"Kind fortune, tell me where is he
Who my future lord shall be;
From this bowl all that I claim
Is to know my sweetheart's name."
she puts the bowl into a safe place until morning.
Then she is blindfolded and picks out
the same number of letters as there are in her
own name, and spells another from them.
In New Brunswick, instead of an apple, a
hard-boiled egg without salt is eaten before a
mirror, with the same result. In Canada a
thread is held over a lamp. The number
that can be counted slowly before the thread
parts, is the number of years before the one
who counts will marry.
In the United States a hair is thrown to the
winds with the stanza chanted:
"I pluck this lock of hair off my head
To tell whence comes the one I shall wed.
Fly, silken hair, fly all the world around,
Until you reach the spot where my true love is found."
The direction in which the hair floats is
prophetic.
The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to
study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party,
using Burns's poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or
to go a-souling as the English used. In short,
no custom that was once honored at Hallowe'en
is out of fashion now. "Cyniver" has
been borrowed from Wales, and the "dumb-cake"
from the Hebrides. In the Scotch
custom of cabbage-stalk pulling, if the stalk
comes up easily, the husband or wife will be
easy to win. The melted-lead test to show
the occupation of the husband-to-be has been
adopted in the United States. If the metal
cools in round drops, the tester will never
marry, or her husband will have no profession.
White of egg is used in the same way.
Like the Welsh test is that of filling the
mouth with water, and walking round the
house until one meets one's fate. An adaptation
of the Scottish "three luggies" is the
row of four dishes holding dirt, water, a ring,
and a rag. The dirt means divorce, the
water, a trip across the ocean, the ring, marriage,
the rag, no marriage at all.
After the charms have been tried, fagots are
passed about, and by the eerie light of burning
salt and alcohol, ghost stories are told,
each concluding his installment as his fagot
withers into ashes. Sometimes the cabbage
stalks used in the omens take the place of
fagots.
To induce prophetic dreams salt, in quantities
from a pinch to an egg full, is eaten before
one goes to bed.
"'Miss Jeanette, that's such a fine trick!
You must swallow a salt herring in three bites,
bones and all, and not drink a drop till the apparition
of your future spouse comes in the night
to offer you a drink of water.'"
Adams: Chrissie's Fate.
If, after taking three doses of salt two
minutes apart, a girl goes to bed backward,
lies on her right side, and does not move till
morning, she is sure to have eventful dreams.
Pills made of a hazelnut, a walnut, and nutmeg
grated together and mixed with butter
and sugar cause dreams: if of gold, the husband
will be rich; if of noise, a tradesman;
if of thunder and lightning, a traveler. As
in Ireland bay-leaves on or under a man's
pillow cause him to dream of his sweetheart.
Also
"Turn your boots toward the street,
Leave your garters on your feet,
Put your stockings on your head,
You'll dream of the one you're going to wed."
Lemon-peel carried all day and rubbed on the
bed-posts at night will cause an apparition to
bring the dreaming girl two lemons. For
quiet sleep and the fulfilment of any wish eat
before going to bed on Hallowe'en a piece of
dry bread.
A far more interesting development of the
Hallowe'en idea than these innocent but
colorless superstitions, is promised by the
pageant at Fort Worth, Texas, on October
thirty-first, 1916. In the masque and pageant
of the afternoon four thousand school children
took part. At night scenes from the pageant
were staged on floats which passed along the
streets. The subject was Preparedness for
Peace, and comprised scenes from American
history in which peace played an honorable
part. Such were: the conference of William
Penn and the Quakers with the Indians, and
the opening of the East to American trade.
This is not a subject limited to performances
at Hallowtide. May there not be written and
presented in America a truly Hallowe'en
pageant, illustrating and befitting its noble
origin, and making its place secure among
the holidays of the year?
HALLOWE'EN
Bring forth the raisins and the nuts—
To-night All-Hallows' Spectre struts
Along the moonlit way.
No time is this for tear or sob,
Or other woes our joys to rob,
But time for Pippin and for Bob,
And Jack-o'-lantern gay.
Come forth, ye lass and trousered kid,
From prisoned mischief raise the lid,
And lift it good and high.
Leave grave old Wisdom in the lurch,
Set Folly on a lofty perch,
Nor fear the awesome rod of birch
When dawn illumes the sky.
