Jack o’Lantern: Image via Wikipedia

“Oh, it’s nobbut th’mischief neet,” as we Northerners say in our local parlance. The custom has existed for centuries, unchanged until now, in Northern towns like Doncaster, Bradford and Liverpool.

The origins of Mischief Night remain as shrouded as a corpse. The earliest records of Mischief Night are from the 1790s, from Middleton, Lancashire and St John’s College, Oxford. In those days, the night was 30 April, not 31 October. Later, the Night was moved to 4 November as more people moved to the cities. There are court records from the 1820s which demonstrate a leniency towards the pranksters, even in regards to arson! It was the one night that youth, that is young men, were free to settle grudges by way of pranks like uprooting fences, trampling gardens and setting livestock loose. When Yorkshire and Lancashire folk immigrated to North America during the Industrial Revolution, the custom came with them, albeit tempered by morality and decorum. The “mischief” part became the threat of a “trick” and the “treat” part arrived.

Mischief Night is still celebrated in the North and the Midlands of England. Eggs (flour, tomato sauce, shaving foam and toilet paper) will be thrown, gates will be removed, dustbins will be tipped over, honey will be smeared on doorknobs, doors will be knocked and fled from and the police will be on patrol. Mischief Night is still celebrated on the 4 November, the night before Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes in Yorkshire, where it is also called “Miggy Night” or “Mischievous Night”, “Tick-Tack Night”, “Corn Night”, “Trick Night” and “Micky Night”. In Liverpool it is called “Mizzy Night” and is celebrated on 30 October.  

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2008/10/28/mischief-night-crackdown-100252-22130316/

http://web.archive.org/web/20070319092943/http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/2005/10/17/mischief_night_feature.shtml

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/nov/02/2

White Mischief Night, London: Image by gruntzooki via Flickr

© Copyright 2010 Thomas Pelto

It’s Halloween and it’s time to fill up the candy bowls, create a cute or scary costume, or attend a thrilling Halloween party.  And why not?  Halloween seems to bring out the party ghouls and goblins and the curiousity of the “other world”.  At this time of the year than most, we start to wonder about the spirits that walk the earth and want to know, if a ghost haunts our own lives.  Is it real? Or is this just our imagination going wild?

I have had my share of wonder as well. And I have even experienced the “spirit world” and it was not by choice.  It is important to know, that every single one of us has the ability to see, hear or just feel the presence of a ghost. It is a matter of taping into that part of the brain that allows us to be open to that kind of thinking.  Whether you believe it or not, there are ghosts that exist that just don’t know how to pass over or they have unfinished business here.  These ghosts are everywhere.  So if you are looking to go out “ghost hunting”, there are some rules and items to consider on your hunt. 

First off, if you are new to this “ghost hunting”, a good digital device for audio is always a good start.  When entering a cemetery, for example (and I hope that you have already looked up online that it is haunted) they say not to walk on the graves. In part, that is correct.  But if you do, don’t worry.  Nothing is going to grab you. A digital/video camera is the second item of choice here as well.  Digital imagery and sound will pick up on more motion and noise than what we can see and hear with our own eyes and ears.    These are more than likely an orb. (not a dirty lense or water) Within a  larger orb you just might be able to make out a face of some sort. That is normal and plus these larger orbs are little more stronger and want to be seen.   Could these be spirits from the graves? Possibility, but more than likely they are.  Just remember if you think you see a ghost, don’t think that all ghosts want to hurt you.  They are just as curious to who you are as you are to them. 

Ouija boards are yet another interesting item to work with.  I did have my experience with a ouija board, and personally will never work with them again.  It did work one night for me and my friends (and this was a long time ago), and it was an experience that was hard to get rid of.  These boards can work with all parties wanting to be serious to reaching someone.  It opens a “Portal” or a door, as some may say and allows that spirit or possibly others thru.  So could you bring someone else thru that you did not anticipate? Sure! And would you be able to handle the “other” spirit that enters your world?  Only time can tell.  But one thing is for sure, that if you do not want this thing to haunt you and do not want the board in your presence, the proper disposal is to burn it.  Throwing it away will not get “rid of” whatever you brought in. Watch it as it burns so you know its completely in ashes.

