By Guest Blogger Marilyn Clay

Most of the things we associate with Halloween today, i.e. ghosts, goblins, witches and evil spirits, can all be traced to superstitious Celtic beliefs over 2000 years ago. The Celts had only two seasons: Winter and Summer. Winter began on November 1st and lasted until April 30th. Therefore the last day of the Celtic calendar fell on October 31st, which is the day the Celts celebrated New Year’s Eve.

On the Eve of the Celtic New Year, October 31st, herders gathered around their campfires with their priests, called Druids, to eat, drink and be merry. This celebratory practice grew to include lighting huge bonfires in honor of the Lord of the Dead, Samhain. (Pronounced Sa-wen). Herders formed circles as they danced and howled around the fires to commemorate the approaching New Year that began on the following day, November 1st.

Because the Celts believed that at the time of year when plants withered and died was also when the Spirit World awakened and became active, to summon spirits to foretell the future became a part of their New Year’s Eve celebrations. Since evil spirits, as well as the benevolent sort, were also awakened and became especially active at this time, the practice of disguising oneself so that the evil spirits would not recognize them, came into being. This then, is the beginning of our present-day custom of donning costumes as we celebrate Halloween today, also on October 31st.

Back then, it was believed that if one left a tasty offering outside one’s doorstep, any sort of spirit-being who was lurking about might be more apt to treat that person kindly throughout the following year. The hope was that an especially tasty treat would call down good luck upon their household during the coming cold, winter months. Another reason for leaving treats outdoors was the belief that if the spirit, or soul, of one’s own dearly departed loved ones might still be hovering about, to leave them a tasty offering was a nice way of sharing the family’s harvest feast.

In many European countries, including England, groups of children and adults often went door-to-door on October 31st begging for what was called “soul cakes”, a type of bun made with flour presumably gleaned from the new harvest. A soul cake was said to commemorate all good spirits. Sometimes, fruit was also handed out with the cakes, preferably apples, which were especially favored by the Celts, who believed an apple represented immortality, love, and fertility. These All Hallow’s Eve beggars would often chant: “An apple or a pear, a plum or a cherry; or any good thing to make us merry.”

In ancient Ireland, masked children, and adults, who went begging from house-to-house often instead chanted another sort of rhyme that foretold what the Druid God, Muck Olla, would do to them if they were not rewarded with a tasty offering. Which is the forerunner of our present-day Halloween chant, “Trick or Treat!” These masked (or wily) soul cake beggars often disappeared into the night carrying cheese, butter, bread, eggs or potatoes as well as a few pennies since some homeowners hoped an offering of money would show their generosity and ensure that good luck rained down upon their household during the coming year.

Other All Hallow’s Eve traditions handed down through the ages included unusual methods for predicting the future. The following customs were conducted on All Hallow’s Eve throughout the British Isles.

The Irish served up a bowl of “caulcannon” a concoction made from mashed potatoes, or perhaps turnips, (by the way, initially it was turnips that were carved with scary faces, instead of pumpkins) onions, cabbage and spinach. Small tokens were stirred into the pudding mixture with a generous portion of melted butter poured over the top. Everyone ate from the same bowl. The one who scooped up a miniature horseshoe in his or her spoon was assured of good luck throughout the following year. A coin predicted that wealth was in store for that lucky person. A tiny figure or doll (not surprisingly) meant that the person might soon be blessed with a child. To find the dreaded thimble, or button, meant that that unlucky soul would never marry.

Also, in Ireland, a young girl might select three nuts and designate one to represent herself. The other two were named for two of her most ardent suitors. She then placed the nuts in some type of long-handled utensil and holding it before the fire, watched the nuts burn. Whichever one burned the most steadily beside hers told her which of her suitors would be the most faithful to her.

In Scotland, young couples would select a pair of nuts meant to represent themselves. Again, holding the nuts before the fire, the pair watched to see if the nuts burned to ashes together or not. If so, it meant the couple would live a long and happy married life with each other. If, however, the heated nuts began to split or crack, or even jump apart, it meant the couple were in for a long, unhappy, and quarrelsome marriage.

Unmarried Scottish ladies and gentlemen would be blindfolded and directed to pull up a cabbage or kale from the garden. A closed, white stalk indicated an elderly spouse waited in their future whereas an open, green one meant a young mate was in store for them. If one wished to know if one’s future mate would be sweet and kind, or bitter and unkind, one tasted the stalk to determine their future spouse’s temperament.

