You wouldn’t believe / On All-Hallows Eve / What lots of fun we can make, / With apples to bob and nuts on the hob, / And a ring and thimble cake.                                                                 ––Carolyn Wells

What fearful shapes and shadows beset his path, amidst the dim and ghastly glare of a snowy night! With what wistful look did he eye every trembling ray of light streaming across the waste fields from some distant window! How often was he appalled by some shrub covered with snow, which, like a sheeted spectre, beset his very path! How often did he shrink with curdling awe at the sound of his own steps on the frosty crust beneath his feet; and dread to look over his shoulder, lest he should behold some uncouth being tramping close behind him! and how often was he thrown into complete dismay by some rushing blast, howling among the trees, in the idea that it was the Galloping Hessian on one of his nightly scourings!              

––Washington Irving, from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

 

‘Tis now, the very witching time of night, when churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world.

                                                                          ––William Shakespeare

Bring forth the raisins and the nuts – / Tonight All-Hallows spectre struts / Along the moonlit way.       

––John Kendrick Bangs

Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite / All are on their rounds tonight; / In the wan moon’s silver ray, / Thrives their helter-skelter play.

                                                                                            ––Joel Benton

A grandmother pretends she doesn’t know who you are on Halloween.              ––Erma Bombeck

There is nothing funny about Halloween. This sarcastic festival reflect, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world.                                                               ––Jean Baudrillard

‘Tis the night –– the night / Of the grave’s delight, / And the warlocks are at their play; / Ye think that without / The wild winds shout, / But no, it is they –– it is they.                                                                  

––Arthur Cleveland Coxe

(Each week this column features quotations gleaned from the readings and experiences of our editors, reporters, readers, and friends. All are invited to submit quotations for inclusion here. They may be sent to Gleanings, c/o The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470 or emailed to editor@thebee.com.)