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A very young Sarah Palin catches a glimpse of her husband-to-be in the mirror on Halloween.  Is it just me, or is there more than a passing resemblance?  Whatever the case, not sure that she would want the guy standing behind her to be her “First Dude”.  When the gods wish to punish us, as they say, they give us what we want.  The insert of the witch in the bottom right of the card looks a little too much like a campaign button if the truth be told!

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Let’s carry on with a really cute example!  Little Johnny gets spooked out by a black cat, leering at him from the window.  Ah, the innocent days, when it wasn’t one’s pedophile neighbor but next door’s moggy that was the source of terror!  Most parents today would be mighty concerned about the proximity of that naked flame to Little Johnny.  This leads to a question.  Is it, perhaps, that his evil pyromaniac plans have been discovered, rather than an ailurophobic attack?  There is a touch of the young Doctor Evil about the kid, after all!  Yeah, baby, yeah!

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Before the advent of e-cards there was always scope for a little shock or two in the mail!  This vintage card of a little girl with a pumpkin head is a light hearted good will message to a friend or a family member.  What is slightly spooky about it, however, is the maniacal grin on the face of the little girl – not to mention the three black cats on her dress.  What sort of Halloween, exactly, would you be wishing on your acquaintances by sending them this?   Perhaps Harry Potter is evil after all…. Oh dear!  Again, though, is it just me or is there a little of a proto-Lisa Simpson here? Okay, it’s just me!

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Black cats are often associated with witches and witchcraft, as we have already seen.  This one comes with a neat green ribbon around its neck, plus a witch’s hat and broom to boot.  The cat does look as if it has just been hanged, perhaps – it has a slightly quirky surprise on its face that could be a merry greeting or, possibly, just possibly a “WTF” expression as it resigns itself to its fate.  Even then back cats tired of the yearly stereotyping.

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Give this costume to a kid today and it is likely your shins would be sore for a month.  “Where’s my Scream mask, mommy?” they would yell as they headed for the nearest child welfare officer.  The message on the card harkens back to gentler times as well.  The use of the word “jolly” certainly dates it.  A lot of the e-cards that are sent this time of year are just a little more graphic than this!

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A dirty mind would immediately have a field day with the sentiments expressed on this card, and that is perhaps was a cynical century will do to a person.  A teenage boy gets extremely lucky on Halloween.  A quick visit to the family planning clinic for the morning after pill – times two – may well have been in order after this particular Halloween jaunt!

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Things did get a little spookier back then and this embossed silhouette of a pair of witches on toadstools does it very well.  The traditionally point noses (and fingers!) of the witches are particularly well done.  It makes you wonder what exactly they were discussing here – perhaps the recipe for a new spell or how many children it would take to restore their youth?  Who can say?  Certainly though, these old crones need to hone their listen skills – they are both talking away ten to the dozen and not listening to what the other one has to say at all!

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This is so sweet – perhaps intended to be sent by a young man to his fiancée.  The message is in the rhyme – that he has no fear of witches when there is someone like his elfin love around to protect him.  Aw!  Notice the cat having a crafty cigarette when he thinks that no-one is watching him!  Unfortunatly, the witches have noticed that he has stolen one of their Malboro not-so-lites and his two friends are trying to warn him before he gets bashed on the head!

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Stayin with cats for a second, just how many cats can a witch have?  If this were today these harmless old ladies would be reported to PETA or the SPCA and banged up in prison for a few years for dangling their cats from great heights.  The message is a little strange as well – “may your future predicted by witches be bright”.  A quick dip into folklore – or Shakespeare even – will show you pretty quickly that when witches predict the future, rarely is it shiningly optimistic!

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This is a little more contemporary in its use of imagery – almost like something from a Tim Burton film.  Or is it better to say, perhaps, that Tim Burton is retro? A group of children have their Halloween supper spoiled by a pumpkin with attitude (who has recently taken a whole lot of funny pills, by the looks!).  The resulting chaos – even carnage perhaps – is not pictured.  However, the picture does its job – Halloween can and should be scary!

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About time some little devils made an appearance!  These guys seem to be wearing their gym kits still, but still prove able to send a (slight!) shudder down the spine!  This card may not have been suitable for sweethearts to send each other, perhaps!  That depends on the sweet hearts, one supposes: these imps look like they have been spending a little too much time down the YMCA, if you get my drift.

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Family units can come in all shapes and sizes and these differences should be respected by the rest of us, yes?  Possibly not if your next door neighbors look like these guys.  Guaranteed to send house prices plummeting quicker than you can say sub-prime, this particular family would be good to threaten your kids with if they were naughty – they would probably end up in the pot!

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The girl with the apple has a dreamy look in her eye that suggests her mind might be elsewhere as she takes a great big bite!  The biggest question this postcard poses is where, exactly, is that apple being hung from?  Plus, why do the older generation go on about the blurring lines between the genders when they regularly dressed their boys as girls until they hit puberty? 

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The corn cob pipe might not get past the censors these days, but this is a wonderfully imaginative idea, with the silhouette of the witch rising from the mouth of the pipe.  The scarecrow does look a little worried about what is happening – as if he is just about to meet his fate and he is giving you that final, ironic, “That’s Life” look!

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It says FUN, girls!!  Come on!  Way before Cyndi Lauper hit the scene, girls were having fun.  Well, maybe not these two, who look as if they have just had a fine spanking and told to hold still for the camera.  The look on their faces is one of sheer misery; no wonder the moon looks surprised!  Marketing, one can only assume, was in its infancy back then! 

I would like to express my thanks to riptheskull for making these images available for use.