If 2020 hasn't been spooky enough, we're here to present the 10 creepiest, strangest, most mystical original vintage posters in the Gallery! We've got stories of the undead, scary clowns, and spooky devils galore. So join us, won't you?
1. Don't Knock the Classic Ghost Story
The poster says it all (in French): "Halloween would be deadly boring without Coca-Cola". Click here to learn more about this ghoulish vintage poster.
2. What Better Way to Celebrate the Undead than with ancient Egyptian Gods of the Dead?
3. Before Penn & Teller, there were The Fak Hongs
During the turn of the century, a popular performance was a type of magic show known as the "Oriental Magician". It was so popular that many "Asian" performers were actually Western men in stereotypical costumes. The Fak-Hongs was a mid-level magic troupe that dressed as Asian mystics. They were well known and toured Europe, America, and South America throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Click here to learn more about this poster.
4. Celebrate Halloween with the Master of Suspense
Alfred Hitchcock may be #4 on our list, but he's #1 in our books for crafting mysterious and suspenseful movies perfect for Halloween. Click here to learn more about this poster
5. Creepy Clown or Handsome Crooner?
Donett was a popular performer in the 1930s, and depending on where you land on the scale of fear-of-clowns this is a great or creepy image of him. Click here to learn more about this Donett art deco poster.
6. Predict Your Future with this Rare Horoscope Poster
Far from creepy, this elegant depiction of the Zodiac is one of the most desirable posters created by artist Lucien Boucher for Air France. Click here to learn more about this poster.
7. Before Scary Movies, There Were Pantomimes
The oldest poster on our list, Ombres Parisiennes is from 1905. Ombres Parisiennes means "Parisian Shadow." It was a type of theater performance that travelers to Asia brought back to France in the mid-eighteenth century. Finding popularity beginning in the 1880s, a shows used up to twenty assistants and a large backlit performance area to create dramatic shadows and effects. This was clearly a spooky story - check out the detail of the cat:
Click here to learn more about this spooky vintage poster.
8. Intergalactic Space Invaders!
"Barbarella" was a futuristic comedy movie released in 1968 about a woman (played by Jane Fonda) who must find and stop an evil villain and meets many characters along the way. Click here to learn more about this poster.
9. Are You Afraid of Clowns? Or Tiny Fairies?
The clown in this vintage poster is the classic pantomime character Pierrot, who pines for the affection of Columbine, the female figure also depicted here. The comedic love story has roots in 16th-century Italian theatre performance, but also became popular in England when it developed into an updated version in the 1800s and became a classic. The bottom of the poster is left blank so that show times and other information can be printed or written onto the poster. Click here to learn more.
10. Four Eyes is Nothing! How about 16 Googly Ones?
Surrealism has to be the most "Halloween" of all art styles, and this poster created for Benedictine liqueur is a great example! Makoto Saito (1952- Present) is a Japanese graphic designer and poster artist. Click here to learn more about it.
