Strange thought it may seem to us here in Europe, the custom of dressing up in bizarre costumes and parading around the streets of your home town on Halloween has proved enduringly popular with our American cousins - and the City of Heroes Halloween Costume Contest at the official US site only served to encourage them. Bless.

The overall winner was Hellgeist, with a costume so accurate you have to wonder whether he actually fights crime in his spare time and just recreated himself in-game:

If that’s whetted your appetite, see below…

The sheer volume of entries to the competition was staggering, and with so much effort having gone into so many great costumes, deciding on winners was a tricky task.

As well as Best Overall, other categories up for grabs in the contest included Best Male, Best Female, Best Gargantuan (for the big fellas), Most Daring, and the hotly contested Most Humorous, which was eventually snapped up by the incomparable Louis Train… who, in case you haven’t guessed, is the guy on the right.

Of course, not everyone was happy with the final decisions. Rockjaw is still muttering about demanding a recount when his personal favourite, Diva 7, was somehow overlooked…

You can see all the winners here. If you’re feeling particularly brave (don’t say we didn’t warn you), all the entries are on display here.