Choosing what to dress up as for Halloween is not merely a modern dilemma. It can seem like everything has been done before – who wants to turn up as a pumpkin for a fourth year running?  So if you’re really struggling for inspiration, take a look at some of these Halloween costumes from times gone by.

Masks:  Halloween costumes are meant to be scary, after all.

Mushrooms: Two mushrooms accompanied by an equally strange little man. Alien: A rather disorientated time-travelling alien stumbles in from the year 2106.

Cats: A tribe of cat people with their bearded accomplice.

Clubs: A woman dressed as her favorite playing card.

Eyes: These one-eyed beasts are fairly snappy dressers.  

Telephone: Excellent in terms of looking like telephones, not so great in terms of visibility.

Bacon: Clearly, cured pig meat was the thing to give you the chills in 1894.

Chicken: Classic farmyard terror with this costume.

Kids: The line between cute and terrifying has definitely been crossed here.

For more bizarre, hilarious and downright terrifying Halloween get-ups, check out the source of this content at the Independent.