Washington, D.C., circa 1927. "NO CAPTION (man with skull display)." Friends of the family, no doubt. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

Circa 1938. "Philadelphia. Window of a medical supply house near Market and Twenty-Third Street." Photo by Paul Vanderbilt. View full size.

For your Halloween enjoyment we present "The Commercial Vampire," a Leon Barritt cartoon from the July 20, 1898, issue of Vim, a short-lived satirical weekly published in New York. Painting department stores as bloodthirsty predators of small independent businesses, the same argument made today in some quarters against giant retailers like Wal-Mart and Amazon. View full size.

Baltimore, Oct. 31, 1957. "Carol Lee, Ray Steward, Howard H." A seasonal scene from the Janet & Kermy Kodachromes. Happy Halloween! View full size.

"Dale and pumpkin, 1962." Dale, last seen at the reunion, now in the pumpkin patch. From the Kermy & Janet Kodachromes I found on eBay. View full size.

October 1958, somewhere in Pennsylvania, getting ready for the big night! Our third slide from this batch of 35mm Kodachromes. View full size.

October 1920. Washington, D.C. "Lust's Regent." Theater impresario Sidney Lust's 18th Street cinema decorated for Halloween with an array of eye-catching movie posters. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size.

In my last two shots, we saw the bright, sunny, carefree, Happiest Place on Earth Disneyland. Who knew there was also the dark, horrific, bloodcurdling Disneyland? Well, not tterrace. Skull Rock Lagoon was perfectly designed to stimulate the "Wow, cool!" gland in the 17-year-old me. (Translation for today's ears: "Awesome!") Added in 1961 to provide a new backdrop for Captain Hook's splendiferous Pirate Ship (which housed the Chicken of the Sea Restaurant), Skull Rock was particularly creepy-cool at night, when I took this time-exposure Ektachrome in 1963. Alas, the ship, lagoon and Skull Rock were all removed and in 1983 the Dumbo Flying Elephant ride took the spot. View full size.

1937. Rowan County, N.C. "Maxwell Chambers house, Spencer vicinity. Structure dates to ca. 1800-1810." Photo by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size.

Salem, Massachusetts, circa 1906. "Old Charter Street burying ground." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Salem, Massachusetts, circa 1906. "The Old Witch House." In the best Early American tradition, a blending of history and retailing: The Witch House Parlors (enter through the antique store) and Witch House Trial Room (right this way through the pharmacy). 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1919. "Oak Hill Cemetery, Georgetown." Who can supply us with a current photo from the same vantage point? View full size.

Washington, D.C., or its Virginia suburbs. "March 18, 1922. Ku Klux Klan." And Klanmobile. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

A little late for Halloween but an interesting look at Halloween, circa 1948. This photo was taken at the Reed Park Pavilion in Freeport, Illinois. The people are workers from the W.T. Rawleigh Company in that city. My mother is fifth from the left in the apple line. View full size.

Takoma Park, Maryland, circa 1928. "Washington Sanitarium classroom." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.