Victorian Halloween Was About Cheap Games to Find Love
Queen Victoria’s lavish parties at Halloween made it less scary.
Ever noticed what ghosts, witches, and ghouls wear in horror movies? You must have if you did not look away from the screen from getting spooked! Well, even if you are not one for attention to detail, then also, someone who could turn their whole head around or has bloodied attire.
The point is that all these horror movie characters wear Victorian-era clothes; billowing white dresses trailing on the ground, breeches, and coats for the men. Why is that?
Well, it might be because the victorian era plays a crucial role in the Halloween and horror genre. Let’s see how
Revealing Facts
For example, look at Dracula by Bram Stoker or read the macabre short stories of Edgar Allen Poe! The Victorians sure had a flair for the creepy and the spooky.
More importantly, the Victorians are seen as a patriarchal society where the women were modest and the men are masters of self-control. But oh, have you got this wrong! You only need to look at Victorian Halloween celebrations to realize the Victorians were more modern than they are given credit for.
Their celebrations had a striking resemblance to today’s themed parties, costumes, and events! But things always got hot and steamy and Halloween was turned into a night of love!
Yeah, so much for Victorians covering table legs lest they lead to unwanted arousal due to their resemblance to their human counterpart. In nutcase, Victorians were not as sexually repressed as we think.
Queen Victoria Burned people!
When you think of the queen, you usually think of someone who is inflexible, prudish perhaps. Overall, not very fun right? And definitely not someone who threw her own extravagant Halloween parties.
And such parties they were too! But, BBC’s History Extra negates these myths and highlights Queen Victoria’s huge appetite for humor, sex, food, and parties. According to the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, these parties were pretty lavish affairs.
These celebrations took place at the Balmoral castle and the queen herself presided over these lavish and riotous Halloween night festivities.
Historians note how the preparation for these celebrations took days. Everyone in the kingdom was invited to attend. From the richest, most noble dignitaries to neighboring farmers and general peasants.
All year round, these farmers saved scraps for the main attraction of Queen Victoria’s Halloween party; the Bonfire! There, they burned an effigy of the witch, who in later years was anyone who was not in the queen’s good graces.
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But all in good spirits, I guess? Victoria led the procession by open carriage to the grand bonfire accompanied by her daughter Beatrice. Then, as Mimi Matthews recounts, the queen’s own piper played melodies and music.
Then, everyone proceeded to dance around the bonfire since they were way too hyped to have an indoor ball, so they did what they knew best, dance around the bonfire like the savages they so despised. To make matters more comical, the people were all dressed as goblins and faeries.
Halloween Romance — Boo or Woo?
Would you boo your lover away or woo the love of your life. Halloween was the time of year when the boundaries between the living and the dead weakened.
You all know what that means! Let the spirits spill some tea and tell you who your next lover will be. Because divination was the way to go. Besides, you will be shocked at what else people used to do to find love on Halloween.
According to David J. Skal’s Death Makes a Holiday; The Cultural History of Halloween,fortune telling on Halloween became the coolest parlor trick. Being considered especially fashionable for searching for a spouse. So, will you see love in the tarot cards this Halloween?
This reinforced the belief that the supernatural could cause mischief in the human world. Basically, the Victorians did a lot to catch a glimpse of their future spouse. All is fair in love and war, I guess?
Other practices in the name of love were throwing nuts in the fire and then if they burned a certain way, they would tell you the temperament of the spouse to be.
Women would also stand in front of mirrors at midnight on Halloween and expect their lovers to appear behind them. This is very spooky! But this all seems cute, right? Nothing risky, just nuts showing who you will be nuts for in the future (cue theatrical wink at this pun). All fun and games, right?
No, According to the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, the Victorians also baked cakes. Plot twist? The cake had objects put in it. So, if you bit into a cake you could bite into a ring that signified wedding bells. Or a slice of cake could be very difficult to swallow with a pin baked into it. If you got the slice with the pin that meant spinsterhood,
The Victorians Virility!
The Victorians sure knew how to get down and dirty. Let’s begin with a comparatively innocent ritual. Apple bobbing. Ever heard of it?
Basically, an apple was tied to the ceiling by a string and a man and woman stood facing each other, trying to bite the apple, the perfect opportunity for some stolen kisses and sensual games of chance.
Then, don’t even get me started on the literature. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a popular piece of literature for Halloween iconography shows two scenes of bestiality. (two too many, I think).
These were not appropriate for a generation who thought exposed ankles were scandalous! This is so hilarious because the Victorians actually thought a woman’s exposed ankles could arouse a man. Not our fault ladies have gorgeous ankles huh?
Love in your Cards?
So, the Victorians were fifty shades fascinated with Halloween and its connotations of finding the love of your life.
Halloween, as is seen today, gave them the opportunity to experiment with risque attire and skimpy costumes. After all, who does not like to express their inner fairy or goblin?
What do you think about these strange customs? Do you also believe Halloween to be the sensual night of love the Victorians thought it was?
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