'Tis night for revel, set apart
To reillume the darkened heart,
And rout the hosts of Dole.
'Tis night when Goblin, Elf, and Fay,
Come dancing in their best array
To prank and royster on the way,
And ease the troubled soul.
The ghosts of all things, past parade,
Emerging from the mist and shade
That hid them from our gaze,
And full of song and ringing mirth,
In one glad moment of rebirth,
Again they walk the ways of earth,
As in the ancient days.
The beacon light shines on the hill,
The will-o'-wisps the forests fill
With flashes filched from noon;
And witches on their broomsticks spry
Speed here and yonder in the sky,
And lift their strident voices high
Unto the Hunter's moon.
The air resounds with tuneful notes
From myriads of straining throats,
All hailing Folly Queen;
So join the swelling choral throng,
Forget your sorrow and your wrong,
In one glad hour of joyous song
To honor Hallowe'en.
J. K. Bangs in Harper's Weekly, Nov. 5, 1910.
HALLOWE'EN FAILURE
Who's dat peekin' in de do'?
Set mah heart a-beatin'!
Thought I see' a spook for sho
On mah way to meetin'.
Heerd a rustlin' all aroun',
Trees all sort o' jiggled;
An' along de frosty groun'
Funny shadders wriggled.
Who's dat by de winder-sill?
Gittin' sort o' skeery;
Feets is feelin' kind o' chill,
Eyes is sort o' teary.
'Most as nervous as a coon
When de dawgs is barkin',
Er a widder when some spoon
Comes along a-sparkin'.
Whass dat creepin' up de road,
Quiet like a ferret,
Hoppin' sof'ly as a toad?
Maybe hit's a sperrit!
Lordy! hope dey ain't no ghos'
Come to tell me howdy.
I ain't got no use for those
Fantoms damp an' cloudy.
Whass dat standin' by de fence
Wid its eyes a-yearnin',
Drivin' out mah common-sense
Wid its glances burnin'?
Don't dass skeercely go to bed
Wid dem spookses roun' me.
Ain't no res' fo' dis yere head
When dem folks surroun' me.
Whass dat groanin' soun' I hear
Off dar by de gyardin?
Lordy! Lordy! Lordy dear,
Grant dis sinner pardon!
I won't nebber—I declar'
Ef it ain't my Sammy!
Sambo, what yo' doin' dar?
Yo' can't skeer yo' mammy!
Carlyle Smith in Harper's Weekly, Oct. 29, 1910.
HALLOWE'EN
Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite
All are on their rounds to-night,—
In the wan moon's silver ray
Thrives their helter-skelter play.
Fond of cellar, barn, or stack
True unto the almanac,
They present to credulous eyes
Strange hobgoblin mysteries.
Cabbage-stumps—straws wet with dew—
Apple-skins, and chestnuts too,
And a mirror for some lass
Show what wonders come to pass.
Doors they move, and gates they hide
Mischiefs that on moonbeams ride
Are their deeds,—and, by their spells,
Love records its oracles.
Don't we all, of long ago
By the ruddy fireplace glow,
In the kitchen and the hall,
Those queer, coof-like pranks recall?
Eery shadows were they then—
But to-night they come again;
Were we once more but sixteen
Precious would be Hallowe'en.
Joel Benton in Harper's Weekly, Oct. 31, 1896.
HALLOWE'EN
A gypsy flame is on the hearth,
Sign of this carnival of mirth.
Through the dun fields and from the glade
Flash merry folk in masquerade—
It is the witching Hallowe'en.
Pale tapers glimmer in the sky,
The dead and dying leaves go by;
Dimly across the faded green
Strange shadows, stranger shades, are seen—
It is the mystic Hallowe'en.
Soft gusts of love and memory
Beat at the heart reproachfully;
The lights that burn for those who die
Were flickering low, let them flare high—
It is the haunting Hallowe'en.
A. F. Murray in Harper's Weekly, Oct. 30, 1909.
Magazine References to Hallowe'en Entertainments
Charades:
Charades, menu, tests. H. Bazar, 32:894.
Children's Parties:
Fortune games for very little children. St. N., 23:33.
Hallowe'en fortunes for boys and girls. Delin., 66:631.
