30 Vintage Halloween Decorations Throughout the Centuries

Apparently, spooking people never gets old. Here, a ghostly caped figure "scares" two people in their kitchen sometime during the 19th century.

French illusionist Henri Robin with a ghost.

Frightening? Yes. Well decorated? Also yes. This photograph shows a person, possibly a teacher, wearing a ghost costume behind a table covered with Halloween decorations in a rural schoolhouse. The decor includes a carved pumpkin, witch and black cat cutouts, and haystacks.

Black cats are nowhere new to the Halloween decoration scene. Here, a woman in a Halloween witches' hat holds a model cat decoration on a chain in the mid-1920s.

If you don't have floating ghosts as part of your Halloween decor, you clearly need to step up your game. Here, in the mid-1930s, children dip into a well of bobbing apples as ghostly figures levitate (or, perhaps, are pinned) in the background.

In this 1940s decoration store, the options for expressing Halloween spirit were limitless. Two young women inspect a paper skeleton, along with other items, in the novelty shop.

Awee: A dog in a Halloween hat holds a pumpkin pail in 945. We wonder how keen the pooch was about having a black cat on his hat, though.

Actress and dancer Ann Miller sits surrounded by Halloween decorations.

A boy draws himself a (spooky? funny?) Halloween mask in 1955. If Pinterest was invented mid-century, this lad would be all about those DIY decor boards.

Director Alfred Hitchcock holds a broom and poses behind a Halloween pumpkin to promote his anthology program, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."

It's the picture-perfect scene: A young couple cheerfully carves a Halloween pumpkin for their seasonal decorations in autumn woods. Again, proof that pumpkins are always on trend.

Yes, this may seem like a scene from a horror flick. But it's actually a display of Halloween masks from the 1960s—just imagine decorating your wall with this get-up.

In a Portland library circa 1967, a woman and two children examine a skeleton decoration. Is it just us, or would a mysterious 60s library be the perfect setting for a seriously spooky movie?

Even American actress Sandra Dee got in on Halloween fun. Here, she dances with a guitar-clad skeleton and black cat decorations, situated on hay stacks.

In this candid snapshot, American actress Mia Farrow gazes at a cloaked pumpkin statue circa 1970. We would also be confused upon seeing this decor, Mia.

Sonny Bono performs in a skit with his kid, Chastity Bono, on the television variety show "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour."

Sixth-graders put the finishing touches on a haunted house decoration at their school in the late 1970s.

Clubgoers dressed up as punks dance on the floor during Studio 54's third annual Halloween party in New York City.

Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, and Chevy Chase attend a Halloween party at Rehearsal Studios in North Hollywood, California.

Halloween decorations gradually become more flambouyant in the 80s. Pumpkin decorations serve as ornaments for a tree in the yard of this Kansas house, and a skeleton stands guard nearby.

Drew Barrymore struts in a purple wig at a Halloween party at Visage in New York City.

Grand Halloween decorations continue into the mid-80s. This Boston house is covered with various pumpkins, witches, skeletons, bats and flying ghosts donning a mix of smiles and frightened faces.

Cher and Bob Mackie's 1988 Halloween party at Century Paramount in Century City, California.

Halloween is brighter than ever at this house on Balboa Island, California. Glowing and neon decorations make the festivities a 24/7 spectacle in the neighborhood.

Cole and Dylan Sprouse dressed up as Kiss for the 9th Annual “Dream Halloween Los Angeles,” a fundraising event that benefits children across the United States who are affected by AIDS.