It seems today, more yards than ever are packed with glowing orange pumpkin string lights and eerie Halloween tableaus. But long before there were haunted house inflatables, 12-foot-tall skeletons, and giant spider webs, there were grinning paper pulp jack-o-lanterns and spooky black cat and witch die-cut cards, invitations, and party decorations. Since the late 1800s, Halloween has been a popular holiday for themed parties and festive decorations, and today, those vintage items remain popular among collectors, with some categories (swizzle sticks! black cat tambourines!) bringing higher values than ever at antiques shows, auctions, and through online sites like eBay and Etsy. Below are a few of our favorites to keep your eye out for...*Appraisal Values Updated October 2024 by Appraiser Marsha Dixey of Heritage Auctions. These values have been collected by averaging auction prices realized from different sources and may differ from prices on the same item offered for sale by a private dealer. An auction value is more or less based on rarity, condition and desirability (bidding activity) of a specific maker, form or pattern.For More Frightful Ways to Celebrate Halloween: Beistle Bow Tie Cat Die-CutCourtesy of OwnerMeasuring 36-by-24 inches, this striking bow tie-wearing cat is a circa-1945 embossed die-cut cardboard wall hanging made by the Pennsylvania-based Beistle Co. Halloween traces its origins to the Celtic or Druid people who thought this time of year marked the death of the old year and beginning of the new one, says appraiser Helaine Fendelman. Following WWI, American companies such as Beistle began creating products with images ranging from spooky ghosts to smiling jack-o-lanterns, witches, and cats for a public eager to decorate their homes for the Halloween holiday. Wall plaques such as these were popular from the 1930s through the 50s.What Its Worth:$50 Vintage GameCourtesy of OwnerAppraiser Bene Raia of Raia Auctioneers reports this treasure is a ca.-1950s Parker Brothers version of The Black Cat Fortune Telling Game. Its fitting that Salem, Massachusetts, the town known for witches and witchcraft, is home to the company that manufactured this game, says Bene. While Parker Brothers released their first edition of Black Cat in 1897, they didnt originate the 24-card game, and several other companies also produced their own versions. Take Note:Amazon.What Its Worth: for the 1950s Parker Brothers version (An original first edition of The Black Cat game from 1897 can sell for $200-$400 if complete!)$30 Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowKirchhof Tin NoisemakersBrian WoodcockGerman immigrant Charles Kirchhof founded his Newark, New Jersey-based Kirchhof Patent Co. in 1852, making and developing patents for, among other things, Christmas tree candleholders and various toys. He entered the Halloween market in 1928 with his trademarked tin ratchet. Other types of Kirchhof noisemakers followed, including (clockwise from top left) rattlers, whistles (or sliders), clickers, clangers, and tambourines (not pictured). Due to cost, the materials and styling changed over the years, but the original designs of smoking pumpkins, grinning cats, and dancing devils remained largely unaltered. In fact, in the 1950s, the company reissued many early designs as its Life of the Party collection. Kirchhof eventually went out of business in the 1960s.What Its Worth: for tamborines, specifically with black cats, devils, pumpkins, and witches $100 to $300 $20 to $375 for horns, kazoos, clickers, and clappers (Rarity and condition affect values; avoid rusted items or missing handles.)Special thanks to Mark Ledenbach, HalloweenCollector.com, forsharing his collection.Metal Chocolate MoldCourtesy of Chairish/Chairish.comThis bewitching find is a 1960 Vormen-fabriek Tilburg witches chocolate mold (the 60 stamped marking designates the year manufactured). Starting in 1926, the Holland-based company made chocolate molds depicting everything from barrels to figural pieces like Santa, bunnies, and even a 35mm camera, says appraiser Marsha Dixey of Heritage Auctions. The majority of vintage molds we see offered are singular and not these larger, four-part molds like [these]. Vormenfabriek Tilburg continues to make candy molds of all types, although they are now primarily of silicone and polycarbonate instead of cast aluminum and steel.What Its Worth:$50Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowHoneycomb DecorationsBrian WoodcockBeistle was the most prolific in turning out paper decorations throughout the first half of the 1900s. Known for their iconic artistry and graphics used on die-cuts and invitations, the company also perfected and produced the very popular honeycomb paper table decorations. Some opened full-round like the corn shocks and cat. The Dancers, so called for their bouncy, accordion-like arms, legs, and torsos, were among the companys most popular decorations.What Its Worth: for mid-century scarecrows from under $20up to $350-$450 for rare pieces like an intact witch and cauldron and the 1930 accordion-like Devil DancerBridge Tally CardsCourtesy of OwnerThroughout the 1920s, the game of bridge grew in popularity and, in the 1930s, it became fashionable to provide decorative bridge tally (or scoring) cards to players for use at the tables during bridge parties. Several American companies such as Beistle, Dennison, Volland, and Whitney made these festive Art Deco die-cut cards. Its hard to determine their exact maker when the cards are unmarked as these are.What Its Worth:in general, but interest in these has escalated and collectors are paying as much as $60 for some$10 to 20 per card, RELATED: The 100+ Best Places to Shop for Antiques and Vintage OnlineAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below20th-Century Steiff Tomcatscourtesy of ownerWhile now known primarily for their teddy bears, the German-based Steiff