I usually just trawl old issues of The Chatham Record for items to write about, but this week I used our nifty search feature to find articles about Halloween.
The November 2, 1893 issue buries this little nugget on page 3:
HALLOWEEN.—Among the few old English customs that are now observed in this country is that of celebrating with pleasant sports the eve of All Saints Day, called Halloween, the night before the 1st day of November. Last Tuesday night being Halloween a pleasant party was given the young folks of this place at the residence of Rev. W.H. Moore which was greatly enjoyed in playing the old games and predicting the future as has been done in “Merrie old England” for centuries past.
