People spend a lot of money these days to put together scary Halloween costumes. From deluxe masks to professional-grade makeup to screen-ready clothing, it’s easy to drop a bundle if you really want to impress the people at your office costume contest or neighborhood block party.
Back in the day, though, costumes were usually homemade, often assembled with little know-how and not much in the way of supplies. And the effect, in many instances, was far scarier than anything you can buy off the rack today.
Of all the photos and photo galleries of old costumes floating around the Web, Mental Floss has put together one of the most disturbing: 18 Terrifying Old Costumes You Can’t Unsee. Take a look and marvel at the way papier-mâché resembles mummified skin, or how the empty eyes of a crudely-constructed Mickey Mouse knockoff will stare deep into your soul, or how the head of a real pig is just as terrifying in real life as it is in that Motel Hell movie. The old, fading black-and-white photography only adds to the uneasiness these photos produce. Go ahead and take a peek—but understand that Mental Floss is right: what you’re about to see can’t be unseen.
