That Vintage Halloween Theme, Though!

Ok, so– I went to Dollar Tree yesterday to see if their Halloween stuff dropped and was pleasantly surprised to find a few of the higher-end pieces (meaning, $5) out. DT has gotten in on the “vintage spooky” vibe this year! These are going to sell out for sure, so now is the time to hit your local Dollar Tree to look for them!

SO CUTE! I bought this set for my mother-in-law because I’m hoping she’ll do a vintage spooky theme for Halloween, which sent me down a whole research rabbit hole of where this style came from and where to get it. Here is my deep dive on that!

We’re calling it Vintage Whimsical Halloween, but really, it’s the spiritual descendant of a Halloween legend: The Beistle Company.

Beistle: The Ghost of Halloween Past

Founded in 1900, Beistle was the original trendsetter of American Halloween décor. Their paper party goods, die-cut decorations, and googly-eyed characters defined mid-century October style. Bright orange and black? That’s Beistle. Cats in ruffles? Beistle. Goofy pumpkins, startled ghosts, and bats that look ready for vaudeville? Beistle, Beistle, Beistle. This is a Beistle cat, in case you’ve seen it and didn’t know what it was called. Interesting, right?! Kind of a charmingly weird, circus-adjacent vibe.

Joanna Parker, Bethany Lowe, and Eli + Ana

Fast-forward to today, and artists like Joanna Parker and Bethany Lowe are carrying the Beistle torch into the world of ceramics, figurines, and home décor collectibles.

Joanna Parker is best known for her delightfully oddball candy jars, mugs, and ghosties with party hats. Each piece channels Beistle’s whimsical roots with hand-painted imperfections and expressive little faces. Her designs are so recognizable, they’re practically their own subculture. If you love her, now is the time to go looking for these designs in HomeGoods, Marshall’s, and TJMaxx.

If you don’t spot any Joanna Parker pieces, Eli + Anna has a whole set of vintage-themed dishes they’re doing again this year, and you can find that brand in those stores as well. This line includes dinner plates, mugs, canisters, mixing bowls, serving platters, and hopefully more (those are what I’ve seen so far).

I should also mention Betheny Lowe’s work in this section and here is her website, but honestly her stuff is just spendier than I would like, so I am reluctant to send you over there. So, there’s that.  I’m sorry!  I’m all about the Halloween decor, but I’m a cheapskate at heart I guess.

Vintage Halloween Theme on Amazon

Here’s the thing– if you’re doing this theme, I think you’re going to have to get most of the pieces in stores (or, God forbid, from resellers), because this stuff is just hard to find on Amazon right now.

With that being said, I did find this amazing little set of vintage-inspired Halloween greeting cards. I feel like you could totally use these as decorations with this theme.

So, what do you think? Are you collecting vintage-inspired items this season? Are you over it? I don’t think I would do this one myself, but I like it and I hope my mother-in-law wants to do it!

Spookily yours,

LC

PS Here are some books I’ve been working on!

The Goth’s Guide to Summer– so many fun shopping tips, go-to products, and summer-long project recommendations. I had a blast writing this book and people seem to love it. Some of you are on the review team for this book – here’s the link if you want to join!

The planners are here! I’m working on getting the 2026 planners up, so in the meantime, I released some 2025- 2026 planners that start in July and carry you through to January 2027. These have fun spooky illustrations on the insides too!