This unique anthology gathers together some of the most intriguing and useful works on the history of Halloween. Ranging from pre-Christian Celtic myths to early 20th century articles, the book's 27 entries include poems, short stories, sections from 19th and 20th century folklore books, a one-act play, Irish and Scottish folk tales, and the first book on the holiday ever published. Noted works contained in the anthology include William Wells Newell's 1904 study of the history of Jack-o'-lantern legends in "The Ignis Fatuus" and Alexander Montgomerie's oft-quoted 1584 poem "Flyting Against Polwart." Organized chronologically, most works are presented in their entirety and many include extensive annotations designed to make the original source materials more meaningful for modern readers. The book also includes 34 vintage photographs and illustrations.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Preface      “Three Celtic Samhain Myths” (800 B.C.–A.D. 500, adapted by Lady Gregory)      “Tamlane” (1548, adapted by Sir Walter Scott)      “Flyting Against Polwart” (Alexander Montgomerie, 1584)      “Hallowe’en” (Robert Burns, 1785)      “Of Allhallow Even” (from Observations on Popular Antiquities, John Brand, 1810)      “Hallowe’en at Balmoral Castle” (1869)      “October 31” (from Chamber’s Book of Days, R Chambers, 1869)      “Hallowe’en” (from Godey’s Lady’s Book and Magazine, Helen Elliott, 1870)      The Return of the Native (excerpt, Thomas Hardy, 1878)      “Halloween: A Threefold Chronicle” (from Harper’s Monthly Magazine, William Sharp, 1886)      Three Stories from Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms,and Superstitions of Ireland (Lady Wilde, 1887)      “Elsie’s Hallowe’en Experience” (Mary DBrine, 1888)      “Guleesh na Guss dhu” (from Beside the Fire: A Collection of Irish Gaelic Folk Stories adapted by Douglas Hyde, 1890)      Hallowe’en: How to Celebrate It (Martha Russell Orne, 1898)      “The Young Man in the Fairy Knoll” (from Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland Collected Entirely from Oral Sources, John Gregorson Campbell, 1900)      Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx (excerpt from Volume I, Sir John Rhys, 1901)      “Samhain, Hallowmas” (excerpt from Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, John Gregorson Campbell, 1902)      “More Folklore from the Hebrides” (excerpt from Folk-lore, Volume XIII, A Goodrich-Freer, 1902)      “A European Custom of Pagan Times Brought Over to America (Halloween at Chicago)” (from Internationaler Amerikanisten-Kongress, Jonkheer LCvan Panhuys, s’Gravenhage, 1904)      “The Ignis Fatuus, Its Character and Legendary Origin” (from The Journal of American Folklore, vol 17, no 65, William Wells Newell, 1904)      “Hallowmass” (from Faiths and Folklore: A Dictionary of National Beliefs, Superstitions and Popular Customs..., Volume 1, W Carew Hazlitt, 1905)      “Hallowe’en” (from The School Arts Book, Volume Five, Emma Woodman, 1906)      “Hallowe’en” (from Plea of the Negro Soldier and a Hundred Other Poems, Corporal Charles Frederick White, 1908)      “The Hallowe’en Fires” (from The Golden Bough, Part VII: Balder the Beautiful, Volume I, Sir James G Frazer, 1913)      “Who Was Scared?” (from The Complete Hallowe’en Book, Elizabeth FGuptill, 1915)      “In Brittany and France” (from The Book of Hallowe’en, Ruth Edna Kelley, 1919)      “Present-Day Mumming at Brooklyn” (from English Pageantry: An Historical Outline, Robert Withington, 1920)      Bibliography      Index