Spooky Halloween adventures
British folklore and the history of Halloween
Halloween – traditionally written as Hallowe’en – marks a time to welcome the darker evenings as we approach winter. In Tudor times, this was an opportunity to pray for the souls of the departed, and people would ring bells to help trapped souls in purgatory move on to their final resting places. To remember those who have moved on to the other side, offerings of flowers and lighted candles are traditionally left on All Hallows’ Eve (or All Soul’s Night). The Halloween festival is thought to have its origins in an older Celtic festival, Samhain, which marks the end of the harvest season.
Other rituals are embedded into the history of Halloween, like one from 19th century Buckinghamshire. Light a candle and insert two pins through the wick as it burns, while reciting: ‘It’s not this candle alone I stick, but [name]’s heart I mean to prick, whether they be asleep or awake, I’d have them come to me and speak’.
Read more about Halloween – and other folklore - in 'A Treasury of British Folklore' by Dee Dee Chainey.
