Halloween

The earliest appearance of the word “Halloween” in American print is known to be in the April 1836 publication of The Lady’s Book, more commonly known as Godey’s Magazine, published in Philadelphia. This was a women’s publication, popular for its colorful drawings of the latest fashions as well as stories for women, such as “Clara Lawson; or, The Rustic Toilet”, the story in which Halloween first appeared in print in the United States.

 

These two engravings from 1849 depict popular Halloween superstitions which spanned the mid to late 19th century. The superstition depicted in the first image remained popular through the first decade of the 20th century.

First image:
It was said that if a woman who was single looked in a mirror at exactly midnight on Halloween eve, she would see the reflection of her future husband whom she would soon meet.

Second image:
This superstition was often practiced as a group activity consisting of two or more women, all of whom were single.
Prior to the clock striking midnight on Halloween eve, each woman would boil an egg. When the egg was boiled, the yoke was removed, and the empty egg filled with salt. At exactly midnight, the women were to eat the salt-filled egg without anything to drink. They were then to go to bed immediately after. Because the salt would make them thirsty, they were supposed to dream of water, in which the spirit of their future husband was supposed to bring them a glass of water in that dream. If the woman accepted the glass of water from her dream suitor, she would one day meet that very man in real life and marry him. If she refused the glass of water, she would not meet that man and chances would be greater of her becoming a spinster.

  

 

Early 20th century postcards depicting the superstition mentioned in the post above, that if a single woman were to look in a mirror at midnight on Halloween eve, she would see the reflection of the man she would soon meet and marry.

    

    

    

 

The Dennison Manufacturing Company, founded in 1897, manufactured paper boxes, paper party favors, and other paper goods. In 1909, they published their first Halloween catalog, called the Dennison Bogie Book, which not only featured items to purchase for Halloween parties, but also provided decorating suggestions for the holiday, in which company staff could be written to for assistance with ideas.
The Dennison Bogie Book ceased publication the next two years but returned in 1912 and ran through 1934.

The first image below is of the Dennison Manufacturing Company from the early 1900s, located in Framingham, Massachusetts. The second image is a decorating idea appearing in the 1909 Dennison Bogie Book.

 

The images below are from an 1887 costume book titled Guide to Fancy Dress. The book claimed the costumes would be acceptable for either a Halloween party or a ball. A number of these costumes are designed after outfits worn by historical figures or fictional characters from books.

 

An 1871 advertisement for ghostly home entertainment.

 

“‘Twas the Night of All Hallows”, a Halloween poem printed in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on October 31, 1865. It was written to be read in the same style as the Christmas poem, “A Visit From St. Nicholas”.

 

“The Merry Skeleton”, 1898

 

“The Pumpkin Effigy”, 1867

 

Whether you’re a fan of it or not, Candy Corn has become associated with Halloween. Upon its introduction in the 1880s, it was originally called Chicken Feed, with the tagline “Something Worth Crowing For”. The candy’s name soon changed to Candy Corn, though the Chicken Feed tagline lingered a while longer.

 

“Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel” (1900)
Uncle Josh was a comedic character developed by Thomas Edison’s production studio (Edison Studios) in New Jersey. He is considered to be the first character featured in a film franchise, as he appeared in two other Edison short films.
“Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel” begins with the hotel manager telling a guest (Uncle Josh) that a ghost appears in the room at midnight. Frightened of seeing the ghost, won’t Uncle Josh be delighted when it doesn’t appear at that time. Or does it?

 

The night before Halloween is known by many as mischief night, or gate night, a night in which certain individuals prowl the streets causing mischief, such as toilet papering trees, cars, etc.
Mischief night is nothing new. In the 19th and early 20th century, mischief was done on Halloween itself, not the night prior. Ways in which people (mainly kids and teens) caused mischief started out relatively harmless, such as soaping storefront windows or switching street or store signs. However, the troublemaking often progressed to more damaging pranks such as tipping over outhouses, removing exterior staircases from the outside of homes and buildings, egging houses, opening gates so livestock got loose, and unhinging and stealing gate doors altogether, as depicted in the postcard below.

 

“The Haunted Homestead”, 1860

 

19th/early 20th century Halloween costumes