Getting Into the Halloween Spirit
by Bob Brooke
 

Today, Halloween is synonymous with dressing up as weird characters, ghosts, goblins, clowns, and animals. Creativity reigns. And while the emphasis on children around Halloween has been around since the 19th century, in recent years, adults have taken the wearing of Halloween costumes to a whole new sophisticated level.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry.

On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits.

During the Great Depression, a child’s costume could be as simple as a bedsheet with holes cut out for eyes and a mouth. Other children dressed in their parents’ old clothes or whatever they could find.

The early origins of Halloween costumes can be traced back to ancient Celtic traditions. During the festival of Samhain, the Celts believed that spirits would roam the earth. To ward off these spirits and disguise themselves, people wore masks and costumes made from animal hides. This practice was also influenced by the belief that the boundary between the living and the dead was blurred during this time.

The Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the superstitious Celts would disguise themselves with animal heads and skins. They would make lots of noise to fool troublesome spirits into thinking that they were one of them or to scare them away.

During Samhain, an extra place was set at the table as an offering to deceased loved ones. Food was also placed outside, near the doorway, to appease bothersome spirits who might otherwise play tricks on the inhabitants, such as tipping over milk containers.

When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

In medieval Europe, Halloween costumes began to have a religious significance. People dressed up as saints, demons, and mythical creatures to reenact religious stories and protect themselves from evil spirits.

With the advent of Christianity, the Celts celebrated All Souls’ Day similarly to the festival of Samhain with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. They called All Saints’ Day celebration All-hallows or All-hallowmas, hallow meaning “to sanctify.”

The tradition of dressing in costume begun when Medieval churches encouraged their congregations to dress or wear relics of the dead and saints. During the Medieval period, costumes may have been a way to remember the dead without having to have the churches display all the needed relics for the dead. During the Reformation, Protestants suppressed many of the Catholic traditions, including the celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

After the Romans took over Celt-occupied lands in Britain during the 1st century CE, they combined many of the Celtic traditions, including Samhain, with their own, evolving into All Hallows’ Day. Later, the Roman Catholic Church designated November 1 as All Saints’ Day in honor of all Catholic saints. It was celebrated with a mass, bonfires, and people costumed as angels and saints parading through the villages. November 2 brings All Souls’ Day, a holy day set aside for honoring the dead and departed.

In the Middle Ages, women labeled as witches (from the Anglo-Saxon word wicce, or “wise one”) practiced divination. Such a woman would curl up near a fireplace and go into a trancelike state by chanting, meditating, or using hallucinogenic herbs. Superstitious people believed that these women flew out of their chimneys on broomsticks and terrorized the countryside with their magical deeds.

During Samhain, superstitious country folk would disguise themselves with animal skins and masks made from sailcloth or linen. In costume, they would go outdoors and make lots of noise in an effort to fool troublesome spirits into thinking that they were one of them or to scare them away.

During Samhain, an extra place was set at the table as an offering to deceased loved ones. People also placed food outside, near the doorway, to appease bothersome spirits who might otherwise play tricks on the inhabitants, such as tipping over milk containers.

The practice of trick-or-treating dates back to the Middle Ages in England, when poor people collected baked goods called “soul cakes” from the wealthy. The poor promised to pray for the giver’s deceased loved ones in exchange for the cakes.

The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling,” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots.
In the Celtic tradition it was believed that souls emerged on this night as they traveled to the afterlife, so revelers donned costumes to avoid recognition by the dead. Christian celebrants often warded off the devil with huge bonfires, whose light attracted insects and bats to join the festival.

Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry.

On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits.

On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

As celebrating Halloween became popular in America in the 19th century, wearing costumes became common. Originally, people made their own costumes at home, inspired by historical figures or folk traditions.

Today, Halloween costumes come in a variety of styles, from witches, ghosts, horror characters, mummies, devils, angels, cowboys, and princesses to superheroes and cartoon characters. People often made vintage costumes out of crepe paper. The Dennison Paper Company's Bogie books and other crepe paper books had lots of ideas and illustrations of costumes that could be made with crepe. Finding these vintage crepe costumes, which were often discarded after Halloween, can be a real treat for a collector.

The rise of commercial costumes changed the way people celebrated Halloween. In the early 20th century, people made costumes at home using old clothing and materials to make their disguises. But as the entertainment industry grew, and Halloween became more popular, the rise of commercial costumes gained popularity.

In the 1930s, companies like Ben Cooper Inc., Collegeville, and Halco, made commercial costumes, offering an affordable way to dress up. These costumes featured characters from movies, TV shows, and comic books, allowing people to dress up as their favorite fictional figures.

Commercial costumes also made celebrating Halloween more accessible to a wider audience. People who didn’t have the time or skills to make their own costumes could buy one, which increased participation in the festivities. This contributed to the commercialization of Halloween.

The success of commercial Halloween costumes led to the establishment of dedicated costume stores and the development of costume rental services.

While the celebration of Halloween focused on children trick ‘o treating in costume in the mid 20th century, later on adult Halloween parties became popular, necessitating even more sophisticated costumes.

Classic film and literature characters have become popular in recent years. People frequently recreate characters such as Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and the Wolfman from classic horror films. Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland, and Jay Gatsby are also iconic literary characters frequently chosen. People also dress up as characters from classic films like Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, or Singin’ in the Rain. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, Captain Ahab from Moby-Dick, and Jane Eyre are other commonly portrayed literary characters.

Collectors of vintage Halloween costumes often find them in antique shops, flea markets, garage and yard sales, vintage clothing and thrift shops. They can also be found online at Etsy and eBay.

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