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Thursday, October 2, 2025

Halloween Fun in the 1800s


October is here, and I couldn’t resist talking about Halloween in the 1800s. Today, we think of costumes and candy, but back then folks worked hard to take the “scary” out of the holiday and focus on community and fun. By the late 1800s, Halloween parties were common for children and adults alike, filled with games, laughter, and the occasional spooky twist.

Some of the favorites you’d recognize: Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Bobbing for Apples, Blind Man’s Bluff, and good old-fashioned scavenger hunts. But they also had a few games you probably haven’t heard of

One was called Halloween Pudding. The host baked a fruitcake with five objects hidden inside — a thimble, a coin, a button, a key, and a ring. When the cake was served, each item had a meaning: the ring meant marriage, the coin wealth, the key a journey, the button true love, and the dreaded thimble? A future as an old maid or lifelong bachelor! (No one wanted the thimble.)

Victorians also enjoyed games of fortune-telling. A young woman might sit in front of a mirror with a candle, peeling an apple in one long strip. If she succeeded, her true love’s face was supposed to appear in the mirror… unless, of course, a skull appeared instead. Not exactly the most cheerful of predictions!

And then there were “haunted” games. One version had young women enter a darkened room, told it was haunted, and retrieve a box from a dresser drawer without screaming. Inside the boxes? Party favors for the guests. Compared to the modern game Green Ghost (for those who remember it), the Victorians had it easy. My siblings and I played Green Ghost in a dark attic, with cold oatmeal or Jell-O cubes in the boxes. You can imagine the shrieks when we reached in and touched something slimy!

Halloween in the 1800s was less about candy and costumes and more about fun, fellowship, and perhaps a touch of romance.

How about you? Do you celebrate Halloween, or simply enjoy the season’s pumpkins, apples, and crisp autumn air?

Until next time,

Kit

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