Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In the early 1990s, a new Halloween decoration began popping up on yards all across the United States: a plastic bag — specifically, an orange plastic decorated to look like a Jack-o-Lantern when filled with leaves. A simple idea to disguise yard waste quickly became the most desirable Halloween decoration, so much so that some people began stealing the bags from their neighbors. This is the story of the insane popularity of pumpkin leaf bags in the early 1990s.
Sources:
“Sun Hill Industries: Selling to Mail-Order for Fun and Profit,” John Jordan, Tarrytown Daily News, Feb 21, 1982
“Sun Hill Develops Fanciful Catalog Items,” Lawrence B. Rasie, Hartford Courant, Oct 21, 1985
“Catch the Spirit: Decorate Your Haunted Home,” Kay Nolan, The Waukesha County Freeman, Oct 20, 1990
“The ‘Leaf Bag’ is Popular Halloween Decoration This Year,” The Vincennes Sun-Commercial, Oct 26, 1990
“Leaf-Filled Pumpkins a Gold Mine,” Jackson Citizen Patriot, Oct 28, 1990
“About Those Pumpkin-Face Trash Bags,” Chronicle Tribute, Oct 28, 1990
“Halloween Sales Spirited: Orange Leaf Bags Big Hit of Season,” Jared O. Wadley, The Flint Journal, Oct 29, 1990
“Pumpkin Bags Sprout on Lawns Across America,” The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oct 29, 1990
“It’s Here: The Great Pumpkin,” TIME, November 12, 1990
Entrepreneur, 1991
Sun Hill Industries v. Easter Unlimited, 831 F. Supp. 1024 (E.D.N.Y. 1993)
“Employees of Sun Hill Industries of Stamford Eligible for Federal Trade Act Benefits,” Connecticut Department of Labor, May 16, 2003
“In re Dembiczak,” Intellectual Property in the New Technological Age, Robert Merges, 2007
“Time for ‘Great Leaf Bag,’” Shirley Ruedy, The Gazette, Oct 28, 1991
“Anita Dembiczak Obituary,” Stanford Advocate, Sep 25, 2024
In the early 1990s, a new Halloween decoration began popping up on yards all across the United States: a plastic bag — specifically, an orange plastic decorated to look like a Jack-o-Lantern when filled with leaves. A simple idea to disguise yard waste quickly became the most desirable Halloween decoration, so much so that some people began stealing the bags from their neighbors. This is the story of the insane popularity of pumpkin leaf bags in the early 1990s.
Sources:
“Sun Hill Industries: Selling to Mail-Order for Fun and Profit,” John Jordan, Tarrytown Daily News, Feb 21, 1982
“Sun Hill Develops Fanciful Catalog Items,” Lawrence B. Rasie, Hartford Courant, Oct 21, 1985
“Catch the Spirit: Decorate Your Haunted Home,” Kay Nolan, The Waukesha County Freeman, Oct 20, 1990
“The ‘Leaf Bag’ is Popular Halloween Decoration This Year,” The Vincennes Sun-Commercial, Oct 26, 1990
“Leaf-Filled Pumpkins a Gold Mine,” Jackson Citizen Patriot, Oct 28, 1990
“About Those Pumpkin-Face Trash Bags,” Chronicle Tribute, Oct 28, 1990
“Halloween Sales Spirited: Orange Leaf Bags Big Hit of Season,” Jared O. Wadley, The Flint Journal, Oct 29, 1990
“Pumpkin Bags Sprout on Lawns Across America,” The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oct 29, 1990
“It’s Here: The Great Pumpkin,” TIME, November 12, 1990
Entrepreneur, 1991
Sun Hill Industries v. Easter Unlimited, 831 F. Supp. 1024 (E.D.N.Y. 1993)
“Employees of Sun Hill Industries of Stamford Eligible for Federal Trade Act Benefits,” Connecticut Department of Labor, May 16, 2003
“In re Dembiczak,” Intellectual Property in the New Technological Age, Robert Merges, 2007
“Time for ‘Great Leaf Bag,’” Shirley Ruedy, The Gazette, Oct 28, 1991
“Anita Dembiczak Obituary,” Stanford Advocate, Sep 25, 2024
