Bewitching Appeal
Mention vintage Halloween collectibles and Mark B. Ledenbach becomes gleefully animated.
As he enthusiastically talks about Devil Bats, beautifully illustrated place cards from the 1920s or a Spear’s Hallowe’en Ring Toss Game from 1910 that’s one of his favorite collectibles, his passion for them pours out, punctuated by an encyclopedic knowledge of manufacturers, dates, and historical context. It’s a fun and fascinating conversation that can inspire you to want to start collecting these pieces yourself, if you don’t already.
Although Sept. 15 through Oct. 31 is officially the Halloween season for Ledenbach — he gets his outdoor lights strung up and lit (always on Oct. 1), puts his late 1960s blow molds of a pumpkin man, skeleton and others in his front window, and displays his 7-1/2-foot-tall decorated Halloween tree, which he doesn’t take down until early November — it’s Halloween every day for him, when he is surrounded by 5,000-7,000 collectibles that he keeps out all year round.
Although he loves the collectibles, he’s not that keen on the holiday itself