Another factor to think about here is looking up where the hauntings are.  Yeah, sure you may hear in conversation that a “Dance club” or a bar is haunted or even a restaurant.  Do listen but then research.  Don’t drive all over the place to find something.  Let your fingers do the walking first.  For example, “Hauntings in America”, or Hauntings in your state, even county or city exist as well.  Be specific to your location. You will be amazed that the cemetery down the street from you is an actual real place to visit at midnight.  Be careful as well.  At this time of the year, police are very strict on cemeteries and such and they will be looking for those “Ghost Hunters”.  Only because why? Again, its Halloween! 

I have had many experiences with my family.  Specifically, my brother, sister and I (with spouses) go ghost hunting and have been doing this for the past 6 years.  Some experiences are just simply funny, because nothing happens.  Here we are 6 grown-ups with some digital items and a hanger broken in two to be used a “detector for ghosts”. Plus, we are walking around looking for something to spook us.  Yeah, its fun! But also a little crazy!

On a serious note, things can and DO happen.  Ever wonder why you suddenly feel cold for about a second or two and then it goes away? They say that’s a spirit walking by you, or thru you. That is true. Have you ever just walked into a room and suddenly smell a fragance that was worn by someone you knew from the past? Or how about an odor in the room that reminded you of how the house you grew up in smelled after your mom cleaned up after dinner? Coincidence or is that just “them” telling you “Hello” or “Goodbye”? Believing it is up to you, however experiencing it is another. 

Don’t doubt yourself if you saw something in the corner of your eye as well. If you go out this month looking for a ghost and suddenly feel like someone is behind you,  then there probably really is someone or something behind you.  Be prepared and don’t be too scared. Of course its normal to be scared or nervous and possibly pee your pants, but overall its the experience of what you are doing. It will certainly get your adrenaline going for a long time.  When you go out with a group of friends (or family) , try to split up more.  My family at first grouped up in one big clump, and it became very hard to move. (because everyone was just a bit nervous).  Splitting up allows more to room, but also to cover more ground and get more pictures and such.  Also, have a meeting point when you split. Carry your walkie talkies and keep talking to each other, it creates more of a feeling to move forward knowing that you have someone at the other end to talk to, or if you want, to scream to.

So you see, there really are pointers to keep in mind when ghost hunting.  The shows you see on TV are true to the fact of why they carry those items with them.  It’s good for you too.  My family to this day still talk about the first experience we had and laugh so hard at ourselves. Most of my family had not experience a ghost (except my brother and I) so our “Cry-Baby Bridge” event was a bust but was so much fun that we just laugh hysterically at what we did.  Ghost hunting around Halloween is definitely a grown-up party and with the spirit of the season, it just enhances the moment and the intense feeling of “seeing” a ghost. This is definitely a lot of fun, but most of all it becomes a “bonding”moment that creates memories that you will never forget.  So I wish you and your friends a “Happy and safe Halloween”…and most of all ….”a frightful ghost hunting adventure”. And don’t  forget the flashlights!

Halloween named after all hallows eve is the night before the “all hallows” is observed on November 1^st. Hallow, in old English, meant sanctify. Christians would observe All Hallows Day to honor all saints in heaven. It was one of the most significant observances of the church year. Pope Boniface IV introduced the All Saints Day in order to replace the pagan festival of the dead. This was originally celebrated on May 13^th, but was later moved to November 1^st by Gregory III.

Trespassing rabbits aside, let us decipher the origins of the common traditions we hold near and dear during Halloween.

Carving Pumpkins

The Irish, always good for an interesting story, gave us this one.  Jack was a known jerk around town.  One of many versions of the Jack story tells that Jack invited the devil to have a drink with him.  Like so many of our friends from college, Jack shafts the devil with the bill, asking the devil to turn himself into a coin to pay for the drinks. The story gets weird when the devil actually complies with this request.  Jack placed a cross next to the coin, trapping the devil.  Jack decided to release the devil on a few conditions.  Conditions being, the devil wouldn’t bug Jack for a year and upon death, he couldn’t take his soul.  At this point, Jack sounds about as bright as a guy who has the devil trapped and doesn’t know leverage when he’s got it.  Do remember this is being told by the Irish who have a history of questionable origin stories.  For the record, I might have asked for a million wishes. 

