October 23, 2014

Halloween 2014 edition of Flickr Favourites




{Goblin on the moon ~ Wyld_Hare}



{1954 Halloween Fluffy Frosting Ad ~ Neato Coolville}



{Vintage Halloween Ephemera ~ Suzee Que}




{Dracula ~ X-ray Delta One}



{Wrigley's Spearmint Gum Halloween Ad ~ Neato Coolville}




{Candle ~ Flood G.}




{Redbook cover Oct 1933, Bobbing for Apples ~ Genibee}




{Vintage Halloween Witch ~ Suzee Que}




{Happy Halloween ~ Carlin}




{Witches, Goblins and Ghosts ~ Neato Coolville}



{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.} 





Boo!!! Did I scare you? I hope not, because I've always been more of a fan of the cute and charming side of Halloween than the nightmare inducing horror filled one. That isn't to say I don't enjoy a bit of a startle under the right circumstances (say like a haunted house), but overall, I'm more apt to carve a smiling face on my jack-o-lantern than a grimacing, frightening one.

If, like me, you're a massive fan of all things Halloween, you're probably on the edge of your (rickety antique) seat for next Friday! At less than a week away now, there's so much to see and do and enjoy before the big day gets here. Much like as with Christmas, Halloween has never, and will never just be a one day event for me. Yes, technically, the big day is the 31st, but prior to that I genuinely love the anticipation, the planning, the sweet treats (candy apples! caramel corn! pumpkin pie!), and the excited thrill of anticipation that fills the ever chillier autumn air.

I wait for these last few beautiful, exciting days of fall each year in a way that I can honestly say, as much as I love certain other holidays and special events, any other. They make me feel like a child again, bursting with wide-eyed wonder, a shiver running up my spine with each creak in the floor boards, every ghost story told, and the each little sound that went bump in the night.

There is a magical merriment to this time of the year, regardless of if you observe Halloween on not. Fall is at its zenith, decked out in a regal gown as rich as any brocade ever woven, of jewel toned leaves and fields so golden they rival the sun. The nights are getting shorter, but the days haven't been reduced to mere hours quite yet. The world smells of damp earth and apple cider, straw and root vegetables. We can still feel warmth in the light, but there's that distinct nip of winter's impending arrival in the air as well and the two swirl about like miniature candy bar wrappers waltzing merrily in the air.

If I had the incredible power to control the seasons, this period would be at least a couple of months, instead of a few brief weeks, if we're lucky, long. And yet, just as quickly as I write that, I can't help but wonder, isn't part of the inherent appeal, charm, and deeply embed beauty of mid-autumn the fact that it is, like sighting a ghostly apparition, such a fleeting moment?

It might just be, you know, and that's the all the more reason to savour it, like you would your favourite Halloween treat, while it's here. Soon, all too soon, we'll be up to our eyeballs and earlobes in sweaters, down parkas, and Christmas decorations once again. Let's take a moment today, and every day for the next little while, to stop and smell the pumpkins, so to speak, while they're still here and give thanks for the all of the fun, fancifulness, and truly wonderful elements that make the Halloween season one that is so appealingly unlike any other.

19 comments:

  1. I love these, especially the first picture. I probably will be having an early night because we have somewhere to be that weekend and it involves getting up early, but hope you have a wonderful halloween!

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  2. While I love autumn and Halloween, neither seems to be that big in the UK! At the moment, we've pretty much entered into winter temperatures, even while the trees are still leafy... I have all these outfits I want to wear and it's going to be like summer where I don't get to before it's too cold! I think October is the month when I feel like the UK sucks a bit! CC x

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  3. yay Halloween post! I'm madly in love with that frosting advertisement..so fun! And now I want to go bobbing for apples :) Fall is my favorite time of the year, the colours right now in Toronto are so vibrant (I can only imagine that they are 10 times more amazing in your neck of the woods). I overdose on pumpkin (my poor husband is sick of hearing the word pumpkin in every second thing I order right now lol) and I don't mind if xmas takes a bit longer to get here.

    Have a wonderful Halloween Jessica!

    Liz :)

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  4. I agree with you -- Halloween should be celebrated more than one day. I do my part!

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  5. every late october i have to recognize ...'i'm not a halloween person!'. i like to see all these posts - but i don't feel like dressing up for a special halloween party or so ...
    the redbook cover is great!

