Halloween costumes from the first half of the 20th century were terrifying. Drawing on the holiday's pagan and Christian roots, people often opted for more morbid, serious costumes than the pop culture-inspired ones of today.
A black-and-white photo from the early 1900s shows a woman in rural America, her face covered with a sinister white mask. In another, from 1930, a tall figure stands in a field tightly wrapped in what looks like a white sheet and black tape, while a 1938 image shows three people driving to a party in hair-raising skull masks.
It was believed that, during the festival, the world of the gods became visible to humans, resulting in supernatural mischief. Some people offered treats and food to the gods, while other wore disguises -- such as animal skins and heads -- so that wandering spirits might mistake them for one of their own.
Once Halloween entered American culture, its popularity quickly spread, according to fashion historian and director of New York University's costume studies MA program, Nancy Diehl. Three girls prepare for Halloween festivities in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, 1929.By the 1920s and 1930s, people were holding annual Halloween masquerades, aimed at both adults and children, at rented salons or family homes. Costume preparations sometimes began as early as August, according to Bannatyne. Falling right between summer and Christmas, the celebration also seemed to benefit from its timing in the calendar.
Continuing the tradition of old practices like souling and mumming, Halloween pranks became a common phenomenon in North America -- sometimes to the point of vandalism and rioting. By the mid-1940s, the press had dubbed the night's anarchy the"Halloween problem" -- and costumes may have"partly enabled that behavior," Bannatyne said.
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