When it came time for Jack to close the tab on life, the devil – true to his word, did not take Jack’s soul.  But God didn’t want him either, being that making deals with the devil is generally frowned upon.  Seems the devil is looking less like a bumbling idiot in this story than previously thought.  In an unfathomable display of generosity, the devil tossed Jack a burning flame from the depths of hell to light Jack’s way as he wandered the earth for eternity.  Jack gourdes a turnip – his favorite food, and placed the flame in the cavity.  Thankfully, he wasn’t fond of bananas.

Today, you carve a pumpkin to ward off Jack’s spirit.  Even though he is probably off somewhere trying to convince the Easter Bunny to turn himself in an American Express card.  

Dressing Up in Costumes

People have been dressing in costume since around the Middle Ages, for reasons other than holiday spirit, more likely for orgies and parties.  This was a tradition that was more or less taken over by Americans, and turned into the day that women can feel free to compete against other women to wear the least amount of clothing.

There is speculation that this might have been started by the Celts. They celebrated Samhain, which marked the end of summer and the beginning of a harsh winter. On this day, the lines that usually divided the living from the dead were a bit fuzzy.  Thus, the living had to frighten the wandering spirits off, by wearing animal skins and heads.  When the Romans took over, they adopted the tradition, and redirected the focus to worship of the gods.  When the Catholics took over, they redirected the focus to saint worship.  When the Americans got to it, we redirected the focus to Spiderman worship.   

Trick-or-Treating

Trick or Treating dates back to the Middle Ages, when beggars would go to door to door, trading prayers for the dead for food.  There isn’t a clear line that connects this practice to the modern North American trick-or-treating, making it seem as though Americans came up with the idea to send their kids out begging door to door all on their own.  It made a slow spread until World War II, when sugar was rationed.  No one wanted raisins, so it died off during this time.  To this day, it is customary to avoid houses that give out anything remotely healthy, or black licorice.  It wasn’t until Disney came out with a cartoon about trick or treating that it really built up steam.  

As is the custom, Americans made trick-or-treating a brand of their own by placing needles, hallucinogens and poison in the candy and giving it out to children.

Bobbing for Apples

After the Romans took over Samhain, Pomona, the goddess of fruit, was elected the mascot of the holiday.  Apples were a known symbol of fertility.  The Romans used apples as a way to determine marriages, thus spawned the game of trying to bite into an apple in water or hanging from a tree.  But it was less of a game than it was a bloodsport.  The first person to bite the apple was the next one to marry.  Marriage and having children was important, in order to produce more laborers; an idea I can get behind.

Do you remember bobbing for apples?  Fall was in the air, maybe you had a little cold.  So did the other twenty children who dunked their snotty faces into a bucket of water and attempted, and often failed, to put their mouths around a piece of food, and everyone else followed suit.  Kids have dandruff and lice too.  Bam.  There goes your childhood memory.

image source

Well, to be fair, we do not have a time machine, so we can only reconstruct the holiday based on what we do know. Two things are for certain, it was a Pagan holiday, celebrated by the Celtic people, and it was not evil. The time was called “Samhain” (say sow-win) and was a two, or three day festival. It was to mark the end of summer, the beginning of winter. A time when people of an ordinarily ordered society, were allowed to be silly and do odd things. A time of harmless pranks, much like our “April fools day”. People dressed up, generally in reversed roles, men as women, and visa-versa. People, not just children, went about collecting food hand outs from the farmers for a feast. Turnips were hollowed out to use to carry candles in.

It was also a practical time when the old and sick animals were slaughtered, to be preserved and eaten. If there were fewer animals to feed throughout a tough winter, it simply made things easier on the people. As such many of these animals were honored by having their skulls displayed. This was also a time to worship and celebrate dead ancestors.

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In today’s society we find death creepy and uncomfortable, something to be feared. Back then it was more accepted and there was no doubt in people’s minds about a happy afterlife. There was no threat of hell so people simply assumed their dead relatives were at peace, but could return to walk among them on that day, to visit, and share the festival.

Early Christians put alternate meanings on most things associated with the holiday. People were told that the dressing up was to scare the evil spirits and ghosts away. In fact much was changed when the early Christians realized they simply could not get people to stop celebrating.

