21 Terrifying Old Photos That Prove Halloween Was Once Scary AF
Halloween was no laughing matter back then!
Halloween costumes in Germany, 1938.
Three kids dressed as ghosts are ready for trick-or-treating, circa 1925.
Three masked five-year-olds with a jack-o-lantern in Chicago, 1954.
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.
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Gabriel H. Sanchez is the photo essay editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York City.
Contact Gabriel H. Sanchez at gabriel.sanchez@buzzfeed.com.
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