Godspeed Tammy Grimes

Tammy Grimes, star of stage and television, died on October 30 2016 at the age of 82.

Tammy Grimes was born on January 30 1934 in Lynn, Massachusetts. She went to Beaver County Day School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. She graduated from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. After graduation she worked for Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut and studied acting at the Neighbourhood Playhouse in New York City. She made her television debut on an episode of The United States Steel Hour in 1955. She made her debut on Broadway in The Littlest Revue in 1956.

Tammy Grimes would appear on Broadway several more times throughout her career. In the late Fifties she appeared in Look After Lulu and originated the title role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. In the Sixties she appeared in Rattle of a Simple Man, High Spirits, The Only Game in Town, and Private Lives. In the Seventies she appeared in Private Lives, A Musical Jubilee, California Suite, Tartuffe, Trick, and 42nd Street. In the Eighties she appeared in Orpheus Descending.

Miss Grimes made frequent appearances on television. In the late Fifties she appeared on such shows as Max Liebman Spectaculars, Studio One, Kraft Theatre, Omnibus, Play of the Week, and Dow Hour of Great Mysteries. She appeared in a 1958 production of The Gift of the Magi.

In the Sixties Tammy Grimes was considered for the lead role on the sitcom Bewitched. She ultimately forewent the role to take the part of Elvira in High Spirits. She was the star of the short lived series The Tammy Grimes Show. She also appeared in such episodes of The Virginian, Route 66, Burke's Law, Destry, Mr. Broadway, The Trials of O'Brien, Tarzan, and The Outcasts.

In the Seventies she appeared on such shows as Love, American Style; Hallmark Hall of Fame ("The Borrowers"); The Wide World of Mystery; The Snoop Sisters; and The Love Boat. In the Eighties she appeared on such shows as St. Elsewhere, The Equaliser, Mathnet, and The Young Riders. In the Nineties she appeared on episodes of the soap opera Loving.

Tammy Grimes also had a career in feature films. She made her film debut in Three Bites of the Apple in 1967. In the late Sixties she also appeared in the film Arthur! Arthur! (1969). In the Seventies she appeared in the films Play It As It Lays (1972), The Runner Stumbles (1979), and Can't Stop the Music (1980). In the Seventies she appeared in the films The Stuff (1985), America (1986), and Slaves of New York (1989). In the Nineties she appeared in the films Backstreet Justice (1994), A Modern Affair (1995), Trouble on the Corner (1997), High Art (1998), and The Portrait (1999).

Tammy Grimes was a very talented actress. She was particularly adept at playing lively, slightly off-the-wall characters, and had a particular knack for comedy. She definitely had a singular voice, complete with a Mid-Atlantic accent rarely found in actors of her generation. It came in good use in playing such odd characters as the title character in the episode "Where Are the Sounds of Celli Brahms?" on Route 66, Homily Clock on the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of "The Borrowers", and Helene in the film Play It as It Lays. Tammy Grimes was certainly unique. It can truly be said there was no other actor like her.

The Late Great Jimmy Perry

Jimmy Perry, co-creator of Dad's Army and You Rang, M'Lord?, died on October 23 2016 at the age of 93.
 
Jimmy Perry was born on September 20 1923 in Barnes, Surrey. His father was an antiques dealer in South Kensington and one of the founders of the British Antique Dealers’ Association. His grandfather had been a butler at one of the houses in Belgrave Square and provided much of the inspiration for You Rang, M'Lord?. Jimmy left St. Paul's School in Hammersmith, London at age 14 and was sent to secretarial school. Having attended hardly any classes over the summer at the school, he then became an apprentice Waring and Gillow’s carpet department. He left Waring and Gillow when his family moved to Watford with the outbreak of World War II. It was there that he served in the Home Guard. It was also in Watford that he became involved in amateur plays.

Jimmy Perry was eventually called up and he served in the First (Mixed) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Royal Artillery. He joined the Royal Artillery's concert party and as a result the regimental colonel did not include him in the D-Day landings. That having been said, he would later be posted to Burma and later Bombay. There he also took part in the Royal Artillery base's concert party. 

