Vintage Halloween Witch Silhouette Greeting Card, Early 1900s

Like a modern horror movie that suddenly cuts to a car commercial, this card presents a stark black silhouette of a witch riding a broomstick sidesaddle in front of a large pale moon, her pointed hat and trailing skirts suggesting she's either flying or falling with great confidence. Two bats flap overhead in what the card seems to think is 'festive,' and a small black cat dangles from the broom's bristles like an afterthought the witch hasn't noticed yet. The poem — which opens with 'pale frightful ghosts' and 'witch is seen' before pivoting hard into 'may your joys be manifold and your sorrows few' — is doing the emotional equivalent of screaming into your face and then handing you a gift card. Card No. 202A: for when you genuinely couldn't decide between a threat and a blessing.