Rachel Toy October is without a doubt, my favourite time of year. The weather is changing, colourful autumn leaves are on the ground, and there is a spooky atmosphere in the air. Yes, its nearly time for Halloween. I really look forward to dressing up my home in a Pagan or Gothic theme, so thought I would share some ideas with you as inspiration on decorating with vintage this spooky season!
A bit of history
The festival came from the ancient Celts, who celebrated Samhain (pronounced “sow-en,”) around the 1st of November. This marked the end of the harvest season and the transition into the colder, scare months of winter. It was also believed to be a time when the veil between the worlds of the living and dead was thin, meaning you could speak to your ancestors who would visit your home at this time.
With the growth of Christianity in Europe, Samhain was eventually merged into All Saint’s Day, a celebration of saints and martyrs, observed on 1st November. The night before became known as All-Hallows Eve, and eventually Halloween.
Traditions such as trick-or-treating came from older practices where poor people would knock on doors to ask for food in return for praying for dead ancestors. They would dress up to do it so as not to be recognised or upset any malevolent spirits.
Jack-O-Lanterns were originally made using turnips, or even beetroots or potatoes. People would carve scary faces into them and place them at the entrance to their home, in order to scare away evil spirits. Pumpkins replaced these when British emigrants to the USA in the 19th century realised they were much easier to carve!
The taste for the gothic and macabre accelerated with the Victorians. New types of literature introduced us to terrifying characters like Frankenstein and Dracula, with characters living in scary old houses. It was not long before their association with the dead became absorbed into Halloween.
These traditions can inspire you to dress up your home with vintage this spooky season. Plus, the good thing about using vintage over the modern-day plastic throw away decorations is that it is sustainable and unique. Get ready to wow your guests at Halloween parties!
Traditional Pagan
At this time of year, the ancient Celts would light fires to burn their crops and give thanks to the gods for their harvest. This fire also represented the sun’s rebirth and scare away evil spirits, and was even jumped over for good luck.
You can take inspiration from the colours and warmth of these practices and bring into your home oranges, golds, browns and reds. These could be from nature during an autumn walk, some seasonal squashes and pumpkins, apples etc, or even found objects from your favourite vintage seller!
Light is important during the festival, not only as a nod to traditions above, but also as the clocks go back at the end of October and the nights draw in. So filling your home with candles, fairly lights etc are also lovely idea. I have picked out a couple of lovely examples from Etsy sellers below:
Honoring your ancestors is a major part of Samhain, so old photos in lovely vintage frames can also be placed around the home. Offerings can also be left for their peaceful passing, and tools for divination are of good use at this time. The veil between the worlds is at its thinnest, so is an ideal time for fortune telling and scrying, and displaying objects associated with it. This fortune telling cup from ebay would be ideal for decorating with vintage for spooky season.
Additionally, as the festival of Samhain is a Pagan festival, a collection of vintage witches and witches familiars, broomsticks, cauldrons, wands, hats, pentacles, celestial items and other accessories would make a fabulously spooky display. Arrange them on a focal point such as a fireplace mantelpiece, bookshelf, cabinet or altar, and echo this with carefully placed items around the room.
You can find items like this online, or better still why not visit a witchy / esoterical shop? Raven and Broomstick in Leighton Buzzard is one of the best I have come across and they always have a range of unusual gothic antiques & curiosities associated with superstition, folklore and magic. The shop is run by Lilly, a real witch, and her husband Wookiee, plus gorgeous Mr Witcher their friendly Doberman. They also have a fascinating Witchcraft museum and a Halloween Market every year. Have a look at the gallery below to see the type of things they sell.
Victorian Gothic
The Victorians loved a bit of the dark and macabre. Many believed in the afterlife and the supernatural, and it was a popular practice to try and communicate with the dead, via evening seances. Mourning jewellery was also a thing, and it wasn’t unusual to take photos of the recently deceased, posing them as if they had just fallen asleep. You can see examples of this in the Raven & Broomstick museum.
There were also sweeping medical advances with major developments in machinery and mechanisation. A modern interpretation of this is Steampunk, where technical objects are made to look like they were made by Victorians. Medical equipment often looked barbaric compared to now, and there were many mysterious potions and ingredients in glass bottles. This green apothecary bottle from Vintage Things Forever on ebay would be perfect in a display.
So lots of inspiration here for a Victorian Gothic Halloween theme for your home. It corresponds to the darker time of year, and that the spirits of the dead are not far away now. It is the ideal template for a haunted house theme too, that links in with gothic novel scenery. This included dark, mysterious rooms within old houses, and things that go bump in the night. Decay and cobwebs give a spooky feel too, think Miss Havisham’s home in Great Expectations.
Start with a darker colour palette of black, greys, dark greens, plums and deep reds. You can apply this to the walls and look out for the colours in any accessories you buy. You can also take inspiration from Victorian home décor trends. This was a time of maximalism with large print wall coverings, luxurious fabrics, dark furniture with ornate details, elaborate gas lamps and decorative objects.
Again, you will need a focal point such as a fireplace, sideboard or bookshelf. For some height add in elaborate candelabras, and tall vases or funeral urns. Add in some black cat ornaments, skulls and skeletons, plus photos of ancestors in dark frames. This brass peacock candlestick and set of celestial candlesticks from Ruby’s Shed on ebay would fit in well in such a display.
Antique brass is also good to add interest, especially for ornate mirror frames, and a set of old vintage bottles like above would be a great addition. Why not also add a selection of vintage spooky books like the ones above! Other classics include Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and ghost stories by MR James. Faux spider webs and spiders, plus weird carved turnips and rotting leaves would complete the scene.
You can continue this theme throughout your home with carefully placed objects here and there. Gothic patterned scatter cushions, throws and candles are a quick way to change the look of a room. These woodcut witches cushion covers from The Humfromthehill on Etsy would be perfect.
So as you can see, it’s easy to create an unusual look in decorating with vintage for spooky season. How do you decorate your home for Halloween? Let me know in the comments.
Please note this post contains affiliate links for which I may earn money as a result of any purchase.
This blog post is written by Rachel Toy, owner of Rachel’s Vintage & Retro. I am a 20th Century Vintage Blogger and Dealer writing about the vintage lifestyle, collecting, nostalgia and selling vintage. I also sell carefully curated 20th century antiques and collectables from my online vintage shop. I am happy to work with related brands on collaborations and also accept guest blogs. Find out how to work with me.