In Regency England, it was more common for those in the country to gather together in order to commemorate what they called Harvest Home, a celebration in honor of the rich fruits of their harvest. Special costumes were not worn although the ancient practice of predicting the future by holding apple seeds in one’s palm might very well have been conducted. First, one placed twelve apple seeds in the palm of one hand. While clapping that hand with the other, one repeated this rhyme: “One I love; Two I love, Three I love, I say; Four I love with all my heart; Five I cast away. Six he loves, Seven she loves, Eight they both love; Nine he comes, Ten he tarries, Eleven he courts; Twelve he marries.” When the rhyme is completed, one was to count the number of seeds left in one’s palm to determine the state of his or her future love life.

Although my new Juliette Abbott Regency Mystery Novel, Murder in Middlewych, does not include any of the above Halloween customs, ghosts, spectral sightings, dire predictions, and terrors in a haunted tunnel are in abundance.

My clever, young Regency sleuth, Miss Juliette Abbott and her maid Tilda are being escorted up to London by the handsome and heroic Mr. Sheridan following Miss Abbott’s horrific fortnight at Medley Park. A sudden carriage accident on the way up to Town dictates the threesome must spend the night at what turns out to be a haunted inn in the Cotswold village of Middlewych!

The Middlewych Psychical Fair is slated to commence on the following day. But, when a village lass turns up dead, the local constable rushes to judgment and promptly arrests the stranger in the village, Mr. Sheridan! The tables have now turned and Miss Abbott must run the real killer to ground before her gentleman friend is hanged on the village square. Despite a Tarot card reader’s grisly prediction and deadly terrors encountered in the tunnel, will Miss Abbott be able to save Mr. Sheridan from the gallows, or must she bid good-bye to him forever and find her own way back up to London . . . without him? Oh, no!

Murder in Middlewych is now available in both Paperback and Ebook from Amazon, and in Ebook from most all other major retail sites, including Scribd and Overdrive. Retail site links include Amazon, Apple iTunes, Barnes & Noble and KOBO.

For all the Ebook links, click on the Murder in Middlewych book cover image on my website.

Generally, in England Halloween is not the celebrated holiday it is here in the United States. Of course, as happens all too frequently, it has crept Across the Pond and become more Americanized, but until recently there was simply no need to celebrate things that go bump in the night on one night of the year. Why? Because frankly when it comes to things that go bump in the night, Halloween is rather redundant in the UK. The entire island is a celebration of all things ghostly, ghoulish, and people who simply refuse to go into the light. One can hardly throw a rock without passing through the ghost of a Grey Lady, a White Lady, a Howling Banshee, or a Spectral Monk. However, even with all of this paranormal mayhem, there are certain rules which pertain to whom or what is more likely to be creeping about Mother England long after they might have gone on to the great tea room or pub in the sky.

Thus, we give you…

TEN RULES FOR HAUNTING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

1. If one is any of Henry VIII’s six wives and one has been born in, died in, grew up in, lived in, slept in, visited, been executed in or near, or even driven or ridden by a building one must haunt said building. Choice of dress color is optional—grey or white is preferred.

2. If one is a servant in a particular house and one dies of either lingering disease or preferably some sort of gruesome death over unrequited love, being unjustly accused of theft, or the master (or his son) has got you in a delicate condition one must haunt said house—hanging oneself over and over again is good. Throwing oneself off a tower only to disappear is better. If it is accompanied by a great deal of weeping and moaning it is better still.

3. If one is a highwayman or other notorious outlaw and one has died at the hands of either the hangman or the militia in a desperate chase and shootout one is condemned to haunt either the place of execution or, even better, one is condemned to ride up and down the stretch of road one frequented or upon which one finally met one’s end. One’s horse is apparently condemned as well. Shouting “Stand and Deliver!” is optional.

4. If one met one’s end in a pub or tavern, especially in some sort of tavern brawl or affair of honor, one must stop by said pub periodically. Not for a pint, but to scare the bejeesus out of the current patrons. If one is a tavern maid who was murdered in said establishment, committed suicide in said establishment, got lost on the way home from said establishment, or went walking out with the wrong patron from said establishment then one is condemned to hang around and give the place character as well. One is not allowed to drink whilst haunting, which seems a bit unfair, but those are the rules.

5. If one fought (and died, of course) on any of the numerous battlefields in the UK there is always the chance one might be condemned to haunt said battlefield. Loss of limb, or especially loss of one’s head is a certain bet one will be required to hang around said battlefield for eternity looking for one’s missing parts. Sending one’s horse to gallop about unseen in the mist is a possible out. Rattling one’s saber, firing cannons, and shouting “Charge!” are a safe bet.