A name change was in order, you may have heard it was called “All Hallows Eve”, and a Christian holiday was moved from May to November first. This being All-Saints day (also known as All Hallows Day, which some nations still celebrate in the spring). Even today some religions try to forbid Halloween, due it its pagan origins. It must be noted though, that both Easter, and Christmas had pagan origins too, and most of the traditions we associate with those holidays, from the eggs to the tree, come from the pagan celebrations, Easter, and Saturnalia respectively.

Let us be fair. Halloween was not a time of “cat sacrifice” nor a time to worship Satan. As we know the early pagans did not worship the devil. The devil is a Christian belief. People blame Halloween for allowing mischief and vandalism, but the day cannot control what people do. If people go beyond harmless pranks and commit crimes, they are responsible for their own actions.

Some people want to avoid passing out a few dollars worth of candy on this day, so turn off their house lights to avoid the “trick or treating” children, so who really is the child here? That same person probably spends hundreds of dollars at Christmas without a moments thought.

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So embrace the day, dress up and have fun, pass out candy, carve a pumpkin or turnip. Do not torture cats, or other animals, or destroy property. Enjoy the day, celebrate the coming winter. What is in your mind at the time, is what you are celebrating, no matter what was done in the past.

The origins of Halloween Date back to the Celtic’s, who lived over 2000 years ago. The Celts celebrated a festival of Samhain (sow-in), it was celebrated though out the United kingdom, Ireland, and northern France. This celebration was to mark the ending of the summer harvest, the end of a year, and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time that has always been considered associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, a boundary or sorts was opened, a boundary between the world of the living and that of the dead. It is on October 31st that the Celts believed that the ghosts and spirits of the dead returned. The Celts believe these ghosts ruined crops and cause trouble. It was also believed that the Celtic priests(druids) could easily make future predictions on this night. These prophecies were of vital importance to the Celtic people, it helped provide them with a sense of safety and comfort during the long, dark winter.

This Samhain festival was an exciting event in the Celt time; The priests built Huge sacred bonfires, where the people sacrificed crops and animals to the Celtic Deities. They dressed in costumes typically made of animal heads and skins, and they played games of prediction, trying to tell one another fortunes.

By A.D. 43, the Romans had conquered the majority of the Celts and for hundreds of years they ruled their lands. The festival of the Samhain was combined with Roman traditions. By the 800s the influence of Christianity had spread through out the Celtic lands, and in the 7th century pope Boniface IV designated November 1 as “All Saints Day”. It was widely believed that the Pope was attempting to replace the Celtic’s festival of the dead with a related Church sanctioned holiday. The celebration has also been known as, “All-Hallows Even, All-Hallowma’s, Hallow E’en and of course Halloween.

Even later along the time line in AD 1000, the church would make November 2nd All souls Day to honour the dead. As the Celts, this day was celebrated with bonfires, paraded and of course dressing up in costumes.

For thousand of years people have believed halloween night to be associated with the dead, ghosts and spirits. And, because of those beliefs and the sacrifices they made we today have a tradition that is less dramatic but still exciting and a bit scary. Have fun this Halloween and remember the history that is associated with this dark night…and remember that ghosts could be about pulling tricks while you’re getting treats……….. For real….

1. The Referee from Beerfest:

   Remember to bring around “Das Boot” and to yell whenever you say anything.

2. Creepy Puppet from the Saw Movies:

   Ride around on a red tricycle all night and talk in the deep, creepy voice that the character does in the movies.

3. Hairy Box:

   Just like what it says, dress up in a box, and glue some yarn to the outside. It is slightly vulgar and some ladies might not like it, but it will get a lot of laughs. Bring some Vagisil along and tell people that you feel sweaty and apply it to your box.

4. Slightly Cloudy with a Chance of Rain:

   Dress up in all blue with some cotton balls pulled apart and glued to your clothes. Bring out a spray bottle with you and when people ask what you are, spray them and say “Slightly cloudy with a chance of rain!”

5. Ghostbuster:
   

   This is such a classic and hilarious costume. Try to bring out all of the gadgets they use and hum the Ghostbuster’s theme song most of the night. To make it even more hilarious, bring out a blow up ghost and bring it down by inflating it and stuffing it in that box that the real Ghostbusters trap the ghosts in.