toy company loved the tomcat and, starting shortly after their founding in 1880, consistently made the plush cats figure in a range of sizes from 8 to 22 centimeters, says appraiser Bene Raia of Raia Auctioneers. A Steiff black cat can be identified by its arched back, pink-stitched nose, whiskers, and bright green glass eyes. Earlier versions, like the one on the right, were made of velvet, while post-1904 cats such as the one on the left, are of mohair and boast fluffy tails. Bene adds that although Steiff plush toys were previously worth a lot of money, the current value is much less. Train Your Eye: Dont forget to check the ear! All Steiff toys had a trademark ear button. Without it, authenticity is hard to prove. What Its Worth: (the larger the size, the higher the value! And, the collecting interest is elevated around Halloween)up to $400 for the pairMid-Century Swizzle SticksBRIAN WOODCOCKNamed for the swizzlestick tree stems used to stir Swizzles, the 18th-century Caribbean rum drink, these festive sticks became popular in the U.S. thanks to 1930s tiki bars. By the 1950s, the imprinted molded plastic cocktail stirrers were standard souvenirs at restaurants. Today, there are collectors of both general swizzles and Halloween-themed specifics making them insanely popular.What Its Worth:$5 to $25 eachAdvertisement - Continue Reading BelowHalloween Cookie CuttersBrian WoodcockStill in its original box, this collection of metal Trick or Treat Cooky Cutters was manufactured sometime in the 1940s or 50s, says appraiser Bene Raia of Raia Auctioneers. She adds that sets of themed cutters such as this were mass-produced throughout that time period, so because this box lacks any markings, its, unfortunately, difficult to trace it to a specific manufacturer. One fun thing to note is the boxs printed suggestion to use the cutters to cut cheese, cranberry jelly, and thin breads. Over the years, our entertaining styles have changed significantly, says Bene. While today these cutters are primarily associated with cookie shapes (the preferred spelling changed from cooky to cookie in the mid-1900s), throughout the early and mid-1900s we were instead cutting our small sandwiches and garnishes. The cutters were also used to cut art clay.What Its Worth: $5 to $35 with box (however, recently a complete like new set sold at auction for $87!)Beistle Co. Die-Cut Cat BandBrian WoodcockIn 1920, the Pennsylvania-based company, Beistle Co., introduced a hair-raising line of party goods that helped popularize Halloween decorating in America. This jazzy die-cut quartet strikes a chord with Halloween collectors! Featuring light embossinga sure sign of their agethese cool cats bring in a lot of scratch. Reproductions of the 1940s design, which the company continues to make today, can be identified by their double-side printing and a lack of embossing.What Its Worth: $50 eachAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below1930s-50s Pulp Jack-o-Lantern courtesy of ownerAppraiser Leila Dunbar shared with Antiques Roadshow Executive Producer Marsha Bemko that this is a 1930s-50s American-made pumpkin lantern. Beginning in the early 1800s, Germany exported great molded paper or papier--mch jack-o-lanterns to the U.S., says Leila. However, with the rise of the Third Reich in the 1930s, production slowed down and various U.S. companies started to fill the void with pulp lanternsof a material similar to egg cartonsthat featured a paper inner mask with eyes, nose, and mouth. As can be imagined, with a candle inside, many of the masks went up in flames, as this one likely did.Train Your Eye: Beware of reproductions! If a lantern doesnt have any wear, it was probably made recently.What Its Worth: up to $200 to $300 for lanterns with angry or impish expressions and the original paper insert to make features glow. (Keep your eye out for the Devil Jack-o-Lanternone with its original paper mask recently sold for over $1,000!)Beistle Co. Party Games & InvitationsBRIAN WOODCOCKWith questions including Will I soon be engaged? and Does my employer like me? early Beistle Co. games like the 1930s Mystery Answer Board Game were marketed to adults. Another 1930s favorite, the Flaming Fortune Game, which also served as a table centerpiece, is a fairly common find but remains very popular with collectors. A slightly later iteration (shown here) boasts 12 flaming fortunesearlier versions only included six. Because they were typically tossed after use, invitations are among the most rare (read: sought-after!) Beistle items.Train Your Eye: Beistle items are still being produced. Early pieces are marked: Copyright Marin Beistle, Henry Luhrs.What Its Worth: (for single unused pop-up invitation) $100 to $400 (for a complete game in original packaging)Jennifer KopfJennifer Kopf is the Executive Editor of Country Living. She also covers antiques and collecting.Marsha DixeyConsignment director at Heritage Auctions, Marsha Dixey has worked in the Americana historical and collectibles business as a dealer/collector since 1978. She is a widely acknowledged expert generalist, handling almost anything falling under the Americana umbrella. Her interest in American social history has made her an expert in womens suffrage items and African Americana. After dealing in a general line of antiques including furniture, glassware and decorative Americana, Dixey followed her interest in premium antique advertising for years and served two years on the board of directors for the Antiques Advertising Association of America. Prior to coming to work for Heritage, she worked with Tom Slater at Slaters Provenance Auctions in Indianapolis, Ind. Their success in auctioning Americana and sports collectibles became the foundation of Heritage Auctions historical department, which they started in 2005.Marsha has appeared on Texas Storage Wars and several radio broadcasts discussing collectibles, their pricing and popularity.