Masquerade, games, tests. W. H. C., 35:43.
Decorations. W. H. C., 36:34.
Old-fashioned games. St. N., 35:51.
Children's celebration of Hallowe'en. St. N., 32:1124.
Church Parties:
Mystic party. L. H. J., 22:57.
For Young People's Soc. L. H. J., 26:34.
"Phantom fair." W. H. C., 39:32.
Club Parties:
For Country Club. Invitation. Costumes. Supper. Dance.
W. H. C., 41:30.
"Candle-light café." W. H. C., 42. Oct., 1915.
Costumes:
Delin., 78:258.
Country-House Party:
Country Life, 18:624.
Dances:
Dances, drills, costumes. Delin., 78:258.
Hallowe'en party. W. H. C., 40:39.
Barn party. W. H. C., 34:30.
Decorations and Favors:
Autumn-leaf decorations and prizes. Delin., 64:638.
Cobweb party. Delin., 91:44.
Hall: Handicraft for handy girls.
Place-cards, verses. L. H. J., 28:50.
L. H. J., 31:40.
H. Bazar, 39:1046.
L. H. J., 20:48.
L. H. J., 16:38.
Cinderella party. W. H. C., 34:30.
Favors. H. Bazar, 45:516.
Nut favors. W. H. C., 32:53.
Original decorations. W. H. C., 32:32.
Fads and frills. W. H. C., 32:24.
Games and Fortunes:
Witchery games for Hallowe'en. Delin., 64:576.
H. Bazar., 33:1650.
L. H. J., 20:48.
L. H. J., 25:58.
Blain: Games for Hallowe'en.
Quaint customs. H. Bazar, 46:578.
H. Bazar, 32:894.
Witches' think cap. L. H. J., 32:29.
Hallowe'en happenings. St. N., 35:51.
Invitations:
H. Bazar, 33:1650.
Parties (miscellaneous):
H. Bazar, 28 pt. 2:841.
H. Bazar, 32:894.
L. H. J., 29:105.
L. H. J., 30:103.
Nut-crack night party. H. Bazar, 41:1106.
Nut-crack party. H. Bazar, 38:1092.
Novel party. W. H. C., 31:42.
Yarn party. L. H. J., 26:63.
L. H. J., 23:68.
L. H. J., 14:25.
Barn party. W. H. C., 34:30.
Novel party with musical accompaniment. Musician, 18:665.
Cotter's Saturday night. W. H. C., 38:40.
"Ghosts I have met" party. Pantomime. W. H. C., 37:27.
Two jolly affairs. W. H. C., 39:32.
Tryst of witches. Good H., 53:463.
Tam o' Shanter party. Delin., 85:26.
Jolly good time. Delin., 74:367.
Hints for Hallowe'en hilarities. L. H. J., 27:46.
Jolly party. L. H. J., 19:41.
Hallowe'en fun. L. H. J., 33:33.
Pumpkin stunt party. W. H. C., 45. Oct., 1917.
Character party. W. H. C., 45. Oct., 1917.
School Parties:
"Cotter's Saturday night." W. H. C., 38:40.
High school party. W. H. C., 42:34.
How the college girl celebrates Hallowe'en. W. H. C., 31:16.
Suppers, Table Decorations, Menus:
Hallowe'en suppers. H. Bazar, 35:1670.
H. Bazar, 37:1063.
L. H. J., 24:78.
L. H. J., 16:38.
W. H. C., 40:39.
W. H. C., 43:35.
H. Bazar, 44:641.
H. Bazar, 45:507.
Hallowe'en party table. L. H. J., 29:44.
H. Bazar, 32:894.
Hallowe'en supper. Good H., 53:569.
The pages refer always to the October number of
the year.
