Check out her costume as well as inside the party

NEW YORK — Heidi is proved once again that she is the mother of everything spooky season blows

Heidi KlumThe famous festival of frights in its 23rd year took place on Thursday in unusual costumes, star guests and candy-flavored cocktails. A who’s who of the stars walked the black carpet at the Hard Rock Hotel in the heart of Times Square from barney (real) to “Grease” characters Sandy and Danny (Kelsey Ballerini and Chase Stokes in a double suit)

The big discovery came later when Klum herself came out through the background behind the carpet with her husband Tom Kaulitz. The pair sat side-by-side in a sunken ditch of leaves, dressed as characters from the iconic, not-so-scary extraterrestrial movie.

The inside of Heidi Klum’s Halloween costume is shown at her party

Klum was dressed as an ET — Well, one version of ET. Her husband was an original character, while she appeared to be an ET in the scene where he dons a blonde wig. Mr. and Mrs. ET, if you will.

“People want to be cool, but I feel like then the cool factor goes away and everyone has more fun when you’re dressed up,” Klum. told USA TODAY earlier this week about her approach to costumes.

Of course, the model’s outfit did away with any hint of runway glitz. In its place was a giant alien head, so realistic that its eyes twitched and its mouth moved. Klum and Kaulitz’s real faces were buried somewhere in the necks of the suits, but they managed to do a little patting when the cameras flashed.

Klum’s daughter Leni also graced the carpet and briefly posed with her mom in a colorful alien outfit.

Inside the party, chandeliers provided subdued lighting and spiderwebs stretched up the stairs separating the bar and dance floor, both decorated in a gothic style for the occasion.

Partygoers in stilt-like heels and wings in tech mingled DJ Questlove pop classics were spinning, the walls were shaking with bass from Gwen Stefani and Lizzo anthems, and on the corner Bethenny Frankeldressed in a Wonder Woman costume, spinning to the beat with one foot on the table.

The drink of the evening was a Butterfinger-tini, a Halloween candyinspired cocktail with crunchy nougat instead of salt on the rim. “You don’t smell as much alcohol,” Klum said of the drink. “Anything that can be disguised as alcohol, I forbid.”

Who Was Invited to Heidi Klum’s Halloween Party?

A longtime celebrity party staple, this year’s party had no shortage of famous attendees.

Disney Channel veterans Aly & AJ Michalka came dressed in 1920s clown costumes.

“It’s 4 1/2 hours of rest,” AJ Michalka said of their appearance, noting that Kim Petras’ “Turn Off the Light” mixtape was the soundtrack to their preparation. “These suits took a while to source.”

Star of the country Kelsea Ballerini and her boyfriend Chase Stokes also walked the carpet. Dressed as Danny Zucco and “bad” Sandy from “Grease,” the pair recreated the film’s final scene, sniffing a cigarette under their heels and all.

Jackie Ton, who plays Esther in the hit Netflix series “No one wants that,” shocked herself as she walked down the carpet when she saw Barney behind her in a pumpkin costume. She took a short break to take a selfie and announce that she’s a huge fan.

Olympian was among the other participants of the party Suni Leewho came in a ballerina costume, and Nicole Scherzinger, who came straight from the set of her new Broadway show “Sunset Boulevard” with fake blood dripping down her neck.

Klum likes to have the contestants get into the mood as much as she does. But the model says it never stays a secret for long, as she has an uncanny ability to see through even the best disguises.

“I love finding out where all my friends are,” she says, “just because it’s always a guessing game.”

Halloween Heidi Klum through the years

Klum started hosting the party in 2000.

Over the years, she has tried to sometimes change the form of the disguise, which elevates the costume to an art form. In 2022 she was unrecognizable on the carpet as a worm, and in 2015 she was heavily leaning towards prosthetics for costume by Jessica Rabbit.

Klum told USA TODAY that each costume holds a special place in her heart, but she has a special favorite dresses like an alien.

“People could come all day and watch,” she said, explaining what she put up process on the display, sitting in the Amazon Books storefront in Manhattan so that passers-by could experience the hours-long transformation.