26 Vintage Halloween Costumes from the Previous Century

Halloween has always been about creativity - but before Spirit Halloween stores, 3D printing, and Amazon Prime, people had to make do with what they had. The result? Some of the creepiest, funniest, and most fascinating costumes you'll ever see.

These 26 photos curated by Imgur user FAUST44 take us back to the early 1900s through the mid-20th century, when Halloween was a mix of homemade horror, surreal imagination, and maybe just a little bit of nightmare fuel. From paper mâché masks that look straight out of a Tim Burton fever dream to ghostly sheets and witch hats that predate your grandma's first pumpkin pie - this is pure spooky nostalgia.

Fair warning: some of these vintage looks are less "trick-or-treat cute" and more "haunt-your-dreams unsettling." But that's exactly what makes them so good.

01
Mr. T & He-Man, circa 1985

via FAUST44
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02
Killer Cabbage Patch Dolls, circa 1983 (photo by Scott Laperruque)

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03
Squirrel, 1950s

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04
Halloween party, Los Angeles, CA, 1960

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05
The Thing, 1964 (Can he breath in there?!)

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06
Gremlin, Aladdin, the devil and Robin, 1984

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07
Curious George, 1972

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08
Kinda disturbing Peanuts crew, 1963

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09
Ummm... The wet bandits? 1964

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10
Trick or Treat 1975

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11
That Yoda mask is pretty on point - 1982

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12
Hamlet's Father and two friends, Brooklyn, NYC, 1982 (photo by Larry Racioppo)

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13
Gumby and SCRAPPY-DOO. 1980

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14
Lion and Pirate, 1966

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15
Bionic Woman, Bambi and Cinderella, Brooklyn, 1977 (photo by Larry Racioppo)

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16
Dandy Dracula and Wanda Witch - 1970s

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17
Count Chocula, Booberry and gypsy, 1976

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18
Rita Hayworth and her friend, actor Pinky Tomlin, at Halloween party, 1935

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19
Sheik, solider, and Goldilocks, 1968

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20
Pack of Salem cigarettes, 1984 (Ah, the 80s)

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21
Cardboard tube robots, 1954

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22
Mexicans and beatniks, 1967

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23
Is that Barb from stranger things?! 1976

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24
Classroom crew, 1979

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25
It's eh... well, It's something. 1964

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26
Robot, 1962

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