HALLOWEEN
Happy Halloween, everybody! We made it. Some said it would never happen, but that might just be the voices in my head. Keeping with the spirit of the occasion ("spirit", man I crack myself up!), I have some vintage photos for your enjoyment.
First is this scan from 1962, featuring five happy kids enjoying cookies and cake, getting sugared up so that they have plenty of energy walking door to door. It's impossible to know what the girl to the left is supposed to be without her mask. The boy next to her is dressed as "Rusty", the orphan boy whose best pal is Rin Tin Tin, who was way cooler than that lame Lassie. Then you have a classic skeleton, a Native American lass, and... maybe a clown?
Next is this undated snapshot (but likely mid-1960s) photo of two terrifying trick-or-treaters. Well, the bunny isn't so terrifying, but some kids preferred to look cute rather than scary. I like the tiny top hat on the skeleton ghost, as befitting the occasion.
Here's a very young trick-or-treater, you know he got overwhelmed and started crying after visiting two houses. But we all have to start somewhere. Looking through my small collection of vintage Halloween slides, there is almost always a kid dressed as an Indian, it was definitely one of the staples of the day. I'm wondering if this was a character from a comic strip, but if so, I can't place him.
Next is this picture that might be from the 1970s (or earlier), it looks like kids were encouraged to wear their costumes to school, and this terrifying devil menaces us with his trident. I'm almost positive that I had a costume just like this, I can practically still feel the slippery (non-flammable?) acetate cloth and the sharp edges of the vacuum-formed mask.
And finally, here's a picture of my brother as Batman, and yours truly as Robin. We both wanted to be Batman, but the big brother won! It looks like he is wearing a store-bought costume, though it is very possible that only the mask was store-bought. I know that my mom made the Robin costume, I was very proud of it. Apparently we both insisted on wearing these costumes on an airplane trip from the east coast to California.
I hope that you all have a safe and fun Halloween!
13 comments:
Major-
If only all trick-or-treaters looked this swell. Kudos to you and your brother for insisting on flying 'in-costume'. (Just try getting away with that today-!)
Happy Halloween all. Thanks, Major.
1) Judging from her costume and hairstyle, I'd say the girl on the left is "Prince Valiant". Never mind the gender confusion. I wonder what purpose the balloons served?
2) I dunno, Major. That bunny looks pretty scary to me. It looks like one of its eyes has popped out of its socket. The magenta furniture reminds me of the orbiting Hilton Hotel in "2001: A Space Odyssey".
3) I think the overwhelmed, crying kid is the "Last of the Mohicans" (the haircut on his mask).
4) Nowadays, that devil kid would be expelled for bringing a 'weapon' to school. Nevermind that the plastic trident is less dangerous that a #2 pencil.
5) Your "Robin" mask must have been made for adult eyes, not kid eyes. The eye openings are too far apart. It looks like you can't see out! I see that you scored a red Tootsie Pop. These costumes are quite good, especially your Robin costume.
Nice selection of "Hollow Weenie" photos, Major. Thanks.
These are some great vintage Halloween pics, Major!
If that is a purse on the table in front of the girl on the left, then I think she was dressed up as a purse snatcher.
How esoteric of that little boy in the second photo, to dress up as Julie Reihm's "Skeleton Ghost."
I think the little kid in the third pic is dressed up as Robert Blake.....no, not as Mickey from the Little Rascals, not as Beretta, and not even as an alleged murderer. I think he's dressed up as Little Beaver, the sidekick of Red Ryder.
Thanks for sharing these, Major....especially your personal family photo! Happy Halloween to ya, and all of your Junior Gorillas!
On second glance, that might be a hat on the table, in the first pic (and not a purse). JB might be right, she could have been dressed as a prince.....especially with that pageboy haircut. But I wonder why she is wearing her cape as a bib? Maybe she plans to get REALLY messy with that cake!
Happy Hallowe’en, y’all!
Major, you and your brother definitely take the cake. Er, I mean Tootsie Pop.
My little sister was Batgirl one year, wearing a home-made, hand-me-down costume from someone at church. She was sooo cute! We were also clowns one year, wearing costumes my mom made that we had modeled for a fashion show. The costume was durable (and warm enough) that I often wore it hanging out (sans makeup and hat) in winter over my regular clothes my freezing cold bedroom.
Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeen!
These are great, Major!
