Check out her costume and the party

NEW YORK – Heidi-ween has once again proven herself to be the mother of all spooky parties.

Heidi Klum's famous fright fest kicked off for the 23rd time on Thursday with outlandish costumes, celebrity guests and candy-flavored cocktails. A who's who of stars walked the black carpet at the Hard Rock Hotel in the heart of Times Square, from Barney (the real one) to “Grease” characters Sandy and Danny (Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes in a couple costume) .

The big reveal came later when Klum herself emerged from behind the carpet with her husband Tom Kaulitz. The two found themselves side by side in a sunken leaf trench, dressed as characters from an iconic, not-so-scary alien movie.

Inside the unveiling of Heidi Klum's Halloween costume at her party

Klum was dressed as ET – well, a version of ET. Her husband was the original character, while she seemed like ET in the scene where he's wearing a blonde wig. Mr. and Mrs. ET, if you will.

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

In fact, the model's outfit lacked any hint of runway glamour. In its place was a giant alien head that was so lifelike that its eyes twitched and its mouth moved. Klum and Kaulitz's real faces were buried somewhere in the necks of the costumes, but they managed to sneak in a smooch or two while the cameras flashed.

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

Inside the party, candelabras provided dim lighting and spider webs stretched up the stairs that separated the bar and dance floor in the room decorated for the occasion.

Partygoers in stilts and Technicolor wings mingled while DJ Questlove spun pop classics, the walls shook with the bass of Gwen Stefani and Lizzo classics, and in a corner booth, Bethenny Frankel, dressed in a Wonder Woman suit, with one Foot turned on the table in time.

The drink of the night was a Butterfinger Tini, a Halloween candy-inspired cocktail with crunchy nougat in place of salt on the rim. “You don’t taste the alcohol that much,” Klum said of the drink. “Anything that can be disguised as alcohol is a thorn in my side.”

Who was invited to Heidi Klum's Halloween party?

There was no shortage of celebrity attendees at this year's bash, which has long been a staple of the celebrity party scene.

Disney Channel veterans Aly and AJ Michalka arrived in 1920s-style clown costumes.

“It's a 4 1/2-hour procession,” AJ Michalka said of her look, noting that her prep soundtrack was Kim Petras' “Turn Off the Light” mixtape. “It took a while to get these costumes.”

Country star Kelsea Ballerini and her boyfriend Chase Stokes also walked the carpet. Dressed as Danny Zucco and the “evil” Sandy from “Grease,” the two reenacted the final scene of the film, snorting cigarettes under the heel and all.

Jackie Tohn, who plays Esther in the hit Netflix series Nobody Wants This, was impressed herself as she walked the carpet when she spotted Barney behind her in a pumpkin costume. She paused briefly to take a selfie and declare herself a big fan.

Other partygoers included Olympian Suni Lee, who came dressed as a ballerina, and Nicole Scherzinger, who came straight from the set of her new Broadway show “Sunset Boulevard” with fake blood dripping down her neck.

Klum loves it just as much as she does that the participants get in the mood. But the model says it never remains a mystery 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.”

Heidi Klum remembers her first Halloween party

Klum started hosting the party in 2000.

Over the years, she has sometimes indulged in shape-shifting disguises, elevating costumes to an art form. In 2022, she was unrecognizable as a worm on the carpet, and in 2015, she relied heavily on prosthetics for a Jessica Rabbit costume.

Klum told USA TODAY that each costume has a special place in her heart, but she especially loved dressing up as aliens.

“People could come and watch all day,” she said, explaining that she displayed the trial in the window of Amazon Books in Manhattan so passersby could witness the hours-long transformation.

Inside the unveiling of Heidi Klum's Halloween costume at her party

Who was invited to Heidi Klum's Halloween party?

Heidi Klum remembers her first Halloween party

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