The History of Halloween Costumes Worksheet Download

Look at all the fun costumes on Halloween night! You might see a cat or a witch or a robot. Long ago kids liked to dress up too.

Kids made those old costumes right at home. Moms and dads used old sheets and paper and paint. Then stores started to sell costumes and masks about the time your great-grandparents were little.

Soon kids wanted to look like people from movies and TV. You can be almost anything you want today! Did you know a cat costume is one that many kids like? A pet cat can dress up too!

Did you ever dress up on Halloween? Maybe you were a cat, a hero, or a ghost! Long ago, people put on costumes so no one would know who they were.

Hiding who you are is called a disguise. In Scotland and Ireland, kids went house to house in costumes, and this was called guising. At first, families made costumes at home from old clothes and paint.

Store-bought costumes did not come until later. In the 1930s, you could buy costumes and masks in a store for the first time. Today many kids dress like movie and TV stars, and that is a costume idea that is about as old as your grandparents!

Did you know people have dressed up for Halloween for hundreds of years? Long before store costumes, kids in Scotland and Ireland went "guising," which means going out in disguise. They wore old clothes and painted faces so nobody could tell who they were!

Those sneaky disguises came all the way across the ocean to America. At early Halloween parties, families made costumes at home from things they already had, like bedsheets, old hats, and mom's scarves. A child might become a ghost with one white sheet and two eye holes cut out.

Homemade costumes were fun, but in the 1930s something new appeared in stores. Companies began making costumes and masks you could buy in a box, so you no longer had to sew your own. Soon kids could dress up as clowns, cowboys, and later their favorite movie and TV characters, like superheroes and princesses.

Today you can be almost anything you can dream up for Halloween! Some people spend months building costumes, and others still make theirs from a simple sheet, just like long ago. Isn't it neat that a costume you wear this year began with kids in disguise hundreds of years ago?

Imagine you are wearing a mask and a homemade cape, knocking on a neighbor's door on a chilly October night! A Halloween costume is a special outfit you wear to look like someone or something else, like a ghost, a cat, or a superhero. Some costumes are silly, some are spooky, and some sparkle with glitter and color. People have been dressing up for autumn celebrations for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Those autumn nights go back to an old festival called Samhain, held long ago by the Celtic people of Ireland and Scotland. People told a story that spirits could wander on that night, so some folks wore disguises to blend in with the crowd. Later, in Scotland and Ireland, this turned into "guising," where children dressed up and went door to door singing songs or telling jokes for treats. Does that sound a little like trick-or-treating? It should, because that is where the idea came from!

Guising crossed the ocean when families from Ireland and Scotland moved to America. At early American Halloween parties, kids and grown-ups made their own costumes at home from old sheets, paper, and paint, because you could not buy one in a store. Then, in the 1930s, companies began making costumes and masks to sell, so families could buy a whole outfit in a box. A company named Ben Cooper became famous for these boxed costumes.

Those store-bought costumes soon showed characters that kids loved from the movies and television. Suddenly children could dress up as their favorite heroes, cartoon animals, and space adventurers. Today you can be almost anything, and a National Retail Federation survey shows that superheroes and princesses are among the most popular choices year after year. From a simple sheet with two eyeholes to a glowing superhero suit, the costume you pick is part of a story that is many centuries old!

Picture a cold autumn night in Scotland, more than a hundred years ago. A group of children shuffle up to a neighbor's door wearing old coats, painted faces, and masks made of paper. Before they get a single treat, they have to sing a song, tell a joke, or recite a little poem. This custom was called "guising," a short word for disguising, and it is one of the great-great-grandparents of the Halloween costume.

Long before guising, people wore disguises for a very different reason. At an ancient festival called Samhain, folks in Ireland and Scotland told a story that spirits could wander the earth on that night, so some people dressed in disguises hoping to blend in and not be noticed. When immigrants carried these autumn traditions across the ocean to America, the costumes came along in their suitcases and their memories.

Once Halloween took root in America, families made their costumes right at home. In the early 1900s, there were no costume stores, so children raided closets and rag bags for old sheets, hats, and mother's dresses. A bedsheet with two eye holes became a ghost, and a burnt cork rubbed on the cheeks turned a kid into a hobo or a clown. Every costume was one of a kind because no two families owned exactly the same junk!

Homemade fun ruled until companies spotted a chance to sell something new. In the 1930s, businesses such as the Ben Cooper company began making costumes and masks you could buy in a box. These early store-bought outfits often had a shiny printed smock and a stiff plastic mask held on by a thin rubber band. Suddenly a child could become a witch or a cat without a single stitch of sewing.

Those boxed costumes really took off when they started to look like characters kids already loved. After movies and TV arrived, children wanted to dress as superheroes, cartoon stars, and space adventurers they saw on the screen. Today you can be almost anything, from a dinosaur to a taco, and according to a National Retail Federation survey, superheroes and princesses are among the most popular children's costumes year after year. Not bad for a tradition that began with kids in old coats singing for a treat at the door!

