Is anyone else as tired of vampires as I am? Twilight, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries—it’s vampire overload these days! Give it a rest. Vampires are so five minutes ago. Zombies are in. Rave reviews for movies like Zombieland have given rise to zombie fandom. I was fortunate enough to watch the film for a free. All I had to do was dress up like a zombie, along with hundreds of others, and stumble down Hollywood Boulevard in zombie fashion to promote the film. Professional makeup artists were there to make us look undead and I learned quite a few tricks. So if you’re looking for a Halloween costume, but have run out of time and money, this is the costume for you. It’s cheap, easy to put together, and you’ll look amazing. So let’s get started.

Here’s your checklist:

Old clothes
Fake blood (or chocolate syrup and red dye)
Hairspray
Temporary hair color spray
White face makeup
Black eye makeup
Coffee grounds

Start with the clothes. Dig through that bag of clothes you’ve been meaning to donate to charity. Jeans and a white collared button up shirt are best—the blood looks even brighter on the white, and it’s fun to have pockets and collars to rip apart. Start shredding. Take a pair of scissors and have at it! Use the scissors to make a tear so you can pull the fabric apart. This creates more of “a zombie tried to rip my clothes off” look. If you just cut holes, you run the risk of looking like Charlie Brown in his ghost costume (please put It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in your Netflix queue if you don’t know what I’m talking about).

Next up, the blood! You can get some fake blood just about anywhere that sells Halloween items—the grocery store, costume shops, party supply stores. It’s not hard to find. If you’re feeling crafty, try making your own with chocolate syrup and red dye. To thicken the blood, add some flour. To thin it out, add water. The best part about the homemade blood is that it’s edible. Carry it around in a plastic water bottle and chug it at a Halloween party for added effect. Even better, let it drip down your face like you’ve just eaten the brains of some poor, unsuspecting victim.

Get crazy with your hair. Intense hairspray plus messy wild locks equals awesome zombie hair. The bigger the better. Get some silver or white temporary hair color spray for added effect. And don’t shower before hand. Zombies have dirty hair.

Last, but not least, the zombie makeup. This is key. Just like with the blood, zombie face makeup is easy to find in stores around Halloween, and usually inexpensive. You’ll need white makeup to cover your whole face with. Put some on your lips as well. Use black eye makeup to create dark circles all around your eyes. This creates a hollow, sunken in look. Lastly you’ll want to create gashes on your face using fake blood mixed with coffee grinds (a tip from the professionals). The fake blood you buy in stores will work better than the homemade stuff for this one. It will stick to your face better. The coffee grinds give the blood more dimension and make it look like you have chunks of dried blood on your face, making you look like a true zombie.

Congratulations! The zombie-fication process is complete, and now you have a Halloween costume that will make you look spooky without breaking the bank. If you’ve got extra time, I suggest convincing a group of friends to go as zombies and then learn all the moves to “Thriller.” You’ll be the life of the party. Or should I say the undead?