Creative costumes are pretty much always a Halloween hit — especially if they’re topical, involve a pun, or are otherwise a little outside the box — but before the days of pop-up Halloween stores and online ordering, costumes were creative because they had to be.
Whether it was a crafty mom who was especially adept at the sewing machine, or clever kids who put in the work on found objects and cardboard, the Halloween costumes of previous eras involved a lot of innovative thinking and handiwork. Also, these costumes were really creepy. Read on to find out more!
Three kids dressed as ghosts are ready for trick-or-treating, circa 1925.
A man dressed as a cat in France, circa 1920.
A person in a ghost costume stands by a Halloween altar, circa 1905.
A woman and a young boy dressed as the Gingerbread Witch and Hansel, respectively, in 1894.
A German man in devil costume in 1928.
Chicken costumes in the Netherlands, 1911.
A masked woman on roller skates, circa 1910.
A group of costumed people pose for a portrait, circa 1911.
A grotesque puppet on a stoop, circa 1900.
Two costumed partygoers on Halloween, 1923.
Three girls amuse each other with their masked costumes in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, 1929.
Kids leave a novelty shop in New York City with masks on Halloween night, 1949.
Three ghoulish characters take a drive in 1938.
Women dressed as a coven of witches line up for a Halloween portrait, circa 1910.
A group dressed as witches cast a spell over a cauldron in Germany, 1939.
A group of people in their Halloween costumes, circa 1920.
Trick-or-treaters dressed as alien invaders arrive at a house in London in the 1950s.
A boy in a scarecrow costume, 1965.
A masked reveler with a jack-o’-lantern at a Halloween party in 1956.
Halloween costumes in Germany, 1938.