Have you ever wondered why we dress up on Halloween in the first place? The tradition is far older than any candy bar or costume shop, stretching back more than two thousand years to an ancient festival called Samhain. People in what is now Ireland, Scotland, and Britain celebrated it at the end of autumn, when they believed the line between the living world and the spirit world grew thin. To move safely through that spooky night, some folks wore disguises made of animal skins and dark clothing, hoping that any wandering spirits would mistake them for one of their own.

Those clever disguises eventually turned into a lively neighborhood game called guising. In Scotland and Ireland, children would dress up and go door to door, but here's the catch: they had to earn their treats first. A young guiser might sing a song, tell a joke, or recite a poem before anyone handed over nuts, fruit, or coins. If that sounds familiar, it should, because guising is the great-great-grandparent of the trick-or-treating you do today.

When people carried this custom across the ocean, American Halloween costumes got their start at homemade parties. In the early 1900s, families didn't run to a store for an outfit; instead, they stitched, glued, and painted their own from whatever was lying around the house. A bedsheet became a ghost, a burlap sack became a scarecrow, and a little paint turned an ordinary face into something wonderfully strange. These costumes were rough and one of a kind, and no two children on the block ever looked quite the same.

That do-it-yourself spirit began to fade in the 1930s, when the first mass-made costumes and masks appeared in stores. Companies started selling ready-to-wear outfits so that a family could simply buy a witch or a clown instead of building one. Soon after, the movies and television changed the game completely, and kids wanted to become the characters they saw on the screen. Suddenly a neighborhood could fill up with superheroes, princesses, and cartoon favorites, all bought straight off the shelf.

Those screen-inspired costumes are still shaping what you'll see on Halloween night today. According to a National Retail Federation survey, some of the most popular costumes in recent years have included witches, superheroes, and characters from favorite movies. Millions of Americans now dress up each year, and plenty of adults and even pets join the fun in their own outfits. It's a strange and wonderful thought that a costume you buy today began with people long ago pulling on animal skins to fool the spirits of the night!

Think a Halloween costume is just a plastic mask you grab off a store shelf? For most of history, dressing up on this night was far stranger and far more homemade than that. The tradition stretches back more than two thousand years to an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, held around November 1st in what is now Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. People believed that on that night the boundary between the living and the dead grew thin, so some wore disguises made of animal skins and rough masks to blend in with any wandering spirits. In other words, the very first Halloween costumes were less about candy and more about hiding in plain sight.

Hiding in plain sight eventually turned into knocking on doors for a treat. In Scotland and Ireland, a custom called "guising" grew up, where children put on disguises and went house to house performing a song, a poem, or a joke in exchange for food or coins. The word "guising" comes from "disguise," and it is the great-grandparent of modern trick-or-treating. A guiser might blacken a face with soot or wear an old sheet, because store-bought outfits simply did not exist yet. When families from these countries sailed to North America in the 1800s, they packed these traditions in their memories and carried them across the ocean.

Those memories bloomed into lively parties once they reached American soil. In the early 1900s, Halloween in the United States was often a homemade affair, with families sewing costumes from whatever was in the closet, the barn, or the ragbag. A child might become a ghost in a bedsheet, a hobo in a father's baggy coat, or a witch in a cardboard hat, all stitched together at the kitchen table. There was no costume aisle to shop, so imagination and a needle did the heavy lifting. Can you picture your own family cutting eyeholes in a sheet the night before Halloween?

That kitchen-table creativity got a factory makeover in the 1930s. Companies such as Ben Cooper and Collegeville began mass-producing Halloween costumes and masks, selling them in boxes with a clear window on the front so you could see the shiny mask inside. Instead of dressing as a generic ghost, kids could suddenly become characters they loved from movies, comics, and later television, from Mickey Mouse to superheroes to cartoon stars. These costumes were often a thin printed smock and a stiff plastic mask held on by a skinny rubber band that always seemed to snap. Still, buying a boxed costume of your favorite hero felt like a small piece of magic you could wear.

That thrill of becoming your hero has only grown louder today. Halloween is now one of the biggest costume events on the planet, and according to National Retail Federation surveys, Americans spend billions of dollars on costumes each year, including outfits for pets. Costumes still swing between two old poles: the spooky classics like witches and skeletons, and the popular characters from whatever movie or show everyone is watching. What began as animal skins worn to fool spirits at Samhain has become a yearly chance to try on a completely different self for one night. Isn't it strange to think that when you pull on a costume, you are doing something humans have done for over two thousand years?

Picture a night more than two thousand years ago in the hills of Ireland, when people believed the line between the living world and the world of spirits grew thin. This was Samhain, a festival marking the end of harvest and the start of winter's dark half. To move safely on such a night, people told a story that dressing in disguises would help a person blend in with any spirits wandering about. So they wrapped themselves in animal skins and smeared their faces with ash, becoming someone, or something, else for a night. That simple idea—hide who you are behind a mask—is the seed from which every Halloween costume grew.

Those early disguises did not stay locked in the past; they walked into people's doorways as a custom called guising. In Scotland and Ireland, children would dress up and go house to house, but they were expected to earn their treat by singing a song, telling a joke, or reciting a poem first. Can you imagine having to perform for your candy? That was the deal, and a good rhyme could fill your pockets. Costumes back then were homemade from whatever a family had, so a burnt cork or an old sheet did the job of a store-bought mask.

