Halloween Games Our Ancestors Used to Play: 1912

Halloween costume parties still go on to this day, enjoyed by kids and adults…but the games have changed significantly.

Old-fashioned Halloween games included bobbing for apples, blind man’s buff, fortune telling, musical chairs, and MANY others…..more than anyone (in this day and age) could ever think of. There was a book published in 1912 called “Games For Halloween” with many, many games that are now antiquated, most are centered around 'if you will get married', 'who you'll marry,' or finding your future partner. But for the sake of this article, it’ll be just for whoever wins the various contests. For example, some of the numerous games in this 1912 book include:

APPLE PARING
Completely peel an apple without breaking the skin.

APPLE SEEDS
Dampen apple seeds and stick one to each person’s forehead. First seed to fall loses.

BLIND NUT SEEKERS
Blindfold guests and send them through the house to find hidden nuts. Whoever finds the most wins.

HALLOWEEN SOUVENIR GAME
Try to catch apples in your teeth that are suspended by string from the ceiling to win a prize.

JUMPING LIGHTED CANDLE
Place a lit candle on the floor and guests take turns jumping over it. All who are successful will have a great year; whoever knocks the candle over will have a rotten year.

PULLING KALE
Blindfold everyone then send them out into the garden. The first to find and pull up a stalk of kale or head of cabbage wins.

RAISIN RACE
A raisin is strung in the middle of a piece of string. One person on each end chews the string and the first to reach the raisin wins.

THREADING A NEEDLE
Give needles and thread to everyone. First to successfully thread the needle wins.

WATER EXPERIMENT
Fill your mouth with water than walk through a specific trail or route without spilling a drop.

Does anyone play these games anymore?
Whether at a Halloween party or others?
I think some of these would be fun to try…

EVEN MORE:
Below is a gallery of photos of old Halloween board games from the 1890s thru 1973!

MORE HALLOWEEN STUFF: