Halloween fancy dress ideas get more and more creative each year - especially when it comes to celebrities.
It's not just the creepy costumes, such as vampires, witches and werewolves, that people pick out. Heroes from children's books, pop icons and even animals are among the looks you can see posted on socials - and some are so elaborate, it's almost impossible to work out the famous faces behind the layers of make-up and material.
But do you think you have what it takes to spot a Halloween costume that is genuine (treat) or AI-generated (trick)?
Quiz: Trick or Treat? Challenge yourself!
Janelle Monae as The Cat in the Hat
Did you hear about the viral AI trend featuring Dr Seuss's Cat in the Hat? Images of the character are placed in everyday locations, making it look as though he's heading to a town near you.
Singer-songwriter Janelle Monae posts many different fancy dress looks on her Instagram account, with everything from vampires to Beetlejuice.
But is this image of the musician real or AI?
It's real!
This is a genuine image! It comes from Janelle's verified Instagram account which has more than 5m followers.
Janelle commented that the outfit was specially created for a music festival with a Halloween theme and credited the creative team that made it happen. Ten different people were involved, from prosthetics and make-up, to the costume itself, and even a fishbowl prop - with an extra nod to the photographer and their crew too. With so much information from a credible source, it's easier to tell that this is genuine.
Erling Haaland as The Joker
Manchester City footballer Erling Haaland is popular all over the world for both his soccer skills and jokey online presence.
But what about this shot of Haaland looking positively creepy as The Joker? Is this real or AI?
It's real!
You may have seen Haaland dressed like this already. Almost 10m people have watched his YouTube clip where he dressed as the popular Batman villain and went out to the streets of Manchester during Halloween 2025. It's fair to say plenty of people recognised the star player beneath the make-up.
This wasn't the only time Haaland dressed up for fun. The same YouTube account shows how he disguised himself as Santa and went out on patrol around his adopted city just before Christmas in 2025.
Tom Holland, Zendaya and Sadie Sink as The Incredibles
It must have been fun filming Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In this picture, cast members Tom Holland, Zendaya and Sadie Sink formed a fancy dress triple threat as The Incredibles. They look ready to deal with any evil geniuses which cross their path - but are they AI or real?
It's AI!
This is an AI creation from the account @art.ificialarchives which specialises in AI content featuring celebrities. The post is clearly marked as being AI generated which is always something to look out for as technology becomes more sophisticated and it is difficult to tell genuine images and fake ones apart.
Tom Holland and Zendaya are often the subject of AI imagery - especially during reports of their wedding earlier in 2026.
Ed Sheeran as a monkey
2025 was a busy year for Ed Sheeran with his eighth studio album released in September. This image of the singer in monkey costume would be perfect for a Halloween party - but is it real or AI?
It's AI!
This is an AI image that appeared in a meme - but it must have had an impact on Ed himself, as he recreated it in costume form for Halloween 2024.
One way to check if an image is AI is to look at its source. Is it from an account that is verified by a social platform?
This example is a little unusual, as it was shared by Ed himself, but in comparison with the costume he was wearing to recreate it. If an image has been posted on Ed's official account, it's easier to check if it's genuine as it will be verified (with a blue tick on Instagram), and has a large number of followers - 49.3m in this case.
Paris Hilton as Britney Spears
Paris Hilton must be a massive fan of Britney Spears. This image shows her recreating the look from the pop star's 2000 mega-hit Oops!.. I Did it Again in readiness for Halloween party season.
But is this a genuine shot of Paris, or has she been generated by AI?
It's real!
Using #iconsonly - Paris introduced her 26.8m Instagram followers to a collection of images where she was dressed as Britney, with the comment: "Starting off #Halloweek by honoring my Queen."
The post gained more than 350k likes in just three days. Although it may have the airbrushed 'smooth' look that some AI images of celebrities can have, it is genuine - which shows how difficult is is getting to tell the difference between real photographs and AI-generated pictures.
Tips for spotting AI and more quizzes
Did you manage to pick out the Halloween AI images from the real thing? if you're getting good at it, why not try our other quizzes to see if you can spot more celebrity AI photos.
Remember to question things you see online, and don't take everything as genuine without checking sources first. When it comes to pictures, you can even do a reverse image search - one of the best ways to sort out the tricks from the treats!
This article was updated in October 2026
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