Spooks and Hobgoblins of Halloween

October 30th, 1903 by unkown author

Tomorrow night is Halloween and the heart of many a Coshocton youth is exultant over the fact. It is the night for mischief and revelry and Coshocton has just as many or perhaps a few more revelers and mischief-makers than the average town. Not mil the young people, however, look upon Halloween, as merely a night for unsuppressed deviltry but some of our young people and even a few older ones will observe it somewhat after the fashion of our ancestors of long ago.

Graves who considered it a night when give up their dead and witches and hobgoblins hold high carnival on this earth. Many people know little or nothing of how All Halloween came to bear this name. It is religiously observed in some portions of England and Scotland to this day. Halloween is the evening that precedes the festival of All Hallow or All Saints. It is known as Hallow Eve. Hallow Mass or in pitch Scotland, Halloween.

All saint's day is a festival in honor of all the angels and saints of heaven. In the east- era churches the festival has been observed since the fourth century and the feast became general in the eighth century. The night before All Saints day has always been the occasion for the observance of certain popular customs in Christian countries such as the performance of spells by the young people to discover their future partners for life and certain Oreside sports as cracking nuts and ducking or apples. It is thought to be the night when witches, ghosts and devils are abroad in their baneful midnight errands and the fairies, particularly, are said to hold a grand anniversary.

On this night, the old Egyptians worshipped with blazing torch and altar fire and held it sacred to their holy dead. Far back in the Christian era this last night of October was celebrated by the Celts and their priests, the Druids, as a harvest festival.

On this night just as the sun disappeared, they started bonfires on ever hill in England and Ireland so that the wandering souls of the dead might had their way to the other world.

The customs observed on this weird night are many and varied. Unfortunately, Coshocton youths have accustomed themselves to take the places of the witches and devils which were wont to stalk this earth in ye olden times and they spend the sacred night in tearing up street crossings, building fences across the roads, jerking off gates from their hinges, yelling like Comanche’s and otherwise making the night hideous as possible.

Last year the depredations were carried a trifle too far and many thoughtless deeds were perpetrated. Persons lying ill were greatly disturbed by the revelers and great damage was done to personal property. The nights proceeding Tick Tack and Halloween are usually practice nights for the mischief makers and by the time the .".1st arrives the boys, and the girls, who are oftentimes more daring in their deeds than the boys have thoroughly got their hand in and are ready to do all manner of evil. The presages of the coming storm  have not been so pronounced this year and it is to be hoped that the sacred night with its time worn customs may be observed fittingly in Coshocton this year and that the revelries may be kept within the bounds of reason.

There are a thousand innocent ways of observing the night and much more enjoyment is to be had by following the ancient customs so ably set forth in Bobbie Hums' famous poem "Halloween.

In many of our colleges for girls this is the night of nights, a veritable witch dance, diversified with romping games, straw rides, nut shakes and apple roasts "winding up" with the old time Virginia reel. All the charms of Halloween are sure always providing you have faith.

There are hundreds of ways of entertaining on this night and it would not be possible to enumerate even a few of them. Young girls who cannot get out and have the rough sport the boys have, stayed indoors and entertained their girl friends.

One of the favorite pastimes for an occasion of this kind is taffy pulling. The girls congregate at the home of a special favorite and the evening is spent in games of various sorts. That sticky indigestible sort of candy called taffy is made. Then the girls will possibly walk down the cellar stairs with a mirror under their arm. When in the cellar the mirror will be hung up and the girl will look over her shoulder in the hope of seeing her future husband or lover.

Another game, and an interesting one too, for the girls is to pare apples carefully so that the peeling will not be broken.  After the peeling has been taken out it is thrown over the shoulder and the letter it is supposed to make on the floor is though to be the initial of their sweetheart.

Following the seeds are taken from the apple and each one of them is given the name of some young man who is a favorite with the girl who desires to find out which one of them will pop the question first.  The seeds are placed on the top of a hot stove and the seed which burst first from the heat is supposed to represent the young man who will pop the question first.

There are many other ways of spending the evening and one of them will bear repeating.  Last year a young lady who intended giving a party to a number of friends was at a loss to know just what to prepare.  She desired to depart from the old-time style and give something unique.  In her quandary, she mentioned the matter to an old colored man of all work and it was this that saved the day.

The old man suggested that the basement or cellar of the house be used for the occasion.  Acting on his advice and giving him carts blanche, the mistress of the house was more than pleased with the result.  The old darkey with the assistance of a number of others went to the woods and pulled a lot of autumn leaves.  These, with a lot of old portiere curtains and tapestries were strewn over the walls of the cellar and made a veritable elves bower of the place.

A wide avenue of the leaves was made from the front door of the house to the cellar door and the guests were directed to enter by the cellar door.  The darkey had made a raid on the pumpkin patch and with a penknife had made a dozen or 'more 'jack-o-lanterns."  These were placed artistically about the cellar and were the only light used.  The effect was all that could have been desired and when the guests arrived and entered the cellar there were many exclamations of admiration and surprise.  The luncheon for the occasion was served in the cellar the guests sitting about on boxes and other objects that were covered to represent stones and old pieces of logs. The old darkey was there too and during the evening, he told stories in his own peculiar way of ghosts and hobgoblins and folklore of the Negroes.  Some of the stories he told brought little exclamations or apprehension and there were many glances over their shoulders into the dark recesses of the cellar to see if there was any thing uncanny about.

Halloween reminds one so forcibly of Bonnie Scotland and Robert Burns descriptions of the carnival of hobgoblins and witches hiding high carnival that the one wishing to give a pleasant Halloween party is advised to hunt up an old copy of Burns poetry and read therein the charms.  Try varying the custom this year and follow the Scotch on of having the Halloween celebration out of doors.   Swing Jack-o-lanterns from the trees and light the grounds with gasoline and pine torches. Build fortunetellers caves of leaves, and have a real cabbage patch and a mysterious well guarded by an imp with pitchfork.

The bonfire is the main feature.  When all the guests have arrived, give each a lighted flambeau or torch and have a procession winding about the grounds.  Add some fantastic characters to give zest to the procession.  Have the procession circle three times around the big bonfires waiting to be lighted packing boxes and logs sprinkled with turpentine.  At a signal, have all the torches thrown into the fire starting the flames.

When the flames are at their brightest, have a figure dressed as a hobgoblin appear, dragging a car surrounded by fairies carrying long spears.  Have the effigy of an old witch bounded to the car.  The fairies en circle the fire as the hobgoblin throws the witch into the heart of the flames.

This type is the consuming of trouble. Then the company may dance and sing at night. This is the song of Halloween frolic loved by Princess Beatrice and arranged for her at Balmoral castle, Scotland.  ON one of these occasions, Queen Victoria danced the Scottish national dance with her faithful grille. "John Brown" raising a storm of criticism. Queen one of Victoria the Scottish national dance with her faithful gillie, "John Brown, raising a storm of criticism.