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  6. From cute and funny, to ghastly - you've covered them all, Jess.
    From one fellow autumn-fan to another: I know how you feel about the season. There are days, like today, that I am almost overwhelmed by it's might. It rained, but that dd not stop me from taking a walk - day was simply... (I hope I'm using the right word here, to explin the sentiment): inviting.

    New skirts.
    New cardigans.
    New tastes in tea (yes - that, too inspires me!)

    Pardon me, while I go and... *sights* ...ah, Autumn is here!

    Marija

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  7. Thank you so much for the vintage Halloween inspiration (love the lady in the red dress bobbing for apples!). We're having our Halloween party this weekend, so this is just in time. And I'm totally with you when it comes to cutesy Halloween vs. scary - I'm actually sewing up a witch table runner right now!

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  8. I love that vintage witch - so cute! It makes me want to dip back into a classic costume like that. I think you're right that one of the things that makes the season so much fun is how short it is. If you can have something any time, it's not that special. It's sort of like Girl Scout Cookies, or mint shakes from McDonald's.

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  9. love the elf and owl in the first pic!!!!!
    maybe i make a pumpkin pie!
    hugs&kisses

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  10. I have to say that I would have never thought people gave out cards for Halloween.
    This year I will not dress up as I will me in the midst of a business trip… so I will miss out on scaring the kids from my building :(

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  11. I, like you, prefer the cuter side to Halloween (just like in your pictures), I don't watch scary horror movies, but you will find me watching Casper the Friendly Ghost or ET or Hocus Pocus!

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  12. What a great compilation of autumn/Halloween images. I must admit the Redbook one has naughty thoughts swimming in the back of my brain. I've been so preoccupied lately I hadn't even noticed that the numbers on the calendar are getting bigger and bigger. The big day is sneaking up on me with great stealth. I must get cracking and figure out what I will be. Thank you for a lovely post.
    She Knits in Pearls

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet dear. You're not alone on the still-unknown-Halloween-costume front. We're a mere week away at this point and that matter is still one epic question mark in my mind. Between our recent travels, the flu, and just being so busy in general this year with the shop and my blog, I simply can't seem to hit upon a costume idea I truly love. *Sigh!* I must and will through before All Hallows Eve rolls around, but it will be cutting pretty darn close to the wire this year for sure!

      I hope you're able to find a costume you love in time as well, my lovely friend.

      Big hugs & happy Halloween countdown wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  13. Love these old posters but I'm not a Halloween person. I guess when you grow up in Europe it;s not something we do. We see it on TV and smile. Another crazy thing people celebrate in the US. It swaps over to us in Australia now, but it;s not that huge- but if you look in the supermarkets it looks like in the US-LOL
    Love the Dracula- such a classic!
    http://balearaitzart.blogspot.com.au/

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  14. I love that Dracula poster its my favorite Halloween film

    retro rover

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  15. I really enjoyed your evocative writing in this post Jessica, it was beautiful to read. I wish the reality here in the UK was as charming as your description - we've had a lot of rain which does dampen the spirits somewhat. The leaves go all soggy and cause delays on the train tracks, rather than being nature's confetti to kick your way through holding hands! Ah well. We do have Guy Fawkes Night here in the UK too on 5th November (remember, remember...) and I do love a few sparklers whilst watching the fireworks and taking a sneaky swig of hot toddy out of a flask!

    P x

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  16. This is such a beautifully written post, your love for this season shines through. That first Halloween card and the magazine cover are my favourite images. I hope you find inspiration for your costume and that you are feeling better.

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  17. Lovely photo collection, dear. I'm also more to the charming Halloween than to the horror version. In Denmark you can buy the really scary lifelike hands and feet with bones sticking out and blood. Ough, that's not for me. I'm all in for pumpkins, bats, ghost, witches and skulls. I like it cosy and elegant. But I could never live in a haunted house. In fact we chose our house because I didn't feel anything, and that's a good thing. I only feel positive vibrations in our old house. I have experienced some strange things at my parents' house and I really don't like it.

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    1. Definitely!!! I'm all for a light good-natured speak in fear come Halloween, but I would not want to live in a house that gave me the creeps all the time for one tiny second. That has (if you believe what's reported about it) Amityville Haunting written all over it!

      My Halloween decor tastes are in the same vein and I usually gravitate towards the cute or kitschy side of things, not the blood bath/zombie uprising/slasher movie zone.

      Big hugs & tons of happy Halloween wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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