Once he was demobilised Jimmy Perry returned to England and enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He took summer jobs at Butlins holiday camps as a Redcoat. Sir Billy Butlin himself offered Mr. Perry a permanent position, but he chose to return to Watford to serve as manager and actor of Watford's repertory theatre. He later joined  Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop at Stratford in east London.

Jimmy Perry made his television debut as an actor in a BBC production of The Water Gipsies in 1955. In the Sixties he appeared in episodes of Les cinq dernières minutes, Hugh and I, Beggar My Neighbour, and The Gnomes of Dulwich. Mr. Perry also wrote episodes of The Gnomes of Dulwich.

It was during his appearance on Beggar My Neighbour that Jimmy Perry came up with an idea based on his experiences in the Home Guard. He wrote a script and showed it to producer David Croft. It was David Croft who pitched the idea to the BBC. Initially the BBC was downright hostile to the idea, with many feeling that it poked fun at World War II. Eventually Messrs. Croft and Perry were able to win the BBC over. Dad's Army proved to be a hit. Debuting in 1968 it ran until 1977. It provided the basis for a 1972 movie with the original cast and a 2016 film with big name film stars.

In the early Seventies Jimmy Perry wrote episodes of Lollipop Loves Mr Mole. It was in 1974 that David Croft and Jimmy Perry debuted a new series, It Ain't Half Hot Mum. Like Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum was based on Jimmy Perry's own experiences, this time in the Royal Artillery. It centred on a Royal Artillery unit in  Deolali, India, particularly on the members of its Concert Party. It also proved successful, running until 1981, although today it is regarded as very politically incorrect.  Without David Croft, Jimmy Perry created Room Service, which ran for only seven episodes.

In 1980 David Croft and Jimmy Perry's next series debuted.  Hi-De-Hi! was based on Jimmy Perry's experience in holiday camps. It centred on the fictional Maplin's holiday camp and was set in the late Fifties and early Sixties. It ran for 8 years. Jimmy Perry's next series, High Street Blues, was made without David Croft. It ran for only six episodes. His series Turns would also not see the success of his earlier work.

Jimmy Perry's final show was You Rang, M'Lord?. Created with David Croft, it proved to be a hit and ran for 26 episodes. It was essentially a parody of such dramas as Upstairs Downstairs

In 2002 Jimmy Perry published his autobiography, A Stupid Boy.

David Croft and Jimmy Perry made a great team when it came to creating sitcoms. In fact, they may have been the most successful sitcom writing team in British television history. Much of the reason for the success was Jimmy Perry's uncanny ability to take his own experiences and distil them into comedy magic. After all, the Home Guard and holiday camps may not seem to be the most likely subjects for sitcoms, and yet Jimmy Perry was able to make them subjects for two highly successful sitcoms. Indeed, Dad's Army is considered one of the greatest sitcoms in the English language. It is perhaps for that reason that Jimmy Perry prove to have much more success with sitcoms than other writers in the field. In the entire English speaking world, it would be hard to find a writer with a track record as good as that of Mr. Perry

The Late Great Bobby Vee

Legendary singer Bobby Vee, known for such hits as "Take Good Care of My Baby", "Run to Him", and "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", died on October 24 2016 at the age of 73. The cause was complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Bobby Vee was born Robert Velline in Fargo, North Dakota on April 30 1943. Music ran in Mr. Vee's family. His father, Sidney Velline, could play violin and piano. He had two older brothers who could play guitar. In his high school's band Bobby Vee played saxophone. He bought his first guitar with money he saved up from his paper route.

Sadly, Bobby Vee's first big break would come about because of the plane crash that cost the lives of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens on February 3 1959. The performers had been en route to Moorhead, Minnesota to play at a dance there. Rather than cancelling the dance, its promoters asked on a local radio station for performers to replace Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. Fifteen year old Bobby and his brother Bill, with their band The Shadows (not to be confused with Cliff Richard's band of the same name), called the station and as a result were placed on the bill.

