Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-10-28
One Night in the Year When
Eye Can See Into the
Future.
Ghost Stories Before the Fire
and Many of the Quaint
Customs.
How the Day Is Still Celebrated
i'm Ireland, Wales and
Scotland.
FRIENDLY TO THOSE WHO'RE CURIOUS

All Halloween with its old time tradi-
tons and customs will soon be with us
again. Young folks especially enjoy
this season because it gives them chance
to peer into the future where they can
discern with the eye of credulity the
shadowy forms of their husband or wife,
to-be. Many interesting things, weird
and uncanny ones at that, are made to
occur on this remarkable night. Some
witchery and tricks INDUCED in are as
follows:
Make the young men among the
guests learn few of the fates. Place
three dishes, one containing clean water,
one muddy water and one with nothing
in It, Blindfold the candidates and lead
them each in turn to make trial like
Bassanio's. He who touches the clean
water will marry spinster; the muddy
water denotes that widow will get him;
the empty dish foretells life of bache-
lorhood.
Into dark room let each unmarried
girl go alone, carrying a candle. She
must walk backward to the mirror and
place the candle between her and the
glass. Now she my either take down
her hair and put it Up again, or eat an
apple, looking always backward at the
mirror. By and by, if she has luck and
her hostess is clever, she will see in the
mirror the face of the man whom she
expects to see.
This has been considered in all ages
very potent charm, and likely to result
in wedding invitations.
The Louisville young lady who wants
to Dln2 not do as they do in Scot
lan2 - kali stock IN the
crooked; but she car
following method, taking cafe
burn her fingers; Melt some leadaE ~
pour II through brass key into a vessel
of water. The shape of the hardened
lead will denote to a good guesser the
condition in life of her husband-to-be.
Another way to find out-only the
oAoWNA 10 nv AhOWh ullik-
is the "nine pilules of Dreams" Take
hazel nut, walnut and a nutmeg. Crate
all and make a paste with butter and
sugar Divide the mass into very small
pills. Let each girl swallow nine of
them as the evenings farewells are said.
What dreams may come of it should be
interpreted thus: OF riches or sumptuous
surrounding, a rich husband; of white
linen, a clergyman for husband; of
darkness, lawyer; of noises and tumult,
man of business; of thunder and light
ing, soldier or a sailor; of rain, an
unhappy marriage.
Try to lay two fine needles in pan of
water so that they will float. 1t can be
done. If the needles, named for persons,
float, all is we'll for their prospects in
love. If either or both sink, the match
is off.
There is lively fun in trying to catch
apples in a tub of water with the teeth,
or biting an apple hung from the ceiling
by string, with the hands held behind
the back in both cases. They are old
and honored Halloween tricks, and
should be done. A Halloween party
without ghost stories would be dull
indeed. Every guest should tell char
rover" the truer the better, or pay
forfeit.
Pare an apple so that the peeling is
in one unbroken curl Wave it slowly
thrice around the head aud let it fall be-
hind you. 1t ought to form something
very like the first letter of the future
bride or husbands name. This always
comes true OH Halloween.
If any girl will walk around city block
with her mouth full of water, on her re-
turn to the house she will meet the man
who is destined for her.
The day is the Christian festival for the
souls of the departed, but its origin is
older than that The Druids at this sea-
son celebrated terrible rites in commemc-
ration of the reconstruction of the world,
and to this day customary fires lighted in
Ireland, Wales and Scotland are survivals
of the Druid days in Britain. The Peru
vians and the Mexicans, as well as the
ancient Persians, celebrated at the Gull
mination of the Pleiades on this date,
feast for the dead The custom started,
probably, with the flood. Even the saw
ages in Australia have the same COM
memoration. The Egyptians at this time
of year sent an image Of Osiris to sea IN
an ark.