HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all you loyal followers of Vintage Halloween Toys! Thank you all for making this the best site on on the internet for information, pictures, tips, and cool stuff on collecting old school Halloween toys from the past (and a fun blog on Halloween related activities and events of course).
I will be updating this site every week with new blogs and pictures, so please come back and visit often, because Vintage Halloween Toys is just going to get better and better, and it will knock your socks off.
Here's a picture of one of my favorite paper mache creations from years gone by. Even though it's not a toy, it's pretty cool, and to me it screams Halloween. The value of this "Pumpkin Ghoul" is about $400!
The great thing about vintage and antique Halloween toys, was that most of them were made in America. Now that's not to say that just because something's not made in the U.S.A. that it's no good, but let's face it...Most of the cool retro stuff is American made. It's always a bit of bummer when I see the "new" Halloween toys in the shelves of the stores today, and 99.99% of the stuff is made in China. It would be very cool if some American made toy companies would start to kick out a few noisemakers, limited edition toys, and other ghoulish goodies to keep us collectors happy. I know this can be done, as I've seen first hand (recently) with the makers of some Halloween plastic Trick or Treat buckets/pails that were made in the old U.S.A. (and were available for under two bucks which is cheaper then most of the stuff made in China).
One item I was happy to find was an American made Halloween Slinky. That's right. Slinky (a true classic) has been around for over 65 years (and if that doesn't make it a classic/vintage item, I don't know what does). So go online, shop around, and buy yourself a classic piece of American made Halloween coolness.
I have added a cool pic of a vintage Skull Rattle to the Noisemakers section. This item dates from the 1960's, and is valued at around $40. I see a fair amount of plastic rattles (skulls and witches primarily) surface, but most have some damage, so it's always fun to find one in great shape.
I hope you are making some awesome and scary plans for Halloween this weekend....If you can't have fun during Halloween, when can you?
I added a new picture of a Skeleton Candy Container that was made in Hong Kong from the 1970's. This can be found in the Plastic Toys menu.
I have been on the hunt for some cool Halloween lawn displays. Nothing too crazy yet (people must be waiting until the last minute to scare those trick or treaters). I did find a couple of happening houses:
I took several pictures at the bed and breakfast I stayed in for my Upper Peninsula trip (Chamberlins Old Forest Inn), and I found some interesting (and a bit creepy) stuff. The Inn was originally built in the late 1800's, and served as hotel for a nearby railroad. The Inn was later moved to Big Manistique Lake a few miles away. I spoke with some of the staff at Camberlins, and there were a couple of people who said that there were rumors the Inn has some paranormal activity now and again....Voices heard when no one is around, shadows moving, etc. The night I stayed was very peaceful and festive (there was a wedding party going on), but at night I did hear what sounded like an old train clanking through some old train tracks. I took some pictures of the Inn, and in the second photo you can clearly see 5 orbs around the couch (or dust particles). The photo of the Inn from long ago looks eerily similar to the Inn today. The picture of the hallway leads to a hot tub outside on a porch. Upon a close-up inspection, it looks like 3 ghostly faces are pressed against the windows as if they are looking inside (they are probably finger prints, but it's strange how the middle ghost face looks like it has lips, and I don't recall seeing smudges or finger prints on the window....hmmmm). The next morning was so foggy you could barely see 20 feet in front of you, so I included the picture of the leafless tree sitting alone in the haunting fog.With all this being said, Chamberlins Old Forest Inn was a delight to stay in. Great food, great hospitality, and is a comfortable and charming Inn for people visiting Curtis Michigan. Are there ghosts there? Take a visit and see for yourself.
I added a new picture of a wooden paddle noisemaker...This item sold for around $3o, and looks like the old rubber band and ball paddles kids use to play with.
I just returned from a trip up to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. I looked around a few antique shops and garage sales, but was unsuccessful in finding any vintage Halloween toys. The Bed and Breakfast that I stayed in has some claims that it was haunted. I took several pictures, so when I get done looking at them, if I catch any orbs or other mysterious things, I'll be sure to post them. More updates and pictures will be posted this week....This is the big weekend for Halloween parties. I hope you are all planning something fun (at very least, rent a good spooky movie, eat a pizza, and carve a pumpkin).
I was having some problems earlier with my internet connection and temporarily lost my Misc. Toys section as I was adding a new pic. The problem is now fixed, so enjoy. I also added a picture of a vintage deck of Gypsy Witch fortune telling cards. This particular deck sold for around $50. The cool thing is, these Gypsy Witch cards are still being produced today, and if you hunt around online, you can pick up a deck for under $10.
I've been trying to take some photos of haunted Halloween lawn displays, but the weather here has been dark and rainy for the past week. I will get some good pictures up very soon, and please send me an email (Send me a Note on the home page) and attach your lawn haunts, and I'll post them for all you boys and ghouls to see.
One of the many great things about Halloween are the old time Spook Shows that use to play at theaters across America. Classically Ghoulish (and often times campy, sexy, and hilarious) posters were hung around businesses in town promoting magic, thrills, girls, terror, horror, and other forms of entertainment sure to grab the attention of the young and the Halloween enthusiasts. Being an artist myself, I find these posters to be true classic pieces of Americana art, and I'm always happy when I see a cool Spook Show poster that I haven't seen before.
Here's a pic of a Spook Show poster from the 1960's.....Not only could you win a dead body, see Marilyn Monroe, see 1001 thrills, but they also showed a horror movie too! Great fun!
One of my favorite things about old time Halloween parties were the games that people use to play. It was very popular to sit around the fire, gaze into mirrors, drip wax into water (trying to interpret what the wax drops formed), read tea leaves, and all sorts of other mystical things to tell people their fortunes. I can see how this made Halloween a truly magical time of the year. It would be cool to see some of these old time customs make their way back into 21st century Halloween parties. I think fortune telling is highly entertaining, and even if you don't believe in that sort of thing, the fortune itself can be a very fun story to tell.
I recently read about this old time Halloween spell, and it involves catching leaves falling from trees before they hit the ground. If you do this between October 1st, and the first week into November, you are supposed to have 1 day of luck for every leaf you catch in the next year.....Plus, if you run around enough and catch a bunch of leaves, it's pretty good exercise (You have to burn off that Halloween candy somehow).
On that note, you'll have to take a look at my Miscellaneous Toys section, where I added a new picture of a fortune telling game called "Whirl-O-Fortune".
I added a pic to the Noisemakers section of a wooden Czechoslovakian whistle. This item sold for $30, which I thought was a pretty good deal. Most of the Czechoslovakian Halloween items were made of wood.
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