Halloween History
It's said these 2 hues trace back to the festival of Samhain, one representing death & the other the autumn harvest.
What are orange and black?
Long Black Veil
Ten years ago, on a cold dark night
There was someone killed 'neath the town hall light
There were few at the scene, but they all agreed
That the slayer who ran looked a lot like me
The judge said, "Son what is your alibi?
If you were somewhere else then you won't have to die"
I spoke not a word though it meant my life
For I had been in the arms of my best friend's wife
She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, nobody sees Nobody knows but me
In the term "All Hallow's Eve", what does the word 'Hallow' mean?
Saint or Holy
The author of Frankenstein.
Who is Mary Shelley?
Monster Mash
I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise
He did the Monster Mash (The Monster Mash)
It was a graveyard smash (He did the Mash)
It caught on in a flash (He did the Mash)
He did the Monster Mash
In this 1968 Roman Polanski classic starring Mia Farrow, a young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
What is Rosemary's Baby?
Baby Face
baby face - You've got the cutest little baby face
There's not another who could take your place baby face
My poor heart's jumpin' You sure have started somethin'
Baby face - I'm up in heaven when I'm in your firm embrace
Mmm, I didn't need a shove 'cause I
Fell in love with your pretty baby face
This no-hands Halloween game may be related to the Roman celebration of the goddess Pomona.
What is bobbing for apples?
Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree
Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me.
Anyone else but me, Anyone else but me. No no no!
Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me,
'Til I come marching home.
What "celebrity" famously died on Halloween, 1926?
Harry Houdini
Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
Five foot two, eyes of blue, But oh, what those five foot could do
Has anybody seen my gal?
Turned up nose, turned down hose, Never had no other beaus
Has anybody seen my gal?
Now if you run into a five foot two, covered with fur
Diamond rings and all those things you can betcha' life it isn't her
But could she love, could she woo?
Could she, could she, could she coo?
Has anybody seen my gal?
October brings out undead soldiers, vampires & ghosts, all serving the Headless Horseman at Philipsburg Manor in this N.Y. village.
What is Sleepy Hollow?
Transylvania is a region in this country.
What is Romania?
This Hitchcock classic revolving around a strange mother-son relationship won four Academy Awards.
What is Psycho?
I want a girl, just like the girl that married dear old Dad,
She was a pearl and the only girl that daddy ever had,
A good old fashioned girl with heart so true,
One who love nobody else but you,
I want a girl, just like the girl that married dear old Dad.
Which Country Consumes The Most Chocolate Per Capita?
Switzerland
Sugartime
Sugar in the mornin', Sugar in the evenin', Sugar at suppertime
Be my little sugar, And love me all the time
Honey in the mornin', Honey in the evenin', Honey at suppertime
So by my little honey, And love me all the time
Put your arms around me, And swear by stars above
You'll be mine forever In a heaven of love
Sugar in the mornin', Sugar in the evenin', Sugar at suppertime
Be my little sugar, And love me all the time
Halloween goes back to Samhain, a word from this Irish language; in a Celtic festival, people wore masks so ghosts wouldn't recognize them.
What is Gaelic?
When Irish Eyes are Smiling
When Irish eyes are smiling
Sure, 'tis like a morn' in Spring
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing
When Irish hearts are happy
All the world seems bright and gay
And when Irish eyes are smiling
Sure, they steal your heart away
The traditional role of Black Cats in Halloween and Occult Lore is as one of these, a supernatural entity or spiritual guardian that protects and assists witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic.
What is a familiar?
In which Shakespeare play, do three witches say "Double, double, toil and trouble"?
Macbeth
Bewitched
I'm wild again, beguilded again
A simpering, whimpering child again
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered - am I
Couldn't sleep, and wouldn't sleep
then love came and tole me I shouldn't sleep
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered - am I
Lost my heart, but what of it? He is cold, I agree
He can laugh, but I love it
Although the laugh's on me
I'll sing to him each Spring to him
And long for the day when I'll cling to him
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered -am I
Sissy Spacek plays a misunderstood teenage girl with telekinetic powers in this 1976 horror flick.
