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Throughout history, the diverse and peculiar creations crafted to conceal our faces are both fascinating and undeniably eerie. Gaze at these mask images long enough, and you’re sure to feel a shiver down your spine.
10 Dirt-Eater Mask
The practice of dirt eating (geophagy) was fairly common among enslaved individuals during the 16th to 19th centuries. Many had adopted this habit in West Africa, where geophagy was so prevalent that specific types of soil were collected and traded. Slave owners believed this practice was harmful and were advised by doctors that it caused depression, stomach issues, swelling, loss of appetite, breathing difficulties, and dizziness. To safeguard their “investment,” slave owners forced dirt-eaters to wear grotesque masks that blocked their mouths, even as they toiled in sweltering, oppressive heat.
Interestingly, there’s no definitive agreement on whether moderate geophagy is actually harmful. Thus, this supposed “solution” was merely a form of cruel punishment. (These masks might also have been intended to prevent slaves from eating the crops they cultivated.)
9. Madame Rowley’s Toilet Mask
While primarily marketed as a source of false promises, this mask isn’t inherently malevolent. However, its resemblance to something Hannibal Lecter might wear certainly amplifies its eerie vibe.
Madame Rowley’s “Toilet Mask” was a 1890s beauty device that claimed to enhance, whiten, and maintain the skin’s appearance. Madame Rowley believed her invention was scientifically sound and even secured a patent for it. The patent suggested wearing the mask overnight, allowing sweat to “refine and purify the skin by opening pores and improving surface blood flow.” To modern eyes, it seems more likely to cause wrinkled skin or even fungal infections.
8 Splatter Masks
Despite resembling a medieval torture tool, these masks were actually protective gear for British tank crews during the 1917 Battle of Cambrai in World War I, one of history’s earliest large-scale tank battles.
In those early days, tank technology was still developing, and the vehicles were far less advanced than today’s models. They moved at walking speed, frequently malfunctioned, and could be easily destroyed by heavy artillery. This made tank occupants extremely vulnerable to bullets, fiery metal fragments, and other debris. Even under minimal fire, the tank would eject rivets and flakes of lead paint toward the crew’s faces. The leather and chainmail masks acted as a crucial barrier against this onslaught of projectiles and explosions.
Interestingly, the Germans were initially terrified by the massive tanks and, undoubtedly, the masked operators. However, after realizing how ineffective the tanks were, they mocked them and delayed developing their own tanks until much later in the war.
7 Baby Gas Masks
While gas masks on adults are unsettling, they pale in comparison to the eerie sight of baby gas masks. During World War I and II, these infant versions resembled helmets, giving babies an otherworldly, scuba-diver-like appearance. It’s heartbreaking to think that such devices were ever necessary. These masks were incredibly bulky and required an adult to manually operate an air pump—a challenging task during an emergency.
In the US, children were provided with Mickey Mouse gas masks. While these were intended to be less frightening for kids, they arguably appear more terrifying than standard masks. Picture a group of children wearing these, their empty, glassy eyes fixed on you.
Alongside masks designed for every man, woman, and child, there were also versions for dogs. Yes, even pets had to be prepared for battle at a moment’s notice. Plus, having matching masks for the entire family, including pets, made for some strikingly unique family portraits.
6 Death Masks
Perhaps it’s the knowledge that plaster once covered a deceased person’s face or the unsettling sight of a lifeless expression, but death masks are undeniably eerie—yet they’ve been widely popular throughout history. The tradition of crafting death masks dates back to ancient times and persisted well into the 20th century. They were used as models for sculptures, forensic tools, religious artifacts, and personal keepsakes. Typically, doctors were responsible for creating these casts, ensuring they were made within hours of death to avoid distortion from bloating or rigor mortis.
Thanks to physicians with a penchant for the macabre, we can now glimpse the final expressions of historical figures like Napoleon, President Lincoln, Mary Queen of Scots, Beethoven, and many others. One of the most widely seen masks is that of L’Inconnue de la Seine, an unidentified woman retrieved from the River Seine in the 1880s (believed to have drowned). Her death mask became a fashionable adornment in affluent French homes and later inspired the face of the CPR training mannequin “Resusci Anne.” As a result, countless individuals have unwittingly performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the likeness of a deceased woman.