I remember when I was four or five, my mom hand made a Pinocchio costume for me. She did a really good job on it! But, alas, I wanted to be Monstro... (not really).
I love these. Just kids having fun. I think I had a skeleton mask like the one in the first pic, and another year, a trident similar to the one flaunted by Beelezebub there, but I can’t recall what the rest of that costume might have been.
I never really had costume clothes as I recall, just a mask and school clothes.
The other fun part of these pics is the interiors and furniture. Fun to see how our house looked like so many others.
Major, your mom was quite a seamstress, those are great costumes and you were right to be proud to wear them on the plane. I’ll bet the other passengers loved it. Thanks for sharing those!
And thanks for this post too!
JG
The pic of the kid sitting on the couch with an "Indian" mask is so funny.
I absolutely love vintage Halloween trick-or-treater pics. These are perfect for one of my favorite holidays. Thanks, Major.
Happy Halloween to all!
Nanook, part of me wonders if it was my mom’s idea for us to fly in our costumes!
JB, hmmm, Prince Valiant you say? I suppose it’s possible! The bunny has a face that reminds me of some horror movies, so you’re not wrong about it being scary. And I didn’t even notice all the red/magenta furniture! “Last of the Mohicans”, hmmm, maybe. I’m sure you’re right about the trident - I remember a kid coming to school in a very good Planet of the Apes gorilla costume, and he had a VERY realistic rifle. Nobody said a word! My “Robin” mask does seem to be a touch big, but I guess not many masks are made to fit the noggins of tiny kids.
TokyoMagic!, why dress up as a purse snatcher when you can BE a purse snatcher? Live your dreams! “Julie Reihm’s ‘Skeleton Ghost’”, you mean the miniature one that plays the organ? I actually thought about Red Ryder and Little Beaver (believe it or not), but Little Beaver does not have a mohawk hairdo. I thought Robert Blake was found guilty of shooting his girlfriend? Maybe he got off on a technicality. Now that I think about it, he was in “Lost Highway”, that David Lynch movie, so he clearly wasn’t in jail.
TokyoMagic!, I think the hat might belong to the boy in the Rin Tin Tin costume? Prince Valiant is an interesting guess that I would have never come up with, but it does seem to work.
Chuck, if that was a cherry Tootsie Pop, I would have been very happy. I loved those! Very fun that your sister wore a Batgirl costume. I’m trying to imagine a kid wearing a clown costume to keep warm! Don’t you know that a gorilla costume is well insulated and comfy all year long?
stu29573, I think my mom only made our costumes for a very short window, once she had four kids it got to be too much. Then it was Ben Cooper costumes almost exclusively!
JG, it’s funny, looking back I really only remember a few of my Halloween costumes, though I found one of either me or my younger brother (the mask made it hard to tell!) dressed as a sort of walking Teddy bear. Obviously something my mom chose! At a certain point I wanted to be a monster of some kind, though I did have a Snoopy costume (with a light-up nose) that was a hit with the parents who answered the door. I remember my mom at her sewing machine, it fascinated me, it’s been a long time since it has seen the light of day.
K. Martinez, I’m kind of bummed that I won’t be at my mom’s house tonight, she gets all the trick-or-treaters. I carved a jack-o-lantern for her yesterday, and my brother will help out with the candy, but things will be pretty quiet where I live.
“Julie Reihm’s ‘Skeleton Ghost’”, you mean the miniature one that plays the organ?
Major, I know the costume doesn't look like the organ-playing skeleton in that Wonderful World of Color episode. It's just that I immediately thought of Julie Reihm's comment, when I read your "Skeleton Ghost" description of that kid! :-)
Lots of mid-century style going on. Nice work Mrs. Pepperidge, and Major, Thanx.
MS
Oh this takes me back to the days when you could run from house to house with a hoard of other baby boomer kids collecting a bagful of candies just for saying Trick or Treat. And the feeling of how hot that rubber mask was of whomever I bought that year. One year in the early 60s, my buddies and I stopped at 102 homes...yep counted them all. And without adult supervision too at the age of 11. Thing was...I'm not a big candy eater. I'd save it and then take it to school a couple weeks later and sell it during lunch breaks. KS
Major, if you showed up on my doorstep in that costume, I'd probably dump my entire stash of candy into your bag. Too cute!
Now, I'm picturing you trying to type your comments on GDB with your mask on. Probably a little difficult, I'd guess.
Happy Halloween, all!
Thanks, Major.
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