It was six months later that Bobby Vee's first single, "Suzy Baby", was recorded for local Minnesota label Soma Records. The song did well enough in the Minnesota market to attract the attention of Liberty Records, who signed Bobby Vee to a contract. His first single for Liberty, "What Do You Want", was released in early 1960. His first hit would be a cover of The Clovers' "Devil or Angel", which peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was followed up by his next hit, "Rubber Ball", which also went to no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Rubber Ball" proved to be his first hit in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at no. 4. His first LP, Bobby Vee Sings Your Favourites, was also released in 1960.

It was on July 20 1961 that Bobby Vee's biggest hit was released. "Take Good Care of My Baby" went all the way to no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 3 on the UK singles chart. It was followed by his second biggest hit, "Run to Him", which peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 6 on the UK singles chart. For much of 1962 Mr. Vee continued to hit the top twenty of the Billboard Hot 100. His biggest hit of the year was "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", which peaked at no. 3 in the U.S. and the UK.

Unfortunately Bobby Vee's career would stall in 1963. His single "Charms" would be the only single to hit the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at no. 13. Bobby Vee would have one last major hit in the Sixties, "Come Back When You Grow Up". It peaked at no. 3 in 1967. Despite this Bobby Vee continued to perform and to record. In 1972 he released the album Nothin' Like A Sunny Day. In 1999 he released the album Down The Line. In 2002 he released the album I Wouldn't Change A Thing. His final album, The Adobe Sessions, was released in 2014.

In the Sixties Bobby Vee appeared frequently in television shows and even films. He appeared as himself in the films Swingin' Along (1961), Play It Cool (1962), and Just for Fun (1963). His only acting gig was in the film C'mon, Let's Live a Little (1967).

In the Sixties Bobby Vee was phenomenally successful. He had six singles that were certified gold (Devil or Angel", "Rubber Ball", Take Good Care of My Baby", "Run to Him", "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", and  "Come Back When You Grow Up"). He had eight songs hit the top ten and many more that reached the Billboard Hot 100. And while the peak of his career lasted only for a few years, Bobby Vee would prove to be influential. No less than The Beatles recorded a cover of "Take Good Care of My Baby" for their audition for Decca Records. He would also have an impact on Bob Dylan's career, having hired Mr. Dylan as a pianist early in his career. Bobby Vee's songs would be covered by Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Herman's Hermits, Mud, and Smokie. One of the biggest artists of the era between Buddy Holly's death and The Beatles' arrival in the United States, Bobby Vee had a lasting influence on popular music.

The Late Great Zacherley

Pioneering horror host and DJ John Zacherle, better known by his stage name Zacherley, died on October 27 2016 at the age of 98.

John Zacherle was born on September 26 1918 in Philadelphia. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and received a bachelor's degree in English Literature there. During World Warr II he enlisted in the United States Army and served in both North Africa and Europe. Following the war he returned to Philadelphia and took part in a local repertory theatre. It was in 1953 that he appeared in a live TV Western called Action in the Afternoon that aired on WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. On the show he played the Coroner. This led directly to him becoming the host of WCAU's Shock Theatre. On WCAU's Shock Theatre he went by the name "Roland". Roland lived in a crypt in which his unseen wife ("My Dear") rested in a coffin. As Roland he would often interrupt the films with horror-comedy gags. In the end, John Zacherle's stint on WCAU's Shock Theatre would not only influence other horror hosts at the time, but nearly all horror hosts ever since.

In 1958 WCAU was bought by CBS and as a result John Zacherle moved to WABC in New York City. Initially at WABC he continued as Roland and used essentially the same format as he had at WCAU. It was after March 1959 that he became known as "Zacherley" (WABC having added a "y" to his surname) and his show was renamed Zacherley at Large. His wife, who still rested in a coffin, was then called Isobel. In the Sixties, Zacherley would occasionally fill in for his friend Dick Clark on touring shows of American Bandstand. It was reportedly Dick Clark who dubbed Zacherley "the Cool Ghoul".

