English Ghost Stories in Halloween History

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Ginny on behalf of Expert Village and I'd like to tell you a story. Come, travel back in time with me as we explore the brief History of Halloween. In the United States many different countries brought with them their traditions. The English influence saw families gathering together to have parties, dance, sing, eat apples and nuts, tell ghost stories, and try to tell each other's fortunes. This grew out of the English holiday of Nut Crack or Snap Apple Night, as it is still called in parts of England. The Irish brought with them many, many customs and trappings of Halloween that we have today. They hung to their Oidhche Shamhna or Night of Samhain that came from the ancient Celts. They also discovered that pumpkins make much better jack-o-lanterns and that scary faces could be carved in them to ward off the evil spirits. Scottish families kept alive the traditions of girls staying inside to play fortune telling games and pass out food while the boys roamed outside engaging in pranks. They would also go door to door begging for food and playing jokes or causing harmless chaos on those who didn't go along with them. Many different countries had the traditions of boys or groups of people going on parades or door to door asking for food and favors. Stay tuned for the History of Halloween, Chapter 13."