In celebration of ghouls, goblins, and other scary stuff, here’s a few interesting tidbits from 100 years ago, Halloween 1915!
First up, from MentalFloss, a list of the six best topical Halloween costumes of the day. The three big celebrities to emulate were:
Harry Houdini,
Harry Houdini in a straightjacket. Source: MentalFloss.com
Charlie Chaplin, and…
Charlie Chaplin. Source: biography.com
Theda Bara, as Cleopatra. Source: MentalFloss.com
Theda Bara.
I doubt too many families would let their daughters out dressed as Theda, though. I doubt you’d have seen a lot of Theda-wannabees at the society Halloween parties, either. It would be fun to imagine, though!
A Halloween party from 1915. No Theda Baras or anything shocking in there (at least shocking from 2015 standards). Source: pinterest.com
I have no idea what these guys were dressed as. I think it was too early for the Michelin Man; I know it was too early for the Pillsbury Dough Boy:
I have no idea what these guys were supposed to be dressed as. Source: Pinterest.com; tumbler.com
I wonder what Emmett would have dressed as for Halloween? I doubt Emmett would have donned a costume in 1915 (he was a U.S. Congressman after all), so if he did as a boy, it would have been around 1895-1900.
So, I looked around at some photos of what the kids wore for Halloween at that time. Here’s a few examples:
Papier mache animal masks or clown masks were popular. Source: pinterest.com
Source: http://www.rebeatmag.com
I have to admit, folks, I think the costumes of the 1900s are scary, compared to modern costumes.
But then, the folks in the 1900’s didn’t have this option:
Source: http://www.adweek.com
Categories: Interesting & Odd
jsmith532
Professor,
Communication, Arts, and the Humanities
The University of Maryland Global Campus
Tell my story. 
Leave a Reply