Students' 'Unsinkable' Titanic Costume Draws Rave Reviews

CALEDONIA, WI — Imagine you're a parent walking with your children down the street during the Halloween of 2019. Your little ghosts and goblins are bundled up on account of the cold, as you go from house to house while buffeted by winds and pelted with sleet and hail.

Then, in the distance, comes a two-person replica of the RMS Titanic — in two pieces, mind you — followed by a floating iceberg.

The costume was the product of Tessa McGrath, 14, a student at South Milwaukee High School and Ryan Miller, 15, a student at Union Grove High School. Years ago, they met in kindergarten over a class discussion about the Titanic. The two became close friends. They also became fascinated with the gripping tale of its sinking during the early-morning hours of April 15, 1912.

This year, Tessa and Ryan came up with an idea to put their fascination into practice by creating an unusually realistic homage to the vessel's sinking. They drafted Ryan's younger brother Matthew, a 13-year-old Racine Christian Middle School student to complete the project.

Parent Amanda Miller said the three children spent four days, and many hours making their costume set. Over those four days, they put in between 14 to 18 hours building the set. "We were grateful the festivities were postponed so their hard work didn’t go to waste," she said.

Had the trio gone out on Halloween Thursday, their costume would have sunk. The snow would have wreaked havoc on the project, built primarily of cardboard, tape and spray paint.

Matthew donned the iceberg costume, and his brother Ryan piloted the front of the Titanic. Tessa brought up the rear with the stern of the ship.

The three were escorted by a flotilla of mothers who helped guide the ship and iceberg through neighborhoods, picking up dropped candy along the way.

Hail bounced off the ship along their one-and-a-half-hour journey.

"A lot of people stopped them to take photos and one car even blasted Celine Dion's song from the movie as they walked by," she said. "They loved it! They are already thinking of what to do next year."