Guising crossed an ocean when Irish and Scottish families brought it to the United States in the 1800s and 1900s. At early American Halloween parties, costumes were still stitched together at home from scraps of fabric, paper, and paint. A clever kid might become a ghost with a bedsheet or a scarecrow with borrowed straw, and no two outfits looked quite the same. This handmade world meant that dressing up took real effort, imagination, and often a parent handy with a needle. The result was a holiday that looked wonderfully patched-together, because it literally was.

That patchwork era began to fade when companies spotted a chance to sell what families used to make. In the 1930s, American businesses such as the Ben Cooper company started mass-producing costumes and printed masks that a shopper could simply carry home in a box. Suddenly a child could be a clown or a devil for a few coins instead of hours of sewing, and the choice was made in a store aisle. This shift did something quietly huge: it turned a personal craft into a product, and it let costumes spread faster than ever.

Once costumes came in a box, it was only a matter of time before they came with a familiar face on the front. As movies and television grew popular through the twentieth century, children wanted to dress as the characters they saw on screen, from cartoon heroes to spooky monsters. Companies raced to make costumes tied to the newest hit film, so a blockbuster could crowd the shelves with matching masks by October. Here two ideas collided: entertainment and Halloween now fed each other, each making the other bigger.

Today that collision fills entire stores, and the costume aisle has become a strange museum of every trend at once. According to a National Retail Federation survey, Americans plan to spend billions of dollars on Halloween costumes in a single year, and adults and even pets now join the fun. You can buy a superhero, sew your own, or stitch together something no one has ever seen—all three worlds still exist side by side. And here is the thread that ties it all together: whether it is animal skins by firelight or a plastic mask in a box, the whole point has never changed—for one night, you get to be someone else.

Picture a teenager in a small Scottish village a few hundred years ago, standing at a neighbor's door in a smudge of soot and an old coat turned inside out, ready to sing a song in exchange for a nut or a coin. That teenager was "guising," and their homemade disguise is one of the oldest ancestors of the costume you might pull on this October. A Halloween costume today can be a superhero suit sealed in plastic or a bedsheet with two eyeholes, but for most of history it was something you cobbled together yourself. How did we get from soot on the face to a shelf full of ready-made outfits? The answer is a story about belief, imagination, and eventually big business.

That soot-smudged guiser wasn't just playing dress-up, and understanding why means going back to the festival that shaped the season. Historians connect early Halloween disguises to Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the start of winter in Ireland, Scotland, and beyond. People told a story that the boundary between the living and the dead grew thin at this time, so some believe villagers disguised themselves to move about unnoticed. It's worth being careful here, though: historians debate how much of the "disguise to fool spirits" explanation is proven and how much is later guesswork. What we can document more confidently is guising itself, where young people went door to door in costume performing a song, joke, or trick to earn a treat.

Those door-to-door performers carried their traditions across the ocean, and that journey reshaped the whole custom. When Irish and Scottish immigrants arrived in the United States in large numbers during the 1800s, they brought guising and other autumn customs with them. By the early 1900s, Halloween in America had grown into a season of neighborhood parties, and children's costumes were almost always handmade. A family might stitch a clown suit from scraps, sew a ghost from a worn sheet, or fashion a witch's hat out of stiff black paper. Notice the pattern: for centuries, a costume was a product of the household, limited only by what was in the closet and how clever the maker was.

That household cleverness met its match in the 1930s, when the costume stopped being something you only made and became something you could buy. Companies such as Ben Cooper and Collegeville began mass-producing Halloween costumes and masks, often sold as a boxed set with a printed smock and a thin plastic mask. Suddenly a costume was an object on a store shelf, priced so an ordinary family could afford one instead of building it from scratch. This was a real shift: the same holiday that once rewarded homemade ingenuity now rewarded whoever could get to the store. The trade-off is easy to see, since a bought costume saved time but made everyone's witch look a lot like everyone else's witch.

Buying that boxed costume also meant buying into whatever was popular that year, and popularity increasingly came from a screen. As movies and television spread through American homes, costume makers licensed the characters kids already loved, from cartoon figures to space heroes. A blockbuster film could send thousands of children trick-or-treating as the same character, turning a costume into a kind of billboard for the year's biggest hit. Here you can see the difference between the old way and the new: the guiser invented a disguise, while the modern trick-or-treater often chose from characters someone else had invented. Both are creative, but the source of the idea moved from the imagination of the wearer to the studios and stores selling the trend.

Follow that thread to today, and you'll find the two traditions living side by side rather than one erasing the other. According to annual surveys by the National Retail Federation, Americans now spend billions of dollars on Halloween each year, with costumes for children, adults, and even pets among the top categories. Yet the homemade spirit never disappeared, and every fall people still build costumes from cardboard, duct tape, and things dug out of the garage. In that sense, the kid gluing together a robot from old boxes and the guiser blackening a face with soot are doing the very same thing across hundreds of years. The next time you slip on a mask, remember that you're wearing the newest version of a disguise that once earned a Scottish teenager a handful of nuts at a stranger's door.