A Very Victorian Halloween

Wren Falk
Oct 31
3 min read

A turnip jack-o'-lantern, 1943 -- National Museum of Ireland

From ghosts and ghouls to tricks and treats, Victorian Halloween was a night to remember. Halloween, All Hallow Eve or All-Saints Eve was a celebration held in apprehension by property owners and admiration for optimistic lovers. Party games and tricks ran rampant through normally calm and collected Victorian towns.

Halloween was viewed in the Victorian era as a Pagan holiday that was not recognized by the church, nevertheless the Victorian youth would not be put off of this rambunctious night. One newspaper wrote in 1872 that the origins of Halloween arose from Scottish folklore (1), where the tradition like carving vegetables such as turnips originated from. Traditions arose that encouraged young women to partake in a variety of rituals to discover the identity of their future husbands. Many Victorian newspapers in Atchison thought Halloween was a celebration for young folks to run amok.

Halloween greeting card showing a young woman seeking her future husband -- Public Domain Review

The Victorian era was rather polarized in terms of the activities of young people. Young men on Halloween night would spend the dark hours terrorizing properties around town. Fences were a popular victim for Halloween nights, often being fully destroyed and removed in a single evening. One account from Atchison in 1881 shares how a group of boys overturned many outhouses around town, resulting in arrests and fines (3). This property damage became so severe that several newspapers wrote of the poor influence Halloween had on the youths of America.

While the young men were off conspiring their tricks, young women were partaking in more supernatural habits. While Halloween is not considered a romantic holiday in modern terms, the Victorians held the belief that Halloween was the one night a year that a young woman could see the face of her future husband. There was not just one means to find your true love, but many different avenues to love. Some of these rituals included eating an apple while staring into a mirror (2), plucking weeds from the ground to examine the dirt, and twining rose stems together and placing them beneath one's pillow. Whether through mirrors in the dark or testing bowls of water for cleanliness, single young people in the Victorian era were desperate for love and would use any excuse to spend time with other youths.

A Victorian woman wearing a celestial witch costume -- The Victorian Historian

When the young people of the Victorian era were socially allowed to gather without any chaperones, there was no telling what kind of mischief could be cooked up. Party games were a very popular pastime for Victorian youths and combined both whimsy and danger. One popular game involved tying both an apple and a lit candle to a stick on the ceiling. This stick would then be spun rapidly and party goers would take turns jumping for the apple without the use of their hands. Results varied from getting a healthy chomp of apple to a burnt eyebrow or two (4). More reserved guests may instead choose to bob for apples in a tub of water. While the parties may be eye-catching, some young women were still more focused on finding their future loves. One party game combined the young men’s need for tricks and the young women’s drive for romance. Young women would travel to a dark unlit basement at the house. The young men would close, and sometimes lock, the doors while the young women looked for the face of their future husbands in the dark. Only time would tell if the women would see the shadow of their future husband and whether or not the men would unlock the cellar doors to let the women back upstairs (5).

Halloween of the Victorian era was made up of a combination of superstition and the restlessness of youth. From property damage to predicting one's future through nuts in a firepot, the history and traditions of Halloween can be ascertained. Next time you go out Trick-or-Treating on a chilly Halloween night, remember the rambunctious Victorian youths. Happy Halloween!