Zacherley would move from WABC to WOR and finally to WPIX where he hosted Chiller Theatre. In 1963 at WPIX he hosted  animated cartoons. Starting in 1964 he hosted a horror themed, American Bandstand type show called Disc-O-Teen at WNJU in Newark, New Jersey. It ran for three years. Starting in 1967 he was a morning radio host for WNEW-FM. In 1969 he became a nightitme DJ there.

From the late Fifties into the Sixties Zacherley also released various novelty records. In 1958 he released the singles "I Was a Teenage Caveman", "Dinner with Drac", and "Eighty-Two Tombstones". In 1960 he released  "Ring-A-Ding Orangoutang". In 1962 he released "Hurry Bury Baby". He also released several albums, including Spook Along With Zacherley (1960), Monster Mash (1962), Scary Tales Featuring John Zacherley ‎(1962), and Zacherle's Monster Gallery (1963). He appeared in the film Key to Murder (1958), and guest starred on the shows The Dick Clark Show, What's My Line?, and Play of the Week.

In 1971 John Zacherle moved to radio station WPLJ-FM. He remained there for ten years. In 1982 he appeared in an edition of Saturday Night Live. In 1986 as Zacherley he was the host of a series of VHS tapes called Horrible Horror, which featured sci-fi and horror films in the public domain. He provided the voice of  Aylmer in the cult film Brain Damage (1988) and had a cameo in Frankenhooker (1990).

In the Nineties he appeared in the film Niagaravation (1995). In 1995 he released the album Dead Man's Ball. Over the years John Zacherle appeared in many retrospectives about horror hosts and the horror genre in general. He appeared in the 2006 documentary Vampira: The Movie and the 2010 documentary The Aurora Monsters: The Model Craze That Gripped the World. In 2005 he released one last album, Interment For Two. He also edited two anthologies of horror stories during his career, Zacherley's Vulture Stew and Zacherley's Midnight Snacks. Mr. Zacherle attended horror conventions well into his nineties.

Zacherley was not the first horror host (that would be Vampira), but he was among the earliest and arguably the most successful. He blended horror with comedy and did so with a theatrical flair few have ever matched. Not only his format, but even his routines have been imitated by television stations to this day. Without Zacherley, there would be no Svengoolie, no Elvira, no Dr. Gangrene. What is more, Zacherley's success went beyond television. He released records. He edited books. He appeared in films.

I have many friends who had the opportunity to meet Zacherley at the various monster conventions over the years. All of them have said the same thing. He was one of the nicest gentlemen one could hope to meet. He was friendly, jovial, and extremely generous to his fans. Zacherley was not simply "the Cool Ghoul" on television. He was very cool in real life too.

Happy Halloween 2016

If you regularly read A Shroud of Thoughts, then you know it is a tradition here to post classic movie pinups on holidays. This Halloween is no different, so without further ado here are some classic pinups suitable to the holiday!

First up is Della Street as Perry Mason never saw her, the lovely Barbara Hale!

Next up is Ella Neal relaxing in some hay!

And here we have Nan Wynn and Anita Louise spending a spooky night out!

And here's the lovely Ann Rutherford and her pumpkin stand!

The lovely Nancy Carroll is a bit spooked!

And it wouldn't be Halloween without the lovely, leggy Ann Miller!

Next up, for your enjoyment, here are some of my favourite blog posts suitable for some Halloween reading!

"The 70th Anniversary of Orson Welles' 'War of the Worlds' Radio Broadcast"

"The Gothic Horror Boom of the Sixties"

"Ben Cooper Inc. & Its Competitors: The Folks Who Sold Halloween"

"The Evil of Victor Frankenstein in Hammer Films" 

"Creating Monsters: Pre-Code Horror Films Part One"

  

"Creating Monsters: Pre-Code Horror Films Part Two"

"Shock!: How Television Revived the Universal Monsters"

Happy Halloween!

