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!
9 comments:
Major-
Fun images-! Thanks Sue and The Major. Happy Halloween to all.
I bet that picture is from the mid-west, near Cincinnati. The two twins look like “the cool ghoul” from the early seventies, and re-runs through the eighties
1) The "Fireman" girl's costume appears to be covered with oak leaves. Probably of various shades of red and orange to resemble 'fire'... maybe? The gray line doesn't really look like the ocean to me, too thin of a strip. But they do seem to be standing on a pebbly, sandy beach soooo...
2) "Explosive"? Don't be silly. Swans don't explode! They strip the living flesh from your bones, leaving nothing but a bloody skeleton! It is unusual to see that many swans, especially black swans, in the Moat. If that many swans attack in unison, they could skeletonize a guest in under 30 seconds.
3) That sofa really IS weird. I don't thing even an adult's feet would touch the floor. Awkward... but stylish! It looks like Yogi is wearing argyle socks. Aside from the mask, I can't tell what the heck that costume is! It's got shiny gold trim. And something is written on the left side (also in gold). I don't think there is candy in that bulging sack. Maybe it's supposed to be Yogi's pic-a-nic basket?
4) Funny how the astronaut's face is also part of the mask. I think I like the pirate mask best.
5) Man, I think I'll just go with your guesses on this one, Major. I have no idea what some of those costumes are. More than "weird", the blond twins are just plain creepy! I can't imagine who they're supposed to be.
Thank you, Sue, as always. And to you too, Major. These vintage Halloween pics are always one of the highlights of the GDB year.
The b/w photo is wonderful. The last two pics of kids in their Halloween costumes are creepy which is perfect for Halloween.
Thanks, Major.
Happy Halloween to all!
Oh no! Fireman Pam was attacked by a tree! This was a common fire fighter related problem, of course.
AES's! AEDs even more eviler cousins! The horror! THE HORROR!!!
The pink bunny should have been BooBoo. Points deducted for missed opportunity. Sorry!
Note that the astronaut is from NASA! We wouldn't want any of those stinkin' Commies around!
The kid in the upper left of the last pic is freaking out because he thought it was Christmas...
Great pics! Thanks Major (and Sue!)
Happy Halloween!!!
Photo 1, little girl brandishing a pistol, but with trigger discipline. Well trained. Major, I think there’s a tour bus nearby, accounting for the gray line.
I like the party photos, kids having fun. The two blonde ghouls are some kind of joke or reference that I don’t understand, but there’s definitely a story there.
Blacks swans are at least 50% more destructive than the regular variety. I like that picture very much.
Thank you Lou, Sue and Major. Everyone have a good holiday!
JG
@ JB-
"I can't tell what the heck that costume is! It's got shiny gold trim. And something is written on the left side (also in gold)".
THIS should help.
Nanook, I hope you don’t get too spooked!
Budblade, I had to look up the Cool Ghoul. I’d never heard of him! I think you could be right. Now I wonder if there were costumes of local Chiller Theater hosts??
JB, I guess the girl with the Fireman hat is supposed to be a pile of leaves that you would burn in the autumn? if so, weird. You’re probably right, that gray line is likely not a body of water. And you are the expert on deadly swans, so I will not contradict you! I like that sofa because I can hog the part with the back, and nobody would sit next to me. No idea about the paper bag that looks so full, somehow it doesn’t appear to be heavy. The Yogi costume is strange, but those Ben Foster costumes often had decent masks but the rest was off-model. I like the way the face is part of the astronaut mask! Budblade’s guess of the Cool Ghoul for the blond twins is as good as any.
K. Martinez, one of the things I love about group photos of kids in their costumes is the sheer variety of subjects, and also the store bought versus the home-made.
Stu29573, firemen hate trees, they are always attacked by them. They prefer nice modest shrubs. I wonder about the black swans, who’s idea was it to switch from the traditional white swans? I agree, pink bunny SHOULD have been BooBoo, the whiniest character in animation history. A cosmonaut costume would have been interesting, particularly in the late 1960s. The kid in the upper left… he couldn’t sit still for a photo for even ten seconds, the little jerk.
JG, thinking of that pistol reminds me of high school, a guy showed up dressed in an impressive Planet of the Apes gorilla costume. He also carried an extremely realistic rifle (maybe it *was* real)! That would never happen today. I never went to a Halloween party, mostly because I insisted on listening to opera records. Black swans are dangerous, but spicy!
Nanook, awesome!
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