These vintage Halloween masks & costumes may seem weird now, but were all the rage back in the 60s & 70s!

Vintage and retro Halloween costumes - Collegeville in the 60s and 70s (1)

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The cheap and ill-fitting vintage Halloween masks and costumes that prevailed in the 1960s and 70s proved that when you spent a couple of bucks to get ready for trick-or-treating… well, you got what you paid for.

But the kids? They loved it anyway, even if their vision was significantly impaired by the restrictive eyeholes in those hard, plastic masks.

We’ve gathered up a large collection of the most popular vintage Halloween masks and costumes from the era, most of which you could pick up at your neighborhood drugstore or Woolworth’s.

If you were a kid during the 60s and/or 70s, you were probably sporting one or more of these characters! Have a look, and tell us your favorite costume from this period.

Vintage Halloween costumes from 1973


Vintage Halloween masks & costumes back when they were making news as the freshest trends in the mid-1970s

Costumes popular for Halloween funsters (1974)

Evening Herald (Shenandoah, Pennsylvania) October 31, 1974

Down in the spook works, Halloween costumes are made.

These store-bought costumes for the current Halloween were designed in 1973. And the ones for 1975 are being drawn up right now.

Old Halloween masks you could buy in the sixties and seventies (2)

For a preview of what the little hobgoblins will be wearing Halloween, I talked with William Wimmer, an executive of one of the big two Halloween costume makers.

His firm, Collegeville, in Collegeville, Pa., and Ben Cooper Inc. in New York turn out most Halloween costumes — and that includes some for adults.

The hottest costume in the adult line is the Oil Sheik. More than a thousand dozen were sold way before Halloween. In fact, much to Wimmer’s regret, the costume was out of stock weeks before Halloween. (It moved fast, too, in the juvenile line.)

Vintage Collegeville costumes and masks from 1960sVintage Halloween masks & costumes on display

The Sheik costume for adults outpaced the Shadow, Clown, Devil, Fortune Teller, Hobo, Skeleton and Witch.

In the juvenile department, the newest thing is costumes with lights that blink. The flasher-light unit is fixed into the head part of the mask and is said to be safe. Characters in the flasher-light rig include clown, devil, princess, dragon, and spooky monster.

In the tiny tot department, Casper the Friendly Ghost is the rage. The little kiddies also like Teddy Bear, Fluffy Kitten, White Rabbit, Friendly Lion, Bugs Bunny and Clowns.

halloweenBoo! Vintage Halloween masks: Skeleton & I Dream of Jeanie

These harmless disguises all pretend to be spittin’ images of characters found by children in cartoons, movies and storyland.

In the costume line for older children, there are frightening characters but also some letting the boys and girls go as contemporary Idols. Namely — Football Superstar, Blues Singer, Beauty Queen, Soul Singer.

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Halloween costumes are keeping up with the fever building toward the nation’s bicentennial. For girls, there are costumes of an Indian Princess, Miss Liberty, Betsy Ross.

Boys can select from among the following costumes: Uncle Sam, George Washington, Indian and Brave.

Raisins for Halloween - Costumes and trick-or-treating (1974)

To keep tuned to safety, many of the commercially made costumes have stripes that glow when lights hit them. Another safety twist: Costumes that are mostly all white — more easily seen at night.

At the Cooper firm, Planet of the Apes characters are new this year and the costumes include Caesar, Lisa and Warrior. Other costumes from comics, the movies and television — Star Trek, Kung Fu, Batman, Superman.

Retro Halloween costumes from 1964

From the World of Walt Disney, cartoons and creations are the all-time favorites — Donald Duck, Tinkerbell, Mickey Mouse.

Monsters are big with the kids and costumes catering to this appetite include the Creature, Wolfman, the Mummy, Vampire, Frankenstein, Spiderman.

Makeup sets offer the chance to look like almost anything or anyone. Expect a lot of Planet of the Apes trick-n-treaters. A hot item is a Planet of the Apes make-up set.

Vintage Halloween Costumes from Collegeville 1975 inlcuding Sheik


Monster-Glo Costumes and Vintage Halloween Masks (1966)

Black Cat – Devil – Body Snatcher – Monster – Skeleton – Ghastly Genie – Vampire – Ghoul

vintage-halloween-costumes-1966-collegeville-3


Collegeville vintage Halloween masks & costumes (1966)

Black Cat – Cinderella – Monster – Pirate – Hobo – Skeleton

vintage-halloween-costumes-1966-collegeville-6

Vintage Halloween Costumes - 1966 Collegeville (1)

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Old plastic masks including Planet of the Apes, Frankenstein, Witch, Princess & Pirate

Cheap vintage Halloween masks (2)


Vintage Collegeville Halloween masks from 1960s

Astronaut, Cinderella, Clown, Devil, Hootenanny, Monster, Pirate, Princess, Secret Agent, Skull, Tiger, Witch

Black cat, Brute, Clown, Devil, Ghastly Gertie, Ghost, Ghoul, Monster, Red Skull, Body Snatcher, Vampire, Witch

Bat, Brute, Ghastly Gertie, Gorilla, Ghoul, Monster, Body Snatcher, Weird-O, Fink.

Vintage Collegeville masks from 1960s


Vintage Halloween mask & costume sets: Popeye, Hagar the Horrible, Lil’ Tiger, Stripe the Pup, The Phantom, Skeleton

Vintage and retro Halloween costumes - Collegeville in the 60s and 70s (2)


Vintage Halloween masks & costumes: Sylvester, Daffy Duck, Mr Do Bee (from Romper Room), Underdog & Bullwinkle

Vintage and retro Halloween costumes - Collegeville in the 60s and 70s (3)


Ill-fitting cheap costumes! Bugs Bunny, Hot Wheels, Road Runner, Casper the Friendly Ghost

Vintage and retro Halloween costumes - Collegeville in the 60s and 70s (4)

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Actual Flying Nun and Bugs Bunny vintage Halloween masks

Cheap vintage Halloween masks (1)


Complete costumes for the wee folk (1966)

Clown – Kitten – Blue Fairy (sparkle velvet decorations) – Red Riding Hood – Pirate – Rabbit – Skeleton – Witch

vintage-halloween-costumes-1966-collegeville-4

vintage-halloween-costumes-1966-collegeville-5


Amazing rubber masks – Comic wigs – Funny hair

Creepy vintage rubber Halloween masks

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Vintage kids’ Halloween costumes for trick-or-treating

Vintage pirate costume from 1962

1962 Halloween candy

LIFE Oct 19, 1962 dixie cups

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Famous Collegeville Safety Halloween Costumes (1967)

halloween-costumes-1967


Vintage Halloween Masks & Costumes (1968)

Collegeville safety Halloween Costumes – $1.58

The Witch – Mr Spock – Dr Doolittle – Bugs Bunny – Casper

halloween-costumes-1968

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Retro sixties Halloween parties and fun for kids in 1967 (2)

Retro sixties Halloween parties and fun for kids in 1967 (1)

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Comments on this story

One Response

  1. The plastic masks and (flame retardant!) rayon costumes were pretty much the standard among us kids in the 1970s. You could buy them for a couple of bucks at the five and dime, and they were adequate for a school Halloween party or a couple of hours of trick-or-treating. I remember that for a couple of years in a row I was a generic (pre-“Star Wars”) robot. When I was growing up, Halloween wasn’t that big of a deal aside from that. Trick-or-treating was strictly confined to little kids; no self-respecting teenager would even consider dressing up. And it certainly wasn’t a thing among adults. Some grownups had parties (because any excuse for a party, right?), but no costumes.

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