The History of Jack-O-Lanterns

By | October 10th, 2023|Categories: Halloween, Holidays|Tags: |

The time is here again! There is a nip in the air and black and orange abound. Creativity is flowing - Halloween is here. Before long, a large number of people reading this will be carving pumpkins. I hope to do the same. But as many of you, I don’t know much about the history [...]

Halloween Greetings!

By | October 27th, 2022|Categories: Halloween, Holidays|Tags: |

Happy Halloween dear customers and readers! We know that many of you are up to a lot of fun over the next few days and we hope it will be spookily delightful. To thank you for being a part of our community this weekend and to get you in the spirit of things I have [...]

A short history of witches’ hats

By | October 11th, 2022|Categories: Halloween, Women's History|Tags: , |

A witch has been one of the most popular Halloween costumes for women since the beginning of the 20th century. In fact, it might be one of the most enduring trends, still ranking as the top pick in 2021. It is long-lasting in most senses, with little variation to the recipe: sleek, black dress and [...]

Fun and Happy Vintage Halloween Images

By | October 17th, 2021|Categories: Entertainment, Halloween, Holidays|Tags: , |

Every Halloween I see blog posts and social media posts go around with images of “creepy vintage Halloween costumes.” I do enjoy reading some of them, especially those that source images involving spiritualism or with images that are new to me. But each year I also start to think to myself about what a fun [...]

The unexpected romantic history of bobbing for apples

By | October 10th, 2021|Categories: Edwardian Era, Halloween, Holidays, Victorian Era, Victorian Era Celebrations|

There is more to the fall tradition of bobbing for apples than meets the eye! Did you know that it was used by adult party-goers in the Victorian era to flirt and find love? Or that one version of the game was a fire hazard? It didn’t start out as a children’s game, far from [...]

The women behind The Wizard of Oz witches

By | September 23rd, 2021|Categories: Entertainment, Halloween, Holidays, Women's History|Tags: , , , |

Few movie main characters are as different as The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch The Wizard of Oz. And few are as beloved, with both of them being entrenched in the American consciousness 85-some odd years since the film was released.  The characters would not have become so iconic without [...]

Ideas for great Victorian Halloween costumes

By | September 19th, 2021|Categories: Halloween, Holidays, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions, Women's History|Tags: , , , |

A memorable Halloween starts with a memorable costume. Why not make it one to remember by dressing as a woman from history who deserves to be remembered? Victorian Halloween costumes are always a part favorite because they are striking and great conversation starters. But who to choose? A lot of women from the Victorian era [...]

Recollections Team and Friends Start Witches Weekend Tradition

By | October 26th, 2020|Categories: Halloween, Recollections|

Although it is a very unusual pandemic Halloween, members of the Recollections team and some friends were able to start a new tradition this year. A very witchy group attended the Witches Weekend in historic Houghton Lake, Michigan. They had a blast and were able to showcase their costume skills so we thought it would [...]

Salem Witch Trials Round-up

By | October 16th, 2020|Categories: Halloween, Women's History|Tags: |

Talk of Halloween, witches, and all that is spooky naturally lends itself to talk about the Salem Witch Trials. Hundreds of years later the story of the misguided community and the individuals who died at their hands remains a topic of massive interest. The various reasons for this is probably already the topic of a [...]