With September well underway and October just over the horizon, the time has come when we feel the urge to pull out the Halloween decor and haunt the house. Those cooler temps, shorter days, and turning of the leaves set the backdrop for all things spooky.
While some Halloween fan(atics) sprinkle Halloween decor in every room 365 days a year, I am not one of them. Not because I don’t enjoy the orange and black, but rather because I like the rediscovery of ghoulish goodies that have been tucked away.
That said, two rooms in my haunted house (and one hallway I will soon lay claim to) sport creepy colors year-round: the office and the studio. These rooms host primarily vintage and handmade pieces and are home to our Ghostly Galleries, Cabinet of Curiosities, and our Museum of Mischief. (All names I’ve given to various small areas these artifacts occupy to elevate their status beyond the basic “Halloween decor” moniker.)
To kick off this year’s Halloween hootenanny, I cracked open several large containers that store our tabletop vintage Halloween blow molds. Why are these stored away instead of being on display? Good question! I set about remedying the unjust concealment of these treasures, so I cleared off the top shelf of my studio cabinet, ordered some risers, and viola! – these creepy candoliers are now part of our perennial display.
As I can never stop with the obvious, I thought now would be the perfect time to inventory this collection – I have a bad habit of picking up duplicates if I don’t have a list – and also share a bit of their haunted history with you.
If vintage spooky is your vibe, walk with me through this section of our Museum of Mischief for a closer look at these illuminated eerie artifacts.
Explore our full Bayshore vintage Halloween blow mold showcase and save this for your autumn decorating inspiration.
After completing a full inventory of our blow mold collection, I noticed that the majority were produced by Bayshore Industries. Founded in 1946 by A.L. Gursha and Eugene Salinger in Elkton, Maryland, Bayshore originally produced rubber balloons but soon transitioned to toys and rubber Halloween masks. Throughout the 1950s, the company grew, became known for its spooky novelty items, and enjoyed global distribution. By 1961, they moved to Amsterdam, NY, and became a subsidiary of Miner Industries.
With the plastic boom of the 1960s and 1970s, Bayshore joined in the manufacture of hollow, blow-molded seasonal items. Their candy pails, string lights, and tabletop lamps were very popular and could be found in every corner dime store.
Bayshore ceased production in 1977. Their parent company filed for bankruptcy in 1979, and in 1985 their novelty molds were sold off to other companies.
Today, these enchanting lanterns can command quite a chunk of change compared to their original price tag and are highly sought after by older collectors seeking nostalgia as well as younger ones who have discovered their charm.
The Scarecrow Lamp, produced from 1971 to approximately 1977, features the iconic brilliant orange with black detailing common to most Halloween tabletop lamps. Flaunting a grinning jack-o’-lantern face, this little guy dons a cap and jacket, while a small mini jack sits at his feet. Spooky sweet, his appeal crossed manufacturers, and Empire Plastics also produced this fella from 1989 to 1992.
One of the cutest pieces in our vintage Halloween blow mold collection is this darling little jack-o’-lantern in her giant witch hat poised on top of a base impressed with bats and a scaredy-cat. Produced for nine years, from 1969 to 1977, the Pumpkin Witch comes off more sweet than spooky. Her black conical hat is molded separately and “snapped” over a rim and into place. This one can be a bit harder to find, so when you see her, grab her up as she’s perfectly spoopy!
Produced in the 1970s, the Top Hat Pumpkin is a jolly jack-o’-lantern of unusually long proportions. Nothing portly about him; he is tall, not plump, and sports a short top hat in traditional orange and black. His raised eyebrows, large features, and toothy, wide-mouthed grin signal he is more friendly than frightful.
The 1969 Ghost Lamp is wrapped in white with black accents; this spectral specimen has a smiling skull tucked under his arm. While a white sheet is traditional when it comes to ghosts, white blow molds of this era are not the norm – most being decked out in the traditional shades. Alas, this sweet spirit was not resurrected and appears to have been produced only by Bayshore. He vanished into the ether with their closure in 1977.
Some of the most beloved vintage Halloween blow molds feature a scaredy cat, and we currently have one example from Bayshore in our collection
The Cat Pumpkin features an orange cat with black accents standing on a circular platform and balancing a giant toothy jack-o’-lantern on its back. Produced in the 1960s and 1970s by Bayshore and Norben, this not-too-creepy kitty and his pumpkin vary from the usual smiling jack and black cat designs seen in other molds. The pumpkin sprouts a whimsical stem, the facial features tilt upward, and the kitty has only a light brush of color, all of which help differentiate it from similar molds.
I remember actively seeking this vintage Halloween blow mold and stalking eBay listings for weeks until I found them in my desired price range. Even 18+ years ago, these commanded a higher dollar value, and they’ve only gone up since.
Bayshore produced the not-too-spooky Haunted House Lamp in the 1960s and 1970s in two colorways: traditional orange and ghastly green. These 17-inch-tall molds depict a spooky, broken-down house with dilapidated shutters, a scaredy cat, a laughing jack-o’-lantern, a bat, and a witch flying across the moon. That’s a lot of story in a lantern!
So beloved was this mold that JAH (Jones Auction House) re-released it in red (2022) and in purple (2025), so you can find this Halloween House in stores and online today.
Everyone who collects seems to have their unicorn, golden ticket, holy grail – or, for me, an Eleanor (movie reference – IYKYK). That’s true of this next vintage Halloween blow mold: the Hallo Witch Broom produced by Bayshore in the 1960s and 1970s.
A 39-inch broomstick with a witch head that sold for a whopping 99¢ in 1972!
As a child, this piece was in our costume stash, and at one time or another, each of us sisters used it as a prop. I remember this piece vividly, and although my parents aren’t ones to throw anything away, this witch has flown off into the abyss.
I always keep my eyes open, in hopes of recovering this relic from my childhood, and when I found myself with a bit of time on my hands, I decided to scour eBay. She didn’t appear in my search, but I did uncover another, more common version: the Witch Maraca, or rattle, so I snapped her up to pacify me until such time as the Halloween spookies bestow my long-lost witch broom back to me.
Upon opening the package, I was met with the ghost of Halloween’s past, and this withered-looking plastic witch face transported me back to a time when you became the costume you wore, and candy was the currency of the day.
My Eleanor is still elusive, but for now this little witchy will do.
That concludes round one of our vintage Halloween blow mold tour. Oh, yes, there’s more! Check back to see more pieces from our collection by Empire, General Foam Plastics, Star Band, and more.
Until next time – stay spooky.