What is Carrie?
It's Raining on Prom Night
It's raining on prom night, my hair is a mess
It's running all over my taffeta dress
It's wilting the quilting on my maiden form
And mascara flows right down my nose
Because of the storm
I don't even have my corsage, oh gee
It fell down a sewer with my sister's ID
oh It's raining on prom night
This tri-colored treat that is, let's say, not universally adored was once called chicken feed; yum?
What is candy corn?
Surrey With the Fringe on Top
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry
When I take you out in the surrey,
When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top.
Watch thet fringe and see how it flutters
When I drive them high-steppin’ strutters—
Nosey-pokes’ll peek through their shutters and their eyes will pop!
The wheels are yeller, the upholstery’s brown,
The dashboard’s genuine leather,
With isinglass curtains y’ c’n roll right down
In case there’s a change in the weather.
Two bright side lights winkin’ and blinkin’,
Ain’t no finer rig, I’m a-thinkin’;
You c’n keep yer rig if you’re thinkin’ ’at I’d keer to swap
Fer that shiny little surrey with the fringe on the top.
On October 31, 1938 he expressed "deep regret" for shocking the nation with his radio broadcast the night before.
Who is Orson Welles? (War of the Worlds)
A Halloween tradition began in 1950 when trick-or-treaters in Philadelphia sent $17 to this organization.
What is UNICEF?
Music, Music, Music
Put another nickel in, In the nickelodeon
All I want is having you And music, music, music
I'd do anything for you Anything you'd want me to
All I want is kissing you And music, music, music
Closer My dear, come closer
The nicest part of any melody
Is when you're dancing close to me
So, put another nickel in In the nickelodeon
All I want is loving you And music, music, music
If you suffer from coulrophobia, you are afraid of this costumed character, depicted throughout history in both jolly and sinister ways.
What is a clown?
Send in the Clowns
Isn't it rich? Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air, Where are the clowns?
Isn't it bliss? Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around, One who can't move,
Where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns? Send in the clowns!
In 1973, this film about a young girl's demonic possession convinced Americans to throw away their Ouija boards.
What is The Exorcist?
Barmbrack, also often shortened to brack, is a yeast bread with added sultanas and raisins. The bread is associated with Halloween in Ireland, where trinkets like cloth, peas, matchsticks, coins, and rings are baked in for this purpose.
What is fortune telling?
Find a pea, and you’ll not find love for the next 12 months. Uncover a coin, and you’ll have abundance and fortune in the year ahead. Find a piece of cloth and will have a restrained financial year.
Now, find a matchstick and be ready to have a turbulent love life for the forthcoming year. But if you find a ring, congratulations, you will be married before the year ends.
The first time the White House was decorated for Halloween was in 1958, when she, Ike's better half, hung owls & goblins.
Who is Mamie Eisenhower?
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
They asked me how I knew my true love was true
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, I, of course replied
"Something here inside cannot be denied"
They said, "Someday, you'll find all who love are blind - when your heart's on fire
You must realize smoke gets in your eyes"
Halloween is special in Baltimore when brave spirits come to Westminster Hall to see the grave of this "Telltale Heart" author & local resident, & descend into nearby catacombs.
Who is Edgar Allen Poe?
All of Me
All of me, Why not take all of me?
Can't you see I'm no good without you?
Take my lips I want to lose them
Take my arms I'll never use them
Your goodbye Left me with eyes that cry
How can I go on, dear, without you?
You took the part That once was my heart
So why not take all of me?
What is the purpose of a witches' window?
People in Vermont used them to stop witches from coming into the house as it was believed that witches could not fly their broomsticks into a diagonal window
This 1968 movie follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania, under assault by reanimated corpses.
What is "Night of the Living Dead"?
Mrs. Robinson (1968)
And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know
Whoa, whoa, whoa God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey, hey, hey, Hey, hey, hey
We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files
We'd like to help you learn to help yourself
Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home
And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know
Whoa, whoa, whoa God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey
Originally, instead of pumpkins, this small root vegetable of the mustard family was used for carving.
What is a turnip?