Pic I took at the old St. Joe lead mine.  Haunted?

Some believe that Halloween originated from ancient harvest festivals such as the Gaelic festival Samhain and may have had pagan roots.  Then there are some that think it began as a Christian holiday.  Throughout Ireland and Britain, festivities consisted of rituals and games intended to foretell one’s future.

Special bonfires were lit because their flames, smoke, and ashes were thought to have protective and cleansing powers.  In Wales bonfires were lit to prevent the souls of the dead from falling to earth and later they were used to keep the devil away.  In Scotland, elders in some parishes banned bonfires.

Halloween is a favorite of mine.  Haunted hayride, chili, bonfire and good friends makes for a good time.  In the country Halloween was a good time of year to go “outhouse tipping”.   Then there is that dreaded fear of waking up and finding your house and trees covered in toilet paper.  Sometimes windows got “soaped” if you didn’t hand out candy.  I remember getting a lot of home made treats like popcorn balls but some very sick individual came up with the idea of putting razor blades in them.

In the 50s and 60s when I went “trick or treating” things were so much different than it is today.  One thing it was much safer.  We didn’t worry about razor blades in our candy.  I can remember getting apples and those Rice Krispie/marshmallow treats.  You always remembered the houses that passed out the good candy like Reeses Peanut Cups.  It wasn’t all store bought costumes either.  A lot of folks made costumes for their little goblins.

I don’t remember what year the first razor blades showed up but it changed the way one went “trick or treating” and it was necessary to start checking all ones goodies.  I may be dreaming it but I thought there was one time that a hospital offered to x-ray candy for folks and it was free!  It was a sad day in “goblinville” when some fool had to mess with Halloween.  That my friends is the rest of the story.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, it is deeply appreciated.  Wishing you a happy Halloween and may your “treat bag” be filled to the brim.  Be safe and be sure to spread the love.