History’s Halloween Costumes-Monster

 and EdwaOn the first installment we learned about witch costumes. On this second installment, I wanted to focus on other monsters. Notably, vampires, Frankenstein's monster, and mummies. The trinity of Halloween monsters. Before looking at some historic representations of the three, let's briefly review the origins of each myth. 

FYI: The green guy with bolts through his neck is Frankenstein's monster. Frankenstein was the doctor who created him. Read the book by Mary Shelley and all will be made clear. 
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One of the first vampire movies was the black and white silent film, Nosferatu. It was filmed in 1921 and is thought by many to be an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula by Bram Stoker. The movie also set a precedent that is believed to this day. In the movie, vampires are injured or killed by sunlight. No where in Stoker's novel was this mentioned; only that vampires are weakened. 

The mummy curse is thought to have been perpetuated or created by the Victorians. There is no evidence that Egyptians believed mummies were cursed or could get up and walk around after being mummified. Supernatural explanations and spiritualism was popular during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes was a noted spiritualist during that time. 

After researching the trifecta of costume monsters I have realized that although we see them as quintessential parts of Halloween, unlike witches, these monsters weren't as prevalent in Halloween dress up. Skeletons, bats, and black cats tended to show up more and much earlier in history when I was researching. Hopefully this is a jumping off point for anyone who wishes to do more in depth research into any of these three iconic monsters.  
Resources:

• Mental Floss-11 Nightmarish Facts About Nosferatu
• Origins of A Mummy's Tale
• Arthur Conan Doyle's Interest in Spiritualism
• Justine's Halloween
• Smithsonian-Halloween Costume Guide
• New York Times-How this Makeup Wizard Created the most Recognizable Monster of All time