Halloween costumes

By Metro Creative

It is impossible to identify the first Halloween costume and which masks the earliest celebrants donned in efforts to keep away the evil spirits during Samhain, which historians believe is the Celtic precursor to Halloween.

According to Lesley Bannatyne, an author who has written extensively about the history of Halloween, masks and coverups were designed to symbolize ghosts and the souls of the dead, first for Samhain and later for the custom of “souling,” which was intended to cut back on pagan influences. Costumes of saints and evil spirits also were popular during this time. When immigrants brought Halloween customs to North America, early 20th century costumes featured much of the same — ghosts and ghouls.

It wasn’t until the 1920s and 1930s that pop culture began to infiltrate costumes. In fact, one of the first costume companies, J. Halpern Company, began licensing pop culture images like Mickey Mouse and Popeye around this time. By the 1960s, costumes were largely store-bought, spurring entire industries.

Many 1980s kids recall buying boxed costumes that consisted of rigid plastic masks with eye holes (and very small holes by the mouth and nose) that stayed in place with thin elastic straps, and a plastic sheeting costume that went over clothes.

Modern costumes have evolved into outfits that are far more complex.

— Metro Creative