The Winslow mail., 1925-10-30
TOMORROW IS
THE DAY THE
old WITCHES
COME TO PLAY

| Tomorrow is All-Saints Day, and
the observance will be general in
the evening, when the youngsters
set out to see how much they can
get by with.
Teachers, parents, and moralists
may say that the youth of the land
should observe this or that public
holiday in a way calculated to bring
out the true thought of the day.
But youths has its own ideas as
to how such holidays should be OBJ
served. Also it has certain far
famed dates of it's own, which it
sees fit to recognize according to
its own notions and traditions.
One of the holidays dearest to
the heart of youth, is Halloween,
noted for ages for all kinds OF
Witchery. Not merely do the boy
crowd favor celebrating it with all
due obseryances, but they are quite
likely to start On the same weeks
before this date. AS soon as it is
dark after the evening meal, they
are quite apt to be prowling around
the town, engaged in such activi-
ties.
The householder trying to read
his newspaper in peace, may be
Impressed with the idea that the
wind is rising, and that the ele-
ments are threatening a most boist-
erous night. Yet it is probably only
the kldlet crowd engaged in rattl-
ing his blinds, out of a general de-
sire to have something doing in the
neighborhOod
1t used to be the custom for each
household to light a bonfire at
night-fall on the eve of All Hal
lows or Halloween. This was
thought to be discouraging to the
evil spirits who trooped along with
the weird ones of good repute.
Fairies were unusually active
and were thought to be in a pro-
pitious state of mind on the eve of
Halloween and different methods
were devised for getting in touch
with these and other unseen pow
ers.
Delightful survivals of these old
superstitions and customs have
come down to us and the Hal
loWe'en spirit of jolly mystery is
always inspiration for some sort
of fantastic drollery and for quaint
! ly unique ideas of entertainment.
OF course no self-respecting
ghost nor bonafide witch could be
expected to come into the vulgar
glare of electric lights. Either
candles should be used or the
lights should be put in quiet sub
! lection under Jack-o'lantern shades
These can be fashioned of pumpkin
colOred paper with faces outlined
in black. Ghosts devised from a
sheet and a broom-stick should
! Iurk in all the darker corners, and
paper cut-outs of black cats and
witches on the walls and curtains
will add much to the effect. o..
1t is well if the evenings enter
| tainment can be started off by the
dramatic telling of hair-raising
ghost story, and there are many
of the old Halloween games that
are successful fun makers.
Fortune-telling by different meth
DDS has always been in favor. Here
are some suggestions:
Take plain squares of white pap
er and write such names as doc
tor, lawyer, dentist, farmer, bank
er etc., on them with baking soda
mixed with water. Have the guests
seated on the floor in the dim light
and go from guest to guest with a
lighted candle Each may know
the occupation of his or her future
mate by holding the blank slip of
paper above the candle. The heat
from the blaze will turn the written
word brown.
Give each guest a piece of bright
red sealing wax and cup or shall
low bowl of cold water. The wax
is melted over a candle flame and
dropped through a wedding ring
into the water. 1t will instantly
harden into branchlike formations
supposed to be prophetic.
Any ingenious person can inter
pret the shapes and furnish much
amusement for the listeners. Thus
a bell-shaped drop indicates
wedding with the year" anything
resembling a torch or lamp may
be the forecast of fame" etc.
Introduce a masked Mysterious
Mind-Reader" to the company.
From among the guests he selects
one whom he declares to be per
feet medium" He requests the
guests to each write a sentence on
a slip of paper, sign and fold it
and give it to the medium, who
writes a question of her own and
places it on the bottom of the pile.
She secretly informs the mind read
er what is written on this bottom
slip. The medium is then seated,
holding the folded slips. The mind
reader takes the top slip, holds it
against the mediums forehead and
haltingly recites the sentence he
knows to be written on the bottom
slip. He then unfOlds the slip,
repeats the sentence as if he was
reading it while in reality he reads
the sentence that he will pretend