6. If one was a monk or nun and died in the area of a monastery or abbey, the more gruesome one’s death the more likely one must haunt said monastery or abbey. Murdered by a king or at a king’s behest is guaranteed employment as a ghost for eternity. Especially if one’s death was particularly bloody and took place in said monastery or abbey. However, it is possible, if one was a monk or nun one is simply choosing to haunt said monastery or abbey. Apparently, monks and nuns have a great deal of trouble moving on.

7. If one is the lady of the house, especially a castle or a stately home—the older the better, and one meets an unfortunate end, one might be required to haunt said castle or house. Murdered by a wicked husband, becoming ill after suffering a jilting or loss in love, being stood up at the altar and falling into a fatal decline, committing suicide by leaping from the tower, parapet or a particularly high window—any and all of these will do. Grey or white are the dress colors preferred, although red will do in a pinch. Oh, and if one had a dog of which one was particularly fond, said dog might be condemned to walk the parapets with one. On rare occasion said ghost dog might be heard howling in despair on the anniversary of his mistress’s death.

8. Moors in England are required, I do believe it is by law, to have at least one creature (known origins optional) to haunt said moor and frighten anyone unfortunate enough to venture out onto said moor, especially in the evening or at night. A moor might be haunted by a hound of unusual size and ferocity, a pack of hunting dogs lost by a careless master, a fiery horse (rider optional) lost in the bogs of the moor, Celtish or Roman warriors trapped in the bogs over the centuries, a howling creature of unknown origins or anyone ever lost or body-dumped on the moors by a savvy, but cold-hearted killer.

9. Should one be a member of the royal family on one’s death, one is very nearly required to haunt various royal residences. This is especially true if one has suffered a horrible death or one has suffered the loss by terrible or premature death of one’s child or spouse. Should one be a royal murdered by yet another royal for reasons of royal coup or simply a family feud got out of hand, one is far more likely to be compelled to haunt. Crowns, and sometimes even heads, are optional. Oh, and if one is numbered amongst those bad kings or queens, one is simply doomed to haunt, just saying. Apparently dead royals are nearly as bad as monks and nuns about moving on.

10. Dying at Number 50 Berkeley Square apparently guarantees one a spot on the haunting roster. Whether one’s death was horrible, frightening, or merely sad one has no choice but to linger around for eternity and wait one’s turn to disturb the peace of the house. There are so many spirits at this address there must be a ghostly social secretary to keep everyone in order. However, one is guaranteed a deal of privacy as hauntings are only allowed on the fourth floor and, apparently, the police, in typical British fashion have posted a sign in the house forbidding anyone to climb to the fourth floor.

“You say the rooms are haunted? Well, don’t go into those rooms!”

Number 50 is considered the most haunted house in London, but according to those who work at antiquarian booksellers Maggs Bros. Ltd., housed at this address for many years, nothing untoward has ever happened. Then again, they never venture onto the fourth floor. Ever. Would you?

There you have it, a few rules for haunting in the UK. Even with the rules, those of us who love England might not find it too terrible a task to spend eternity there. Some of us would spend our years left with the living haunting England, if funds and time would allow!

As October is the month of Halloween and celebrates all things ghostie, beastie, and ever so creepy, we thought we’d share some old and new posts all month long in keeping with the season.

Please join us for an eerie, haunting, and frightening tour of the things that go bump in the night and send our hearts racing all month long. There is safety in numbers, and we’d hate to take this little tour all alone! Who knows what dangers lurk along the highways and byways of Merry Olde England!

Louisa Cornell

As an author of historical romance who likes to avoid anachronisms whenever possible, an important aspect of setting any story in Regency London is getting the street names properly assigned. Seems an easy enough thing to do. Simply consult a map of London, right? Not exactly. Remember London between 1780 and 1840 was a city that had been built on the ruins of a Roman city of occupation (abandoned in 410 AD,) the ruins and some remains of a medieval city, a city before the Great Fire (before 1666) and then rebuilt after the Great Fire (after 1666,) and a city in the throes of the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution which meant expansion and demolition to reconfigure the city for its new role in the world.

Here is a fascinating video of the growth of London time-lapsed from the Roman era to the present day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB5Oz9b84jM

And another video about the population growth from year to year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgRxKlpLbpY

In all of this expansion, change, and population growth street names often changed and streets often merged with other streets. Therefore, if one wishes to be completely accurate when placing a street name in one’s fiction it is best to consult a map drawn as close to the date of said fiction as possible. Now that does not mean a writer must find a map for the very month and year in which one’s story is set. These things did not happen overnight. Many streets, alleys, lanes, and other thoroughfares have maintained their names from as early as the Roman era.

Important Caveat:

There are no thoroughfares named road within the Square Mile or heart of London. Lots of streets, alleys, and lanes, but no roads. Likely because that term was not assigned to thoroughfares other than those in the countryside until the 17^th century by which time most of the thoroughfares in London had already been established.

