emo kid. I was dressing up as Gerard Way. It was Halloween. As a teenager obsessed with death, vampires, blood, and gore there was nothing more fulfilling for me than dressing up as Vampire Gerard Way and going trick-or-treating amongst all the “normal” kids.
I don’t know what any of the parents giving out candy thought of me, but did I really care? No. All that mattered was that I had never looked so damn good in all of my life. And if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think I ever will look this good again.
Vampire Gerard Way, your beautiful, bloody legacy is eternal.