Haunted Houses

The haunted house is one of the most widespread tropes in horror literature, films, and television. It has been the theme of such novels as Stephen King's The Shining, such movies as House on Haunted Hill (1959), and episodes of TV shows from Thriller to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not only is it one of the most prevalent tropes in horror, but it is also one of the oldest. Just as tales of ghosts go back in time immemorial, so too do tales of haunted houses.

Indeed, one of the earliest tales about a haunted house appears in a letter by Pliny the Younger written to his  patron Lucias Sura. Pliny told the story of a house in Athens that had a bad reputation because no one could live there. In the dead of night there could be heard the clashing of iron and, if one listened closely, the rattling of chains. These noises would be followed by an apparition in the form of an old man with a long beard and messy hair, with chains on his feet and hands. Because of the ghost the house eventually became unoccupied, as people thought it was uninhabitable. When the philosopher Athenodorus  came to Athens, he was drawn to this house by its exceedingly low rent. Athenodorus saw the ghost on his first night in the house, and followed the ghost to the courtyard where the spectre vanished. Athenodorus marked the spot where the ghost disappeared. He had the spot dug up where a skeleton in chains was discovered. The dead body of the old man was given a proper burial and the old man's ghost never bothered anyone again.

Another early tale of a haunted house is "Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad" from One Thousand and One Nights. "Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad" tells the story of a trader named Ali who visited Baghdad. In need of a place to stay, he asks about a particular house only to be told that the house is haunted by jinn and all who stay there die before the night's end. Despite the various warnings about the house, Ali decides to stay there anyway. He is indeed confronted by jinn that night, but instead of killing him the jinn give him copious amounts of gold.

The Icelandic saga Eyrbyggja saga, published in the 13th or 14th Century, contains several ghost stories, among which is one about haunted houses. The first concerned a rich, but not particularly healthy woman named Thorgunna. Upon her deathbed Thorgunna asked to be buried in Skálholt, for her sheets and bedding to be burned, and for all of her riches to be donated to the church. Unfortunately her friend Thorodd went against her wishes by giving her sheets to his wife as a gift. It was in the middle of the night that the men who had arrived to bear Thorgunna's corpse to Skálholt were awakened by a great clatter in the buttery. When they went to investigate they found Thorgunna there. They decided it was best to leave her to own devices, and Thorgunna set about bringing food to the hall and setting the table. It was after Thoroddd had wished the men good chear that Thorgunna left the hall and was never seen again. The men ate the food she had set out, with no harm to any of them. Thorgunna was buried in Skálholt.

Unfortunately Thorgunna would not be the last ghost to come haunting in  Eyrbyggja saga. A shepherd who was an acquaintance of Thorgunna fell sick and died. It was not long afterwards that Thorir Wooden-leg  encountered the shepherd's ghost. The shepherd's ghost assaulted him and Thorir fell sick and died. The shepherd and Thorir then began haunting the folk around the homestead of Frodis-water. Worse yet, six more people fell sick and died. The six dead men were often seen on a ten-oared boat not far from the shore. The ghosts grew even worse in their haunting during the Yule-feast. Finally Kiartan consulted Snorri the Priest as to what could be done about the ghosts. Snorri sent for another priest to accompany Kiartan to Frodis-water. The priest advised that Thorgunna's sheets be burned. Christian rituals were conducted afterwards among all the folk, and later the ghosts were put on trial for their wrongdoing. Once the ghosts were charged and sentenced they disappeared. Afterwards the priest spread holy water throughout the house. The folk at Frodis-water had no more problems with ghosts.

Haunted houses would later play a central role in Gothic literature. The first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto by Horace Wapole, featured many of the trappings of haunted house stories, including trapdoors, secret passages, doors that open and close by themselves, and so on. Indeed, The Castle of Otranto would not only have an impact on further Gothic novels, but on literature regarding haunted houses in general. The 19th Century would see some of the classics of the haunted house genre written. The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne drew heavily upon the mythos of haunted houses in a tale of an accursed house. Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost took a more humorous look at haunted houses. Arguably The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is one of the archetypal haunted house tales. It centres upon a governess who may or may not have had an actual encounter with ghosts.

