What’s it like to disguise as a robber for Halloween? Strictly speaking, a specific one, namely Raeuber Hotzenplotz from the famous children’s book series written by Otfried Preussler?
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Which kid doesn’t like to disguise as robber and policeman? A year ago, Lyons Cub was a policeman for carnival and Halloween, but this year, he wanted to be a robber (which perhaps has to do with the fact that I have read all three Raeuber Hotzenplotz volumes by Otfried Preussler to him, and he remembers the text vividly).
So for Halloween 2023, he was excited to unbox a beautiful, 3-piece costume, namely a green coat, black pants with red patches, and a black hat sporting a long, red feather. It fit really well (we got size 128 for an almost 6-year-old), and he was able to wear his ordinary clothes underneath, so he wouldn’t catch could. See how he lay in waiting in the staircase, looking out for his next victim:
The best thing about the Raeuber Hotzenplotz costume is, of course, the pistol. It doesn’t need ammunition; it just clicks when the child pulls the trigger. Thus, no other children can get hurt through flying projectiles or scared by a loud noise or a burnt smell. I’m all for harmless toys (by the way, the robber’s gun is a pepper pistol in the story and not loaded with metal). This pistol looks very intricate and has a cool, old-fashioned design, not like a modern weapon.
His kindergarten forbids any kind of weapon (his seven knives were just printed on his green coat, of course), so he wouldn’t have been allowed to wear this disguise and bring in his pistol. Thus, we used it only at home and he went disguised as Bowser from Mario Cart again at kindergarten. At home and for our visitors, though, we was a very authentic little robber Hotzenplotz 😉
