Today, scary Easter bunny photos from Gen X Easters past are comedy gold. Bunnies with off-kilter, serial killer eyes, matted fur, and mouths frozen in maniacal grins created a golden era of child-endangering photo ops. Bahaha. Some of the bunnies wore tuxedos for some reason while others wore cracked plastic masks that looked like rejected props from a slasher film. Still others had sad, slumpy ears that drooped like they knew the existential futility of this gig.
The origins of the giant Easter Bunny photo op trace back to the post-WWII consumer boom, when department stores started using mascots to draw in holiday customers. Santa Claus was already a big hit, so naturally someone thought, βHey, what if we made an enormous anthropomorphic rabbit to represent resurrection and chocolate eggs?β (Because obviously.) But unlike Santa, the Easter Bunny didnβt have a standard look. There was no Coca-Cola campaign to define his image. So the bunnies varied wildly. Some were charming, others looking like theyβd just walked off a horror movie set.
The earliest known department store with a costumed Easter Bunny mascot appears to be L.S.β―Ayres. Based in Indianapolis, it began hosting visits with a giant Easter Bunny as early as the 1940s. By 1957, the store had expanded its Easter celebration to include live barnyard animals alongside the bunny. Another early example comes from Foleyβs in Houston, where a frightening Easter Bunny made headlines on Aprilβ―3,β―1952, so scary, in fact, that it left both children and adults unnerved.
Scary Easter bunny pictures are in plentiful supply around here. If you’d like to submit a vintage Easter photo, please email me at jenx1967 at Gmail dot com. Thanks! Also, be sure and check out vintage pictures of Halloween and Christmas.
- Grab-You-Tight Easter Bunny, 1976 | Shared via Facebook by Patrick M.
- Easter Bunny with Blue Face, 1976 | Shared publicly on Facebook by Frank B.
- Easter Bunny 1972 | Shared publicly on Facebook by Charlie D.
- Easter Bunny Holds A Brother and Sister, 1978 | Source: Shared publicly on Facebook by Darlene C.
- Easter Bunny with Tall Ears, 1978 | Source: Shared publicly on Facebook by Debbie Z.
- Creepy Easter Bunny with Baby, 1977 | Source is Brandi on Facebook
- Light Pink Easter Bunny with Baby 1977
- This Easter Bunny from 1977 has quite a tall face. | Source: Shared publicly on Facebook (Angie Bailey)
- This Easter Bunny, also from 1977, has quite a large bucked tooth. The toddler is having none of it.
- Easter Bunny with Tall Ears, 1978 | Source: Shared publicly on Facebook by Debbie Z.
- 1970s Girl with White Furry Easter Bunny. Also, this pink, yellow and orange daisy wallpaper is TDF.
- Tracy with the Easter Bunny, 1972. She appears to be keeping a safe distance.
- Kate with the Easter Bunny, 1981
- It’s always a concern when an Easter Bunny won’t look at the camera. The year was 1979. | Source
- Fancy collar, Easter Bunny. The year was 1981.
- Gigantic Yellow Fur Easter Bunny, 1974 | Source Unknown
- Hot Pink Easter Bunny with Super Tall Creepy Ears, 1980 | Source
- Creepy Brown Easter Bunny
- Pink Furry Easter Bunny with Creepy Eyes makes Jennifer T. Cry, 1979
- St. Charles Street, 1975
- Scary Bunny
- Easter 1974 via Uncleweed on Flickr
- 1982
- 1980
- 1980
- Hot Pink Furry Easter Bunny, 1977
- Creepy Peter Rabbit Easter Bunny, 1977
- 1971
- 1975. Kazik
- 1974, Tanya Breeze
- 1980, Arthurs Plaid Pants
- Kimmy Gibber
- 1990, Libby Reindell
- 1990, amonet whozdabad
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