The History of Halloween Decorations (and Why We Still Love Them)

Where Halloween Decorating Really Began

Long before pumpkins on porches, Halloween began as Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of harvest and the start of winter. It was believed the boundary between our world and the spirit world blurred on this one night, so people carved faces into turnips and lit them from within to ward off wandering spirits — the very first jack-o'-lanterns.

When Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America in the 19th century, they found pumpkins far easier to carve than turnips, and the pumpkin lantern we know today was born. Decorating for Halloween, then, was never really about spookiness for its own sake — it was about marking a turning point in the year and keeping a little light burning against the dark.

Why We Still Decorate Today

Centuries later, the impulse hasn't really changed. As the nights draw in and autumn settles, decorating for Halloween is one of the small, seasonal rituals that make a home feel lived-in and cared for. It's an excuse to notice the turning year, gather the family round, and add a bit of theatre to the darkest month of the year — pumpkins on the doorstep, bats in the window, something a little spooky and a lot of fun.

How Our Pumpkins Fit Into That Story

We make our Halloween decorations a little differently. Instead of turnips, or plastic, or even a real pumpkin that'll be gone by November, ours are cut by hand from the pages of real books and shaped into pumpkins, bats and more — each one keeping that same spirit of marking the season, but built to come back out year after year.

Every piece starts life as a book. We cut the pages into shape by hand — no folding, no moulds, no two exactly alike — and build them up into something every bit as characterful as a carved pumpkin, without the mess or the compost bin in November. Many can be personalised too, so your Halloween decorating becomes something a little more like a keepsake than a decoration destined for landfill.

Bring a Little History to Your Doorstep

Whether you're drawn to the folklore, the ritual of the season, or just want something that doesn't wilt by Halloween night, our handmade Halloween decorations carry that centuries-old tradition forward, one book page at a time.