The most popular Halloween costumes over the past 150 years

From the 1870s to the 1890s, people mostly made their own witch and ghost costumes.

Victorian America was also fascinated by the Far East.

Mass-produced paper costumes and buckram masks hit stores between the 1900s and the 1920s.

Disposable paper costumes made way for boxed character costumes in the 1930s and '40s.

Television defined popular culture in the 1950s, and Halloween costumes followed suit.

The television trend continued into the 1960s.

The 70's was movies.

Costumes took a dark, gory turn in the 1980s.

In the 2000s, "sexy" versions of costumes became prevalent and remain a staple of Halloween parties today.

Ultimately, Halloween costume trends follow cultural trends