Supplementary List of Readings, Recitations, and Plays
| TITLE | AUTHOR | SOURCE |
| All Hallowe'en (story) | | All the Year Round, 60:347 |
| All Souls' Eve (story) | Hopper | Eng. Illus. Mag., 18:225 |
| All Souls' Eve (story) | Lyall | Temple Bar., 124:379 |
| Black cat (story) | Poe |
| Boogah Man | Dunbar | Eldridge Entertainment House |
| Brier-Rose (story) | Grimm | Fairy tales |
| Broomstick brigade | J. T. Wagner | 6 Barclay St., N. Y. City |
| Bud's fairy tale (poem) | Riley | Child-world |
Children's Play with musical
accompaniment | | Musician, 16:693 |
| Corn-song (poem) | Whittier |
| Elder-tree mother (story) | Andersen | Fairy tales |
| Fairies (poem) | Allingham |
| Fairy and witch (play) | Nelson | Eldridge Entertainment House |
Feast of the little lanterns
(operetta) | Bliss | |
| Fisherman and the genie (story) | | Arabian Nights |
| Ghost (story) | O'Connor |
| Ghosts I have met | Bangs |
| Ghost's touch (story) | Collins |
| Golden arm (story) | Clemens | How to tell a story |
| Goblin stone (play) | Wickes | Child's Book, p. 127 |
| Guess who (song and drill) | Murray | Eldridge Entertainment House |
| Hallowe'en adventure (story) | McDonald | Canad. Mag., 12:61 |
| Hallowe'en adventure (play) | Koogle | Eldridge Entertainment House |
| Hallowe'en frolic (poem) | Cone | St. N. 20 pt. 1:15 |
| Haunted gale (play) | Wormwood | Eldridge Entertainment House |
| House in the wood (story) | Grimm | Fairy tales |
| Little Butterkin (story) | Asbjornsen | Fairy tales from the far north |
| Little Donna Juana (story) | Brooks |
| Mother Goose recital | Musician, 21:633 |
| Nix of the mill-pond (story) | Grimm | Fairy tales |
Peter Pan in Kensington
Gardens (story) | Barrie |
| Rapunzel (story) | Grimm | Fairy tales |
| Red shoes (story) | Andersen | Fairy tales |
| Scarecrows a-roaming (play) | | Eldridge Entertainment House |
| Seein' things (poem) | Field | Love songs of childhood |
| Snow-white (story) | Grimm | Fairy tales |
| Straw phantom (pantomime) | Blackall | St. N., 44:1133 |
| Testing of Sir Gawayne (play) | Merington | Festival plays, p. 211 |
| Voyage of Bran | Meyer |
| Walpurgisnight (story) | Zschokke |
| Wind in the rose-bush (story) | Freeman |
INDEX TO QUOTATIONS
| TITLE | AUTHOR | PAGE | SOURCE |
| All-hallows honeymoon (story) | Marks | 104 | New Eng. Magazine, 37:308 |
| All Souls' Eve (poem) | Marks, J. P. | 31-32 |
| Ancient Irish | O'Curry | 7 |
| Ballad of Tam Lin | | 65 | Child's Ballads |
| Battle of the trees | Taliesin | 7 | Neo-druidical heresy |
| Caractacus (poem) | Mason | 11 |
Celtic twilight
(poem in introduction to) | Yeats | 58 |
| Charms (poem) | Opper | 161 | Munsey, 30:285 |
| Comus (play) | Milton | 131 |
| Cuchulain of Muirthemne | Gregory | 37-38-39 |
| Cuchulain's sick-bed | | 42 |
| Death of the flowers (poem) | Bryant | 18-19 |
| Different party (story) | Bradley | 156-157 | Harper's Bazar, 41:131 |
| Dinnsenchus of Mag Slecht | | 21 | Neo-druidical heresy |
| Djinns (poem) | Hugo | 148 |
| Druid song of Cathvah (poem) | Todhunter | 9 |
| Expedition of Nera | | 44 |
| "Fair maid who" | | 139 | Encyc. of Superstitions |
| Fairy-faith in Celtic countries | Wentz | 48-49 |
| Fairy fiddler (poem) | Hopper | 64 |
| Fasti | Ovid | 114 |
| Faust (play) | Goethe | 130 |
