1. What Were the Costumes in the 1970s like Compared to Now?
Black & white picture: “FRANKENSTEIN – Costume – Halloween – 1970’s” by monstersforsale is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.
Color picture: “Spooktacular Creations Inflatable Costume Dragon Riding a Fire Dragon Air Blow-up Deluxe Halloween Costume – Child” by shop8447 is marked with CC0 1.0.
2. What were the Bear Costumes like in the ’70s Compared to Now?
“Smokey Bear Costume at HDM 1 GWW” by Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.
“Inflatable Grizzly Bear Costume” by Inflatableser is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
3. What Halloween Costumes did Dogs Wear in the ’70s?
“Cheerleader Dog Costume for Halloween” by Petful.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
4. What Costumes did Superhero Dogs Wear in the ’70s?
5. How Easy was it to Get Your Treats in the ’70s?
6. What was your Halloween Candy like in the ’70s compared to 2023?
Left picture: “Halloween Candy” by Accretion Disc is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Right candy in a bowl”Halloween Candy” by terren in Virginia is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
I recall getting more lollipops and hard candy than I wanted in the 70s. But other than that, all I missed out on in my childhood were Twix and Skittles. They didn’t come out in the U.S. until 1979. (after my trick-or-treating days were over).]
7. What were Halloween Scarecrows like in the ’70s?
Left picture: “Pumpkin Scarecrow” by Steve Miller is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Right picture: “Scarecrow” by Kevitivity is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
8. How Have Haunted Houses Changed since the ’70s?
The Haunted Houses in 1970s were about scary music, and people in bad costumes jumping out at you, but no touching. Just the right amount of scary for children.
In 2023, you may have to sign a waiver as the haunters will grab you and may drag you. Haunted houses can be more like horror houses and survival challenges. These may be adult-only, may give you a safe word, and may require a recent physical to make sure that you won’t be scared to death.
The one described below takes 8 hours to complete and you must sign a waiver to agree to be tortured.
9. What were Scary Clowns like in the ’70s compared to now?
Halloween Clowns were not intentionally scary in the ’70s from my recollection.
Left picture: “send in the clown (or da bear)” by debaird™ is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Middle Picture: Me in 1973 doing the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance pose.
Right Picture: The famous, scary clown from the ’80s who caused a clown hysteria in 2016 in the U.S., Canada, Australia and England and is still a popular costume in 2023.
10. What was the Biggest Pumpkin in 1976 and 2023?
In 1976, the largest pumpkin in the U.S. was grown by Bob Ford of Pennsylvania and weighed 451 pounds (205 kg) and won him $500 and a spot in the Guinness World Records.
Sorry, no picture of that actual pumpkin, but it was the same weight as this Baby Yoda (Grogu) pumpkin created in 2020.
In 2023, the largest pumpkin was 2,749 pounds (1,247 kg) and its grower, Travis Anoka, a Minnesota horticulture teacher, won $30,000.
11. What was the Record for Longest Journey in a Pumpkin Boat in the ’70s and in 2023?
If records of pumpkin boats existed in the 1970s, I can’t find evidence of them.
The Guinness World Records listed online presents only the highlights of the 1970s, so more practical records. In case you were wondering, the first mobile phone call was made in 1973 by Martin Cooper (USA) who worked for Motorola. The record for the first commercially successful arcade computer game, Pong, was made in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney of the U.S.
See below for the 2023 record holder of longest journey in a pumpkin boat.
More Halloween News from my Archives
If you can’t get enough of unnecessary pumpkin news, read my post on 7 Underappreciated Pumpkin Achievements in the Guinness World Records.
For scary, but tame happenings in the 1970s on Halloween, read my post on How to Survive Halloween in the 70s: A Child’s Guide.
For safety guidelines in the 1970s that are of no use now, see my post on Halloween Safety Recommendations in the ’70s: Most Expected. Some Unusual.
Karen M. Free 