Hello, Boos and Ghouls! Given life’s schedule, I meant to share this one in my Halloween edition of Throw Back Thursday! That didn’t happen. Anywho, in my TBT post I shared some childhood memories of vintage masks, treat bags, candy and more and today I thought why not look at some vintage slightly creepy and weird spooky photos but first….let’s set the mood.
Hit the play button before proceeding any further.
How can a group of kids look so creepy dressed like bats is behind me and yet I get creepied out looking at this photo. According to the this picture dates to the 1920s.
Some one remarked that these costumes were not only creepy but racists. I never understood the whole painting one’s face black, even in old movies or the theatre to portray a colored person ahem… African-American a white person applied what looked like black shoe polish to his/her face. Why didn’t they just hire black actors/actresses? Was it because of racial divide? Very bizarre!
Okay, menacing pumpkin heads on little kids sorta sends shivers up my spine.
This vantrilquist family is strangely spooky.
I love the photo play of these two old images. Someone had imagination, didn’t they?
Handkerchiefs covered face isn’t something I would think of as scary but I find this a bit disturbing.
Maybe it’s the way my brain perceives these B&W images which plays Halloween tricks on the mind but they really do have an eerie sense about them, don’t you agree? Come on be honest and tell me that these creeped you out…just a little?
That’s all for now. Have a good weekend. Check back tomorrow to see who won in “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” #BoTB showdown!
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LOVE these photos!
Thanks for stopping by for a visit, Tonja!
Oh, my word, Cathy…you have some scary stuff here! Where and how did you come up with these?! *yikes* Busy weekend…email coming. Hugs.
Good job rounding up all these creepy photos.
What a super fun series of “creepy” Halloween photos.
These costumes would certainly trigger a few people these days, wouldn’t they? These are downright creepy, although I think they’re made more so because they’re grainy and done in black-and-white.
The tradition of black minstrel shows goes beyond vaudeville and started I believe in the 1830s. While sometimes blackface was done to demean blacks, it was also done as a sort of tribute. There were even some black artists who performed in these shows and even added more blackface make-up to heighten the effect of their blackness. There is a good book that I’ve read about this history called Black Like You by John Strausbaugh–worth a read if you are interested in this aspect of entertainment history.
People today will often look back on those old movies depicting the minstrel show tradition and think they are racist. Those shows made great contributions to modern popular music as well as comedy. Too bad that younger generations judge by what they see according to how they’ve been indoctrinated to think rather than attempting to understand history and the mindsets of those who lived in the past.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Yes, very creepy. If I have nightmares tonight I’m blaming you.
These are creepy photos but at least these are not pictures of actual dead children which the Victorian people would often do or make actual dolls of their dead children. Blackface came from Vaudville and it was a way to showcase “black people” since African Americans usually couldn’t partake in the big places. It was derogatory and disgusting but…..there are people who appeared in blackface as respect to the artist they wanted to represent. Fred Astaire danced in blackface in honour of Bill Bojangles Robinson. It’s such a shame when one sees this though.
Hi, Cathy!
You’re right. These old black and white photographs take Halloween fright to the next level. I never saw any of them before and they are quite disturbing. They are the stuff that seasons of American Horror Story and David Lynch films/TV shows are made of. I was relieved when I got to the end of the post and my gaze fell upon that friendly pinup witch!
I hope you and your family are having a nice weekend, dear friend. Thanks for the spooky thrills!
Tom,
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about these vintage images is something straight outta “American Horror Story” – very creepy stuff. Ha, I knew you’d like the sexy witch pinup! Thanks for visiting, my friend.
These are very creepy.
As for the blackface, i do not know why most actors did it, but i do know that Eddie Cantor did it because he deeply respected the talent of African-American actors and meant his imitation to be flattery. We can be sure of this for several reasons, not the least of which is that his daughter and granddaughter were friends of Grandpa and they knew his views.
Also, he lost almost all of his money in the crash of the Great Depression and had to start touring again to support his family. He had African-American actors and actresses in his troop, and turned down any venue that would not allow them on the stage with white actors/actresses. In a time when he really needed all the work he could get, he demanded equal treatment for all of his group even if it cost him shows.
Mimi,
I don’t know anything about Eddie Cantor but it almost seems to me now that I sorta thought that the old actors weren’t doing the “blackened face” as a show of disrespect. I’ve read about other actors who refused to work a gig if a black fellow artist was not allowed. That says a lot for their character. I think all mankind is equal and what’s in the past can’t be undone. Today’s blacks should respect the generations who fought to get them where they are by living the American dream to its fullest instead of making spectaculars out of themselves. They certainly are a privileged generation who doesn’t know the first thing about “real” struggles. I think the biggest thing is everyone today is too offended to see things for what they are, you know?