“The list” is here to get you in the Halloween spirit with five frightful facts.
1. USPS issued its first Halloween-themed stamps in 2016. The Jack-o’-Lanterns stamps — available on usps.com — feature four images of carved pumpkins, a symbol of Halloween in the United States since the late 19th century.
2. The Colorful Celebrations stamps feature papel picado. These 2016 stamps, another current usps.com offering, showcase an intricate art form that is a common decoration during Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday that begins Oct. 31.
3. The Postal Service offered monstrous stamps in 1997. Classic Movie Monsters featured Frankenstein, Dracula, the Phantom of the Opera, the Mummy and the Wolf Man.
4. Harry Houdini died Oct. 31, 1926. The famed magician and escape artist was honored with a 37-cent stamp in 2002.
5. A 1992 stamp showcased pumpkinseeds. (The fish, that is.) The 45-cent Pumpkinseed Sunfish stamp featured the North American native whose name is a reference to its pumpkinseed-shaped body.
The National Postal Museum’s philately site has more information about these stamps and many others. Got ideas for future editions of “The list”? Email them to uspslink@usps.gov.