It’s poetic that the unknown drowning victim has, in turn, saved countless others from a similar fate.
5 Alexander Peden’s Mask
In 1663, Presbyterian minister Alexander Peden was forced into hiding by the Scottish government. His crime? Refusing to stop preaching after King Charles II outlawed Presbyterianism and mandated that only government-approved Episcopalian bishops could authorize ministers. Rather than comply with the King’s “Scottish Restoration,” Peden continued delivering sermons in private homes, fields, and other concealed locations. This defiance was deemed treasonous, making Peden one of Scotland’s most sought-after fugitives.
To evade capture, Peden devised a plan that, while seemingly absurd, proved effective—at least temporarily. He concealed his recognizable face with a fabric mask featuring a red beard, wig, wooden teeth, and feather-lined eye slits (perhaps mimicking eyelashes?). Astonishingly, his followers didn’t seem to mind receiving spiritual guidance from someone who resembled a demon more than a prophet. Peden continued preaching in this terrifying disguise until his arrest in 1673. He spent more than ten years in various prisons, was exiled to America, and eventually returned to Scotland, where he died in hiding.
4 Masks Of Shame
Schandmaskes (or “shame masks”) were a German punitive tool used during the 17th and 18th centuries. It’s difficult to decide whether they were more bizarre or unsettling, but they undoubtedly evoke a chilling sensation when you learn they were forced upon individuals for minor social infractions like gossiping, telling crude jokes, or other breaches of etiquette. While the heavy iron masks were undoubtedly torturous, their primary purpose was to humiliate the wearer. As a result, the masks were often designed to appear or sound ridiculous, clearly indicating the wearer’s supposed sin. For example, some featured donkey ears to denote foolishness, elongated tongues to symbolize gossip, or oversized pig noses to imply filth. Certain masks even emitted whistling sounds with each exhale, much to the delight of spectators.
Additionally, the offender was placed in the stocks, where they endured mockery, insults, and possibly hurled rotten produce from passersby. Some masks included an iron bit that pressed painfully on the wearer’s tongue. This form of punishment, which predated its use in Germany, appears to have been inspired by the British “scold’s bridle,” a similar device primarily used to discipline women.
3. Iroquois False Face Society Mask
Nearly every indigenous culture features religious or ceremonial masks, many of which are both captivating and slightly unnerving to outsiders. However, none are as imposing as the intentionally grotesque, twisted masks worn by the False Face Society, a medicinal group within the Iroquois tribes. This society is typically called upon as a last resort when other healing groups fail to cure an ailment.
What sets these masks apart from other tribal masks is their status as more than mere wooden carvings—they are believed to embody living spirits. Consequently, there are strict rituals for their care, including periodically anointing them with oil and animal grease, offering them white corn mush, and burning tobacco as an offering.
The masks truly come to life during ceremonies. While these rituals are sacred and typically closed to outsiders, it’s said that healers wear the masks and perform dramatic, intense pantomimes depicting the expulsion of demons from the patient’s body.
2. Visard Mask
In the 16th century, it was entirely normal for women to wear eerie black masks that covered their entire faces. Known as “visards,” these velvet masks served dual purposes: shielding the skin from the sun and adding an aura of intrigue. A small bead inside the mask, held in place by biting, ensured the wearer remained both faceless and silent.
While some may have found the visard masks captivating, Phillip Stubbes, a contemporary author, described the sight of a masked woman as encountering “a monster or a devil; for no face is visible, only two large holes for the eyes fitted with glass.”
We’re inclined to side with Stubbes on this one.
These masks lost popularity in the 17th century when they became linked to prostitutes. (Perhaps men did find them more enticing than eerie.)
1. Vintage Halloween Masks
Modern Halloween masks often feature superheroes or former presidents, and even the supposedly frightening ones are mass-produced from latex, making them somewhat predictable. To find truly terrifying masks, we must revisit the era 70 to 100 years ago when people crafted their own costumes using only their creativity and whatever materials were at hand. The result was a collection of fabric and papier-mache masks so uneven and rudimentary that even the “adorable” ones are unsettling by today’s standards.
Beyond the faded, black-and-white photographs, these masks are eerier because many people at the time still understood that Halloween costumes were meant to evoke fear (unlike today’s sexy nurse outfits). After all, their purpose was to confuse and repel the restless spirits roaming the Earth.