Here are a few London street names with a bit about their history and/or where their names were derived.

Broad Sanctuary

This street in the heart of Westminster is actually the street down which King Charles III passed for his coronation. The street has been so named since the medieval era and was named as it was a place where criminals and refugees could seek sanctuary and avoid arrest.

Abbey Orchard Street

This was where the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey raised fruit which they sold at Covent Garden (once called Convent Garden) to supplement the monastery’s income, that is until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. The monastery was gone, but the street name remained.

Downing Street

Yes, that Downing Street. Like many of the streets and squares in London it was named after the developer of the street. George Downing was pronounced a “perfidious rogue and doubly perjured traitor” by Samuel Pepys. He was one of Oliver Cromwell’s spymasters, but after the Restoration he sold his secrets to the Crown and managed to keep the property he had acquired thanks to his loyalty to Cromwell.

Scotland Yard

This was actually the London residence of the kings of Scotland until the union of the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603.

King’s Cross

Unfortunately, King’s Cross was named after one King George IV. His statue was erected atop a monument there in 1830 and looked down literally on the impoverished neighborhood known as Battle Bridge, the home of thieves, murderers, and a smallpox hospital. They took the statue down in 1845, but the name remains.

The Mall

This red brick paved road that leads to Buckingham Palace was originally an alley where King Charles II played the game of pall-mall (pronounced pell-mell.) The street next to the alley received the same name.

Birdcage Walk

This was a lane built to pass through James I’s aviary. The name stuck. Oddly enough, considering James I’s sexual orientation (either gay or bisexual depending on which biography one reads) this particular lane was used by gay men to stroll for partners during the Regency era.

Piccadilly

In the 17^th century a tailor who made his fortune fashioning pickadills – the collars that supported those fashionable ruffs had his house on the street named Pickadilly Hall. It was not meant as a compliment. The street had been known as Portugal Street after King Charles II’s queen. However, by the middle of the 18^th century the name Piccadilly was firmly affixed.

Oxford Street

This street was known as Tyburn Way until 1783. That was when the gallows at the end of the street was dismantled. Before then, over the years, 50,000 condemned prisoners were carted down this Tyburn Way to meet their fate at the end of a rope on the western end of this street.

Soho

This neighborhood was once an area of countryside popular for fox hunts conducted by the aristocracy. The area got its name from a form of the hunting cry Tally-ho!

Pudding Lane

Sounds sweet, right? Not so much. This lane was known as early as the medieval era as the route butchers took to carry their pudding – animal entrails – from the meat market down to the Thames water-gate. The Thames, London’s garbage disposal.

Fleet Street

The name comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word fliotan meaning of the water or water travel. The street follows the route of the river which was rerouted underground to provide a sewer for London in 1766. Since the 19th century Fleet Street has been called the river of ink or street of ink due to its associations with the newspaper industry. I will allow you to draw your own conclusions as to the establishment of newspapers over a river turned into a sewer.

Hanging Sword Alley

This alley is located just off Fleet Street and was once home to a fencing and sword fighting academy. In the 18^th century, however, it became known as Blood Bowl alley after the tavern there that was known as the den of thieves, gamblers, and an assortment of other rogues.

Knightrider Street

This street lies just south of St. Paul’s Cathedral and likely got its name as it was the route knights took when traveling to Smithfield for jousting tournaments.

Wardrobe Place

From the reign of Edward III until the Great Fire, a building stood on this street where the monarchs of England kept their finest clothes stored. Apparently they needed the extra closet space. There is a plaque outside Number 5 Wardrobe Place that marks the spot where the building that gave the street its name stood.

St. Mary Axe

This street was named after a church that was torn down in 1561. There was supposedly a relic held by the church, an axe used by Atilla the Hun to behead 11,0000 virgins who followed St. Ursula. Now the slaughter took place in Cologne, but holy relics tended to travel quite a bit, so who knows. It might have ended up in London

Fetter Lane

This street was known as the site of executions, but for a very sad reason. It comes from the Old English word faitours or fewters which meant idlers or vagrants. The name goes back to the 14^th century when the Crown decided to bring in the executioners and hang the vagrants thereby cleaning up the street.

Cockspur Street

During the Georgian era cock fighting was still a popular sport. This street in the Whitehall area was home to a large cockfighting pit. Cock fighting was not banned in England until 1835. There are a number of locations in London with references to cock fighting in their names.

A couple of resources for you if you want to learn more about London’s street names!

London Place Names by Caroline Taggart

Dictionary of London Street Names by Al Smith

London Street Names by Michael Baker and Hilary Bates Neary

Discovering London Street Names by John Wittich