| First winter song (poem) | Graves | 16 | | |
| "Five hundred points" | Tusser | 98 |
Giles Corey of the Salem Farms
(play) | Longfellow | 151-152 | |
| Golden Legend | De Voragine | 30 |
Great fir-tree of Takasago
(story) | Rinder | 146 | Old-world Japan |
| "Green fairy island" | Parry | 103 | Welsh Melodies |
| Hag (poem) | Herrick | 66-67 |
| Hallowe'en (poem) | Burns | 73-74-75 |
| Hallowe'en (poem) | Coxe | 18-19-88-
89-96 |
| Hallowe'en (poem) | Letts | 99-100 |
| Hallowe'en (poem) | Sheard | 143 | Canadian mag., 36:33 |
| Hallowe'en (poem) | Bangs | 172-173 | Harper's Weekly, Nov. 5, 1910 |
| Hallowe'en (poem) | Benton | 176-177 | Harper's Weekly, Oct. 31, 1896 |
| Hallowe'en (poem) | Murray | 178 | Harper's Weekly, Oct. 30, 1909 |
| Hallowe'en Failure (poem) | Smith | 175 | Harper's Weekly, Oct. 29, 1910 |
Hallowe'en or Christie's fate
(story) | Adams | 169 | Scribner's, 3:26 |
| Hallowe'en in Ireland | Trant | 51 | Dewdrops and Diamonds |
Hallowe'en Fantasy (play),
(Priest and the Piper) | Pyle | 49 | Harper's Bazar, 31, pt. 2: 947 |
| Hallowe'en reformation (story) | Butterworth | 149-150 | Century, 27:48 |
| Hallowe'en wish (poem) | Munkittrick | 93-94 | Harper's Weekly, Oct. 27, 1900 |
| Hiawatha (poem) | Longfellow | 145 |
| Immortal Hour (play) | Sharp | 39-40-41 | Fortn. Rev. 74:867 |
| Jorinda and Joringel (story) | Grimm | 135 | Grimm's Fairy Tales |
| L'Allegro (poem) | Milton | 86 |
| Land of Heart's Desire (play) | Yeats | 36-43-45-
47 |
| Lavengro (story) | Borrow | 129 |
| Little Orphant Annie | Riley | 152-153 |
| Loch Garman | O'Ciarain | 36 |
| Lycidas (poem) | Milton | 85 |
| Macbeth (play) | Shakspere | 89 |
| Monastery (story) | Scott | 62-63-76-
103 |
| Night of the dead | Le Braz | 116-117 | Legend of the dead |
| "On nuts burning" | Graydon | 91-92 |
On the morning of Christ's
nativity (poem) | Milton | 28 |
| Paradise Lost (poem) | Milton | 120 |
| Passing of Arthur (poem) | Tennyson | 84 |
| Pastorals (poem) | Gay | 74-75-92-
93-94-95-
97 |
| Peer Gynt (play) | Ibsen | 131 |
| Peter and Wendy (story) | Barrie | 64 |
| Polyolbion (poem) | Drayton | 10 |
| Pomona (poem) | Morris | 23 |
| Rip Van Winkle (play) | Jefferson | 150-151 |
| Robin Goodfellow (poem) | Johnson | 86 |
| St. John's Eve (poem) | Kickham | 12 |
| St. John's Fire (play) | Sudermann | 141 |
| St. Swithin's Chair (poem) | Scott | 69 |
| "Soul, soul" | | 98 | Notes and Queries |
| Spell (poem) | Gay | 91 |
Splores of a Hallowe'en
(poem) | Dick | 72 |
| Sunken bell (play) | Hauptmann | 14 |
| Tale of Hallowe'en (story) | | 76 | Leisure Hour, 23:765 |
| Tam Glen (poem) | Burns | 79 |
| Tam o' Shanter (poem) | Burns | 67-68 |
| Tannhäuser (play) | Wagner | 132-133 |
| Tempest (play) | Shakspere | 67 | |
| Three-fold chronicle (story) | Sharp | 54-56 | Harper's, 73:842 |
| Tom's Hallowe'en joke (story) | Wright | 154 | Dewdrops and Diamonds |
| Twig of thorn (play) | Warren | 44-45 |
| Vertumnus and Pomona (poem) | Ovid | 24 |
| Völuspa (poem) | | 122 |
| We girls (story) | Whitney | 162-163 |
| "When comes the harvest" | Botrel | 112 | Songs of Brittany |
| When de folks is gone (poem) | Riley | 153 |
| "When ebery one" | | 160 | Werner's Readings, No. 31 |
| Wild huntsman (poem) | Scott | 90 |
| Willie Baird (poem) | Buchanan | 70 |
INDEX