It's Halloween. The annual celebration of the supernatural has existed since time immemorial - but has very much changed over time.
If Scream masks, zombies, and fake blood are all the rage in 2022, it was very different for our ancestors. An article in the defunct newspaper, the Newcastle Courant, reveals how folk on Victorian Tyneside used to mark Halloween, and how the day was even given its own special name - a name that's long slipped from usage and living memory.
The article, published in October 1889, noted that "witches, devils, fairies and disembodied spirits walk abroad on that night. Charms and divinations attain their highest success with all and any who wish to try them." It was reported that "nuts and apples are always in great demand and enormous quantities of them are consumed."
