Evening star., 1928-10-28
Halloween Stunts for All Ages
BY BETSY CALLISTER.

| NJ entertainment as Halloween
| 4 and none Is richer In Old World
traditions that delight and
amuse both old and young than this.
If you are planning Halloween party
| ell you need to do Is TO think back over
| the Halloween of your childhood and
recollections Of old stunts and games
will doubtless come tumbling back into
your memory
And since Halloween. like Christmas
comes but once year" we never grow
weary of these traditional forms OF
amusement, bohbing for apples, snap
ping for raisins, figs and other sweets
from the snapdragon, telling fortunes
with nuts roasted on the hearth and
dozens of homely old diversions
Before I make any suggestions for
the program Of your Halloween party
let me say this: If you have not
been asked to q Halloween party and
have not planned party yourself,
start In right this minute and make
up for lost time. Do something festive
If 1t is only to ask two or three friends
to make up table of bridge and with
a few appropriate favors and old-time
stunts after the cards have been cleared
away prove to yourself that you are not
too far from childhood or too sophisti-
Gated to join in the witch-night rev.
elries.
In planning your Halloween party,
large or small, first thought should
be given to your lights, because you
can't expect the witches to add their
necessary note of mystery unless the
lights are shaded so as to provide
creeping shadows around the room.
Orange shades are the best for this
purpose. You can buy or make YOUR
self electric light shades, of crepe
paper resembling large pumpkin bios
SONS. Center lights may be shaded by
large globe made of orange crepe
paper in the shape Of ripe pumpkin.
If you are planning to play bridge,
lamps with the usual sort of light may
be used during the card playing-to be
snapped off when stunts and refresh
mentS begin. Orange candles and black
candles placed on mantelpieces and
other safe heights add to the eerie
effect and cast wavering shadows
enough without the use of shades. And
if possible have at least one real pump
kin Jack-o'-Lantern.
There is an advantage in living in
town, where you can obtain all sorts Of
appropriate favors and decorations,
but there Is really more of an advan-
tage in living in the country where you
must needs seek these additions to your
party outdoors. Dried corn shocks,
branches of bright-colored or dried
leaves. dried orange berries such as you
can obtain from the mountain ash or
bittersweet are all most appropriate.
Fresh flowers should have no part in
your decorative scheme, as they will
scare the witches away! And incidental
ly detract from the eerinesS of the
scene.
Brightly colored Autumn leaves, pref
erably those of the maple, may be
turned to good account. Choose num-
Der of the brightest you can find-one
for each guest--and dip them in melted
paraf1n and let them dry. Then tie
them with tiny bows of orange or
black ribbon to little cards bearing the
names Of the guests. These make at
tractive place cards for the refreshment
! table
If you have the cord arrangement
for Christmas tree lights you may use
these to advantage. Fill all the sockets
with frosty orange-colored bulbs. At
one corner Of the room arrange branches
with dried leaves in the form of a sort
of witches hut, or use corn shocks
for this purpose. Then arrange the
orange lights In and around this and
as one stunt in your entertainment get
the guests to enter the hut with you one
at time to have their fortunes told
Or you may arrange to have some
member of the family dressed as a
witch seated there on q stool stirring
caldron-an old.fashioned pot II
you have one. she may tell the for
tunes by cards or palm reading or may
draw written fortunes from her cali
dron.
Homemade favors that are always
popular consist Of little written for
tunes hidden in walnut shells. Use
paper-shell walnuts from which the
meats may be removed without break
ing the Shells Write short fortunes
on narrow strips of paper and roll
them up. Put one in each nut shell.
Seal the shells closed with O little
strip OF gummed paper or tie them
with narrow orange ribbon. If you
like, you can leave the ends of the
ribbon on the nuts, pile the nuts In the
center of the table and bring an end
of ribbon to each place. At q given
signal each guest draws his fortune-tell-
ing nut
If you want one quiet game for your
Halloween party ask the guests each TO
write telegram, using the letters Hal
lOWSSA lu Tie OTueT given ana give a
small prize for the telegram voted the
best. Names of the guests present used
In the telegramS usually add to the
amusement. Some one might write this
telegram: Henry always loved Louise.
Ought we expect engagement next7"
A number of old-time stunts may be
done with candles. Three or four cam
dies may be placed on a table. An un-
married girl is led before the table and
asked to associate with each candle the
name of some young man she knows.
One may be named the Unknown. 4"
She is then led away and blindfolded
and asked to blow at the candles: the
last one to go out is the one she will
wed. Or she may blow single candle
and the number Of blows needed to ex-
tinguish 1t indicates the number of
years before she will marry.
A ring may be imbedded in a bowl
Of -four. It is then packed down and
turned out In a smooth mound on q
platter. The two contestants are sup
piled with silver knives. They take
alternate cuts at the flour and the one
who exposes the ring has to bite it out
In order to secure the expectation of
speedy marriage.
(C0pyright, 1929