Halloween will be here soon, and once again we will take a peek at what ghoulish inventors have patented to scare you or improve the efficiency of your treat gathering. One would think over the years as technology improved, today’s Halloween patents would be far scarier than those of the past. However, and maybe this is just me, some Halloween-ish patents from the Victorian era are downright creepy.
Creepy Halloween Patents from the Victorian Era
The Eerie Jack-a-Lantern Patent (1889)
By way of example, U.S. Patent 396,252 (January 15, 1889), is titled Jack-a-lantern. It describes a device for creating illuminated masks. I find this one a bit eerie, despite the reassurances of the inventor’s words: “This invention relates to certain improvements in that class of devices known as ‘jack-a-lantern’ and it has for its object to provide a new article of manufacture of unique appearance which will form an attractive, desirable and amusing toy for children.” Sounds like the people back then were creepier than the inventions.
Creeping Dolls: A Victorian Nightmare
U.S. Patent No. 112,550 is titled, “Improvement in creeping dolls. Really? As before, the inventor called this one “A very amusing toy”. Creepy Victorians. By the way…my wife is terrified of these. I think I will check eBay.
U.S. Patent No. 118,435 is also titled, Improvement in creeping-dolls. Really? This patent was granted in 1871 to George Pemberton Clark. In his patent, Clarke stated, “By these various improvements I can produce a creeping-doll natural in its movements and doubly interesting from its happy associations.” Why does the baby look like an old man? Creepy and weird Victorians.
Ventriloquist Dolls: Patented Nightmares
The Ventriloquist’s Dummy Patent (1938)
A few years later (1938), creepy inventions continued with U.S. Patent No.2,114,851 for a Ventriloquist’s Dummy. Patented in 1938 by Martha McCown. Creepy inventors also continued. According to the patent, McCown wanted to create a dummy that provided “a toy having simple and conveniently assembled means for manipulating the head of the dummy, and also for manipulating the eyes and the lower jaw of the dummy, so that a child can readily manipulate the dummy.”
A Ventriloquist’s Doll Straight Out of a Horror Movie
How about this nightmare? US 2,771,708 is a Ventriloquist’s Doll that reminds us of the 2007 movie “Dead Silence”. Brrrrrrr!
Funny Halloween Patents for Trick-or-Treating
OK, that is enough from the creepy side. I did mention that some Halloween patents were intended to improve the efficiency of your treat gathering.
A Candy Container Every Kid Would Love
I think every kid’s dream would be to fill up this (US7594669B2) “portable container for storing confections.” Probably every dentist’s dream, as well.
A Talking Halloween Treat Container
Lastly, US20100128588A1 describes a Halloween treat container that has a voice recorder/audio player; and a remote control unit for triggering the audio player to prompt young children to remember to say “trick or treat” and “thank you”. We could use more of these lately.
Halloween Patents Prove Creativity Has No Limits
These inventions prove that Halloween isn’t just about costumes and candy; it’s about engineering creepy and helpful stuff that reminds us that human creativity has no limits.
Behind every unusual invention is an idea worth exploring, and MaxVal’s Patent Search and Analytics Services help innovators uncover insights from patented technologies.
Happy Haunting!
