now-forgotten Halloween tradition is ‘fortune telling games’, a series of parlour games traditionally played on Halloween you’ll get a glimpse at some of these games, most of which were intended to reveal who one’s future spouse would be,” Morton explains. “Some of these games were quite frightening, involving invoking the name of the Devil; most were done at night alone and some were downright dangerous, like going backwards down stairs while looking into a mirror!” Another of these games – Nut Crack Night – involved an unmarried woman throwing hazelnuts onto the fire at Halloween. Each of the nuts thrown was meant to represent a possible suitor and usually they would pop in the heat of the flames. However, if one did not pop and simply burnt away into ashes then this would be her future husband.
