Vintage Halloween

Happy Halloween! It's one of the most popular holidays (?) on Urf, its influence continues to grow like the mutagenic mushrooms in the 1963 Japanese horror movie, "Matango" (that one used to freak me out when I was a kid!). With Halloween being on a Friday, I have the feeling that it's going to be extra crazy for some folks. I have a few vintage Halloween-related slide scans to share with you.

First is a fun and very vintage photo scan contributed by Sue B. We don't know much about this image, besides the fact that it has a group of children wearing costumes - it might not be a Halloween photo at all. But I like it, so I'm including it! Is that gray line in the background the ocean? Now that I see that, I can't "unsee" it. The girl to the left has a paper hat that seems to read "Fireman (?)", and she definitely dresses the same as the Los Angeles Fire Department. Another girl wears a holster and brandishes her six-shooter. I'd hoped that I could read the sign held by that girl near the middle, but Photoshop couldn't help. Thanks for the fun photo, Sue!

Sue wanted to include this next photo because, on the surface, it is just a nice picture of the Castle Moat. BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE KILLER SWANS? Not the usual white swans either, but black swans. Those are extra-explosive!

Next, from my scans is this one from 1962; we see this sister and brother posed on their weird sofa. "We made the back small and passed the saving on to YOU!". I'm assuming that this was taken before trick-or-treats, since that plastic bag looks empty - although there is what appears to be a big fat paper bag right next to it. Mysterious. The older boy is dressed as Yogi Bear,  who would rather have a pic-a-nic basket. His little sister is dressed as a pink rabbit, which is also my costume this year.

The next two are undated, but from a party from the 1970s (I believe). There's quite a gathering of kids. As is often the case, girls use the occasion to get extra dolled-up. Sweaters and jackets hint that this is somewhere chilly - I remember trick-or-treating in the snow when I lived in Pennsylvania. Boys always love to look scary or silly, but I particularly like that astronaut costume. If you happened to be wearing one a few years ago, you probably could have boarded the Space Shuttle with no problem.

Same party, different kids! You've got your classics like Raggedy Ann and a Devil, a young boy who has his minimal "Lone Ranger" mask, and then a few others I can't identify. Is the girl in the lower left supposed to be a Sea Monkey?? The two "twins" with the long blonde hair are weird. The girl touching her face - no idea.

 I hope you have a safe and Happy Halloween!