This is Halloween! This is Halloween!

Nov 5, 1909

Wild Witches of Halloween
Tricks That Make Angels Weep and Strong Men Swear.

The boys of Ouray did no grave damage on Halloween, it being a Saturday and a flurry of snow upon the ground, but signs and ash cans were mysteriously switched around, steps were greased so the ascending pedestrian coming in late to his home occasionally slid back a few steps and caused grave suspician in the heart of his loving wife that maybe he had been flirting with the witches himself, and partaken of a drop too much of the Halloween spirits, or some other spirit not drawn from nature's pump. Tarred door knobs also caused words not exactly appropriate for the Sabbath evening, but on the whole the behavior of the lads of the town was much better than in former years and their fun was mostly of an innocent nature.

Halloween is an ancient festival. As to just where and how it originated history does not throw a clear light. The practices observed, however, are said to be of Pagan origin, being so closely associated with the belief in the supernatural influences which are appealed to in most of the rites of the occasion. In the northern part of England it is called Nutcrack Night. In Scotland the ceremonies were formerly regarded in a highly superstitious light and some of that belief still lingers with the Scots. The chief object in consulting the future was to discover who was destined to be the partner in life. Popular belief ascribed to children born at Halloween the faculty of perceiving and holding converse with supernatural beings.
The present day modes and styles of celebrating the evening are a wide departure from those in vogue a century ago. Now it is essentially a children's festival and the old folks take buut little heed, except to try and hold their tempers and remember that when they were young they perpetrated tricks diabolical enough to be really ascribed to devils, hobgoblins and witches that sailed through the air on broomsticks. This year the broomstick was thrown aside and the witch arrived in an automobile, and probably next year she can go up to the moon in an aeroplane.