Pueblo chieftain., 1921-10-30
Imps Big and Little Have Be-
come a Joke in These Days,
sut They We're Unhappily
Real in 0lden Times, and
Did No End Of Mischief.

Halloween is in one way the most
interesting OF tho anniversaries NC
celebrate. 1t is altogether a joke, and
yet it perpetuates In humorous form
certain beliefs which up 20 very re
cent times were most seriously held.
and which brought death and indies
cribable misery to great hunters OF
human beings,
With Haliowe en- in play ful ina gina
lion. VIC associate witches. imps. and
mischievous gobiius OF species misccl-
laneous. But behind all thesc. in the
oli-timc conception. and, as IL were.
pulling the actuating strings. was the
mysterious Power OF Evil, pcrsonified
10y the Devil
Halloween. in fact, is devils car
ltVal People in earlier DAYS actually
believed that on this annual occasion
satan was privileged TO let loose his
lnps and other diabolicsl agents. 10
stir UP devilment of one sort or an
other. and to avoid mishsp. 1t be-
hooved pioua and orderly folk to he
wary of vcnmrins abroad and to re-
sort ir a --prssantionary way TO prayer
and Scripture-fsadinE. fe.sT
1t Is difficuit Tor US in the twentieth
century 10 realize that men as late a.
three hundred years ago or later. be
lief in witches WAS as well and as
generally established as is recognition
of any natural phenomenon today.
The understanding was that they were
persons. most often old women. who
had sold their souls to the Evil One
in return for the hestowai of certain
supernatural powers which they en-
pioyed for maleficcnt purposes.
CREATURES OF THE DARK
bats and black cats-ail of them crea-
lures OF darkness. one may notice
that thty figure couspicuously nova
days among the Halloween toys sold
In the shops They were the 'famil-
lars" OF witches, possessing super
natural attributes of their own and
able to render themselves invisible at
will. The Devils wings are obviously
those OF bat. and the name Meph-
istophecs is derived from Greek words
meaning lover OF the dark.
In oidcu times the generality of peo-
ple had no acquaintance with physical
science-in other words the laws OF
nature. Hence whatever they could
not understand was attributed TO the
supernatural Nowadays intelligent per
sons do not believe that there ~ such
p thing as the supcrnaturs,l. When
phenomenon Is beyond our comprehen-
law vhilI 'v. lrpvc not yet grasped-
as, for , electricity.
What till the supernatural is
the powcr ui mystery. In earlier days
It was made up largely of unknown
and malcficrnt forces which lurked
behind everything in nature. Summed
up. these forces represented a cosmic
influence for evil which was liable
TO assail anybody al any time. Among
other things. II was responsible for
epidemics OF disease. The Devil and
his agents were back of IL ALL
In tho middle ages the Devil was to
The generality OF mankind as real a
parsonage az President Harding is to-
day. Nobody then thought OF doubling
his existence as terrifying fact, and
his influence in all human affairs was
$40 great that not even the most sanity
individual was for a moment safe
against his machinatiors. Every un-
usual or disagrorablc thing that hap
pcned from Il destructive storm to an
attack OF mumps, was supposed to be
his work and every wicked thought