Everyone Owned It In The '80s — Now It's The Halloween Decor We Want For Spooky Collage Walls

Whether you're throwing a fun party or simply kicking back to enjoy a scary movie, there's no better way to set the tone for your Halloween celebration than decor. There are a ton of cheap and easy Halloween decorations you can DIY, but plenty of those displays have the intended effect of giving trick-or-treaters heebie jeebies before they run up to ask for candy. What about the inside of your house? This simple decor idea utilizes a vintage item you might not expect, turning it into spooky wall art that can fit right in with your collage wall: a 1980s Halloween mask.

Back in the '80s, there were plenty of masks available for more classic monsters like Frankenstein or Dracula, but all number of cartoons and popular figures could be found, ranging from Monchichi to Barbie. For those looking for Halloween decor, an '80s mask is a fantastic way to embrace nostalgic fall decor, and when hung up as part of a collage wall, it's the perfect spooky accent that will work alongside the rest of your wall decorations.

If you don't have a supply of old Halloween costumes hidden in your attic that you can raid, don't worry — there are plenty of opportunities to get true vintage Halloween masks for affordable prices. In the '80s, Ben Cooper brand costumes were everywhere. However, in 1992, it was taken over by Rubie's Costume Company, putting an end to its long reign. This is unfortunate for the brand but convenient for shoppers today — if you find a Ben Cooper costume on a secondhand reselling website like eBay or Etsy, you can rest assured that it's a true vintage piece.

Other brands to look for include Don Post and Topstone, though these were more known for their rubber masks, which are harder to hang on a wall than their flatter plastic counterparts. 1980s Halloween masks for sale online can generally cost anywhere between $10 and $100 — where their price falls within this wide range depends on the rarity of the mask design, its condition, and whether it's still in its original packaging.

Secondhand shopping is the best way to come across the real classics, but modern Halloween stores and online retailers still carry designs that nod to this vintage look. Since you'll be hanging the mask on your collage wall, it's best to stay away from the more flexible latex masks that are design to go over the entire head. When they're not being worn, they have a tendency to look deflated. Plastic masks have much more structure, so they can transition more easily into a piece of wall decor.

They way you style your Halloween masks and how many you want to include is up to you, but if you're feeling short on inspiration, evenly lining up a few masks is a great way to fill some empty space and make the design look organized and intentional. But if you don't want to track down multiple masks, a single mask mixed in with your other wall art can help create the perfect gallery wall — these masks might be vintage, but the trend of mixing prints and paintings with more texturally interesting decor items is very modern. Pair your mask with old movie posters, spooky prints, or other vintage decorations to really pull the look together.

Luckily, the actual mounting process for these Halloween masks is very simple. Most have an elastic band along the back that's intended to secure the mask to the head when worn, but it can do double duty as a hanging wire similar to what you'd find on a frame. Add a nail or even a thumbtack to your wall — these masks are very light, so no worries about their weight causing mounting issues — and use it as a point to mount your decoration. If the string is broken or missing, which can be common with more well-worn vintage masks, re-string it with some thread, or skip the need for a string altogether by cutting out a piece of foam the same size as the mask, hot gluing it to the back, and making a small hole in the foam where you want to slot the mask over a nail.