I'll begin populating this page with photos of reproductions, fakes and fantasy items as I see them listed on eBay, Etsy and other such sites. Hopefully, collectors will refer to this page to minimize the occasions reproductions, fakes and fantasy items are unknowingly purchased. If you see something on this page that was sold to you purporting to be a vintage item, immediately send it back for a full refund.
This is a fake. Authentic lanterns don't have such extended ears, do not have flat, unsealed bottoms, do not have such thick bales and don't have this coloration. The insert strips look to have been artificially aged. Don't waste your money.
02/10 Update: Someone wasted $40.44 on this fake.
This seller has been selling items that he purports to be from the 1930s for years. I have yet to see a Halloween item he has ever offered that I believe was made prior to 1995. These slant-hatted cylindrical things first began showing up around 2000. They have modest decorative value only, nothing close to what this poor soul paid. This seller, landerstoys, has long been one with whom I choose not to do business.
This is a recently made fake with faux aging. The seller jarringly and apropos of nothing writes that Mike Wolfe from History's American Pickers loves vintage items. As someone who has provided an on-camera appraisal of a truly vintage Halloween item for that program, I am confident in saying that Mike Wolfe would pass on this item.
This bug-eyed JOL with its protruding tongue is a memorable design and would probably make a strong display presence, but it is not a vintage item. This began appearing about 10 years ago and has decorative value only. The thick bale is inconsistent with truly vintage items as are the over-sized clasps securing the candle holder to the bottom cardboard piece. Don't be fooled!
These light covers are offered periodically, often by the same seller. Another design frequently seen is a greenish cat face. These are not vintage items, unless you feel something first made around 1992 is vintage. These were sold in a set of eight and were made in Japan, although now they seem to be made in China. I bought a set in 1992 to decorate my then-new black Silvestri Halloween tree.
I'm not sure what to make of this crude piece of junk. The same seller lists and relists this item, probably made in a middle school crafts class. The level of craftsmanship is laughably low, so few are being fooled by it.
This is another fantasy item currently being produced in and imported from Germany. This has only the slightest decorative value.
These three noisemakers were among the vanguard of fakes and reproductions that began assaulting our hobby in earnest in 1995. Blumchen's imported these from Germany beginning in 1995. These show up often and are frequently purchased. Unfortunately, I've seen them embedded in many collections. Although the artwork is based on vintage imagery, the noisemaker form is a product of the 1990s, hence these have no vintage value.
This item is being actively manufactured and sold by such German-based sellers like robodicki. The glaze or finish is wrong, the painted highlights are inconsistent with truly vintage items and the overall molding is more polished than virtually all truly vintage items. It may look nice in a display cabinet, but it doesn't belong with vintage pieces.
This is a slightly more elaborate iteration of a pipe horn noisemaker, but that can't disguise the fact that this is a fantasy item. These are being actively manufactured in Germany and sold by such peddlers as robodicki. Unless you don't mind tossing money down the sewer, avoid buying these.
Beistle made a vintage version of this that is on the light weight cardboard stock so typical of non-embossed diecuts. This fake was printed on thick cardboard and has a cloudy appearance. These have been peddled by sellers like trappedintheshadow and curiousimp, both of whom have long been on my list of those with whom I choose not to business.
This pipe design is one of four. Then others are a witch face, skull and a black cat face. They all began appearing at the October Atlantic City antiques show in 2003. A dealer who specializes in Christmas but dabbles in Halloween was adamant they were old, pointing to the old boxes each pipe came nestled in. He was half right. The boxes were old, but not the contents. This scam is still being pulled, so beware. This pipe, and its bogus brethren, has no vintage value.
Here are five of the eight JOL designs that have plagued the hobby since they were imported from Germany ~1995. Items from this faux set have fooled many collectors. Don't be one of them. The size and subtle design details immediately differentiate these from the rarely seen authentic items. Although they were imported from Germany, they were all made during or after ~1995.
All of these cast iron items with bobble heads are of recent manufacture. I know of only two authentic Halloween cast iron items made prior to 1940.
This is one of the first of the fantasy items to infiltrate widely into many collections. These first began surfacing at the Atlantic City antiques show in ~1995. This has no collectible value. Around 1995, I was fooled into buying one by an unscrupulous dealer who refused to refund my money when confronted with the fact that this was a fantasy item. Needless to say, I have never bought another item from her.
This is one of the first of the fantasy items to infiltrate widely into many collections. These first began surfacing at the Atlantic City antiques show in ~1995. Most of the time they are peddled without bottoms. This has no collectible value.
This reproduction/fantasy item was in the vanguard of such items that have plagued the hobby for the last few years. Authentic wind-ups and mechanical Halloween items are VERY scarce, and when they do surface they are almost always in shabby condition. Virtually every such toy I have seen these last few years is either a reproduction, a fantasy item or is a marriage between vintage Halloween elements and a non-Halloween body or mechanism. Interestingly, only one or two sellers have been peddling these types of items for significant dollars. How did these same dealers get such a trove of wind-ups and mechanicals? I think I know the answer. Be VERY suspicious when buying such items.
This fantasy item first began surfacing in the late 1990s.
Fantasy item that first surfaced ~2002.
Fantasy Item
