Gather round, boys and ghouls, while I share a scary story. There was a dark time in days of yore when nobody gave out Halloween candy. Shocking, but true. Before the 1950s, Americans typically celebrated Halloween by hosting parties with homemade treats. People munched on doughnuts and cider, popcorn balls and sugar cookies. Now I’ll admit that doesn’t sound half-bad… that is, until you stop and think about how those poor souls never enjoyed the pleasures of Zotz, Sugar Daddys, SweeTarts, Smarties, Red Hots, Milk Duds, Kit Kats, Jawbreakers, Chiclets, B-B-Bats, Dubble Bubble, and all those Fun Size chocolate bars.
The best moment was getting back home and inspecting your haul. How did you make out that year? You might face sorrow if you found an overload of hard candy or a glut of those chalky white candy sticks. Or you might light up with ecstasy upon discovering that many adults threw budgets to the wind and tossed in full-size candy bars. It was all a great adventure.
This year in honor of the holiday, the Candy Wrapper Museum has revived the “Ghosts of Halloween Candy Past” by bringing the wrappers back together as one big ceremonial haul glowing under some tasty vintage decorations. Spot your favorites in the photos throughout this article. How many of these did you enjoy as a kid?
I’ve made these photos as large as I can here, but if you’d like to see these photos even larger, visit the Candy Wrapper Museum’s Halloween Gallery by clicking on the logo.
Happy Hauntings!
