Article  The Advent of Halloween Costumes In its infancy, All Hallow's Eve was a Celtic festival, celebrating the passing of spirits. It was believed that on this day, the lines between our world and spirit world were thin, allowing both harmless and harmful spirits through. While ancestral spirits were welcomed into the home, unwanted ones were warded off, with historians believing that masks or Halloween costumes were used to aid this. It could be argued that these facades were used to disguise themselves as a harmful spirit, deterring it from entering their home. Costuming on Halloween became popular in America in the 1900's, following on from the traditions of their Celtic ancestors. This, however, was no longer about scaring off evil spirits, but for enjoyment. No longer would people welcome or ward spirits, but revel in dressing up. Costume parties became very popular, and by 1930's the first mass produced Halloween costumes were put on sale to the public. Halloween became what it is today in America, with the creation of trick or treating. While it had been written about in 1927, it was not until 1947 when the popular children's magazine Jack and Jill covered the event, did it take the nation by storm. By 1952, Walt Disney's Trick or Treat firmly established trick or treating into popular culture. However, it was not until the 1980's that the activity began to spread out across the world. Novels such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula shaped the visual aesthetic of Halloween. Their gothic imagery, coupled with horrific imagery, inspired Halloween decorations across the USA. Spider's webs, Jack-o'-Lanterns and comedy gravestones became synonymous with the festival. With the introduction of cinema to the general public in the early twentieth century, audiences were introduced to retellings of these classic tales. It was this imagery that led to the huge demand in the modern day for costumes of these classic characters. It would be a little strange to go out on Halloween and not see a Frankenstein mask, or a pair of vampire fangs, for example. Over the following decades, cinema and Halloween costumes went hand in hand. The ever popular horror genre guided what people would wear. A Nightmare on Elm Street gave the public Freddy Krueger. The gruesome mask and clawed glove proves ever popular with revelers to this day. Michael Myers, from John Carpenter's Halloween is another choice. Even Frank, the time travelling dead man in a rabbit suit from Donnie Darko can be found on costume store shelves. Of course, there are still the old classics. Witches, devils, zombies and skeletons are all still common choices. Though it seems many are not content to simply don a bed sheet anymore. More recently, a rise in pop culture characters has taken prevalence in the costume market. In 2009, the most popular costumes were of the Thriller era Michael Jackson, and Twilight's Edward Cullen. Children partaking in trick or treating are often seen wearing costumes of popular characters in children's TV shows, such as Hannah Montana, or any of the High School Musical characters. In contrast, a more adult costume party could throw up the likes of Sarah Palin, or Bernie Madoff. Halloween is now a major holiday on the calendar. It is a time of Halloween costumes and happy children. It is also a time to celebrate the greatest creatures and characters from a variety of genres. Just make sure your costume is better than everyone else’s. Category Fashion Author Anonymous Add To Favorites Print This Article Email Article To A Friend Post Comments   Rate This Article (0) 1 - Poor2345 - Good678910 - Excellent Added On Thu Mar 18th,2010