This essay was originally published in the now-defunct magazine Vocabula Review, in 2008. Ghost stories and other types of horror fiction abound in English-language literature, but there seem to be relatively few classic tales or poems that deal specifically with Halloween, our annual celebration of all things terrifying. Christmas, of course, has inspired countless songs, stories, and poems. And even Thanksgiving has its own traditional song. Although the words are sometimes altered to make it a Christmas carol, the song we know as “Over the River and Through the Woods” is officially titled “A Boy’s Thanksgiving Day,” and was written by Lydia Marie Child, in 1844. Alas, the most famous song associated with Halloween is the moronic 1962 novelty hit “Monster Mash,” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt Kickers. Moreover, Thanksgiving has inspired at least a couple of classic short stories, “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen,” by O. Henry, and “The Thanksgiving Visitor,” by Truman Capote. The classic story most often read in schoolrooms on Halloween is probably Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The story is spooky and prominently features a pumpkin, but it makes no actual mention of Halloween or any of its contemporary rituals. Robert Burns’ 1786 poem “Halloween” is bawdy and amusing but the Halloween customs described therein bear little resemblance to the ones practiced today. Judging by Burns’ poem, a Scottish Halloween in the 18th century was all about divining one’s romantic future. The characters in the poem spend all evening engaging in curious rituals purported to foretell whether one will marry a maid, a hag, a widow, the man of one’s dreams, or no one at all. One ritual requires courting lovers to place a pair of nuts (presumably chestnuts) side by side in a fire. If the two nuts roast quietly together, the courtship will result in marriage. If the fire causes one or both nuts to pop and leap away from its mate, the courtship will end badly. Burns’ characters also believe that if one holds a candle to a mirror on Halloween night while eating an apple and combing one’s hair, one will see the image of one’s future lover (sadly, Burns doesn’t explain how it is possible to perform all these tasks at once). In America, Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” is the probably the poem most often associated with Halloween. It is creepy and entertaining but it has nothing to do with Halloween. If Poe and Irving don’t mention Halloween in their works, it may be because, according to Wikipedia, “American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th centuries do not include Halloween in their lists of holidays.” The Puritans forbade the observance of the holiday. And not until the potato famine of 1845-49 brought millions of immigrants to America from Ireland (where Halloween was – and still is – a popular holiday) did Americans begin to observe All Hallows Eve in large numbers. Most of the rituals we associate with Halloween – dressing in scary costumes, visiting haunted houses, trick-or-treating – are of 20th century origin. Although autumn harvest festivals have been around since ancient times, their transmutation into a celebration of fear is a relatively recent phenomenon, especially in England and America, which may be why there is very little English-language literature that is Halloween-specific.
HALLOWEEN READING
HALLOWEEN READING
HALLOWEEN READING
This essay was originally published in the now-defunct magazine Vocabula Review, in 2008. Ghost stories and other types of horror fiction abound in English-language literature, but there seem to be relatively few classic tales or poems that deal specifically with Halloween, our annual celebration of all things terrifying. Christmas, of course, has inspired countless songs, stories, and poems. And even Thanksgiving has its own traditional song. Although the words are sometimes altered to make it a Christmas carol, the song we know as “Over the River and Through the Woods” is officially titled “A Boy’s Thanksgiving Day,” and was written by Lydia Marie Child, in 1844. Alas, the most famous song associated with Halloween is the moronic 1962 novelty hit “Monster Mash,” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt Kickers. Moreover, Thanksgiving has inspired at least a couple of classic short stories, “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen,” by O. Henry, and “The Thanksgiving Visitor,” by Truman Capote. The classic story most often read in schoolrooms on Halloween is probably Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The story is spooky and prominently features a pumpkin, but it makes no actual mention of Halloween or any of its contemporary rituals. Robert Burns’ 1786 poem “Halloween” is bawdy and amusing but the Halloween customs described therein bear little resemblance to the ones practiced today. Judging by Burns’ poem, a Scottish Halloween in the 18th century was all about divining one’s romantic future. The characters in the poem spend all evening engaging in curious rituals purported to foretell whether one will marry a maid, a hag, a widow, the man of one’s dreams, or no one at all. One ritual requires courting lovers to place a pair of nuts (presumably chestnuts) side by side in a fire. If the two nuts roast quietly together, the courtship will result in marriage. If the fire causes one or both nuts to pop and leap away from its mate, the courtship will end badly. Burns’ characters also believe that if one holds a candle to a mirror on Halloween night while eating an apple and combing one’s hair, one will see the image of one’s future lover (sadly, Burns doesn’t explain how it is possible to perform all these tasks at once). In America, Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” is the probably the poem most often associated with Halloween. It is creepy and entertaining but it has nothing to do with Halloween. If Poe and Irving don’t mention Halloween in their works, it may be because, according to Wikipedia, “American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th centuries do not include Halloween in their lists of holidays.” The Puritans forbade the observance of the holiday. And not until the potato famine of 1845-49 brought millions of immigrants to America from Ireland (where Halloween was – and still is – a popular holiday) did Americans begin to observe All Hallows Eve in large numbers. Most of the rituals we associate with Halloween – dressing in scary costumes, visiting haunted houses, trick-or-treating – are of 20th century origin. Although autumn harvest festivals have been around since ancient times, their transmutation into a celebration of fear is a relatively recent phenomenon, especially in England and America, which may be why there is very little English-language literature that is Halloween-specific.