While one would think that stories of haunted houses would be old fashioned by the 20th Century, there would be several more classic novels on the subject, and haunted houses would provide fodder for many films during the Century. Indeed, among the earliest such films was a silent comedy-drama simply titled The Haunted House (1912). Among the most influential haunted house movies was the black comedy The Cat and the Canary (1927), based on the 1922 comedy of the same name. It would be remade in 1939 starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, although that version would be played even more for laughs. In the mid 20th Century haunted houses would nearly as often be grist for comedy as they would horror. There were such comedies as The Ghost Breakers (1940), Hold That Ghost (1941), and Scared Stiff (1953). Nearly every movie series, from the Mexican Sptifire to The Bowery Boys, had at least one entry set in a haunted house. That's not to say haunted houses weren't still ripe for horror movies. Such films as The Uninivited (1944), House on Haunted Hill (1959), The Haunting (1963), and The Legend of Hell House (1973) all utilised haunted houses as a source of terror.

Even given how ancient stories about haunted houses are, there were still many great haunted house tales published in the 20th Century. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson became a classic in the genre and provided the basis for two movies titled The Haunting. Hell House by Robert Bloch would also prove to be one of the genre's classics. Stephen King's novel The Shining arguably established him as one of the top horror writers of the late 20th Century, and has been adapted both as a film and a mini-series.

Haunted houses would prove to be popular subjects for episodes of television shows. The classic horror anthology Thriller featured at least two episodes centred on haunted houses ("The Purple Room" and "What Beckoning Ghost?"). Sitcoms, including The Andy Griffith Show ("The Haunted House") and The Monkees ("Monkee See, Monkee Die"), touched upon the haunted house theme. Not surprisingly, horror series delved into haunted houses, including Dark Shadows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel.

Given the popularity of haunted houses in literature, film, and television. It should perhaps not be surprising that there would develop the phenomenon of haunted attractions, whether actual houses reputed to be haunted or simulations thereof. One of the earliest haunted attractions was built as part of the Hollycombe Steam Collection  near Liphook in Hampshire. Orton & Spooner Company built the Haunted House there in 1915. In the late Sixties and early Seventies haunted attractions proved popular with such organisations as the Jaycees. The original Haunted Mansion ride was opened in Disneyland on August 9 1969. Since then there have evolved several variations on haunted attractions, from haunted trails to haunted hayrides.

Tales of haunted houses go back centuries. It is a theme that has been repeated through many novels an movies for years. Despite this, there does not seem to be any indication that the haunted house will decline in popularity as a trope. Years from now there will probably still be books and movies coming out in which unsuspecting individuals find themselves face to face with ghosts (or simulations thereof) in some old, decrepit house.

A Brief History of Trick-or-Treating

A vintage Coca-Cola "Trick or Treat"ad

Perhaps no other custom is as closely identified with Halloween in the United States and Canada as trick-or-treating. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 41.2 million children went from door to door asking for treats in 2014. An estimated $3 billion is spent on candy alone each Halloween. Given how strongly identified trick-or-treating is with Halloween in the United States and Canada, one would think it had always been a part of the holiday. That having been said, while Halloween is a fairly old holiday, trick-or-treating itself only goes back as far as the 20th Century.

Of course, this is not to say that there were not customs similar to trick-or-treating that pre-date the 20th Century, although often they were associated with holidays other than Halloween. In England wassailing was a practice that dates back to the Middle Ages. It was observed at Twelfth Night and involved people going from door to door singing and offering a drink of wassail (generally a hot mulled punch) in exchange for gifts.  In many ways it was a forerunner to carolling. Mumming is another Yuletide custom that dates back to the Middle Ages. It involves people going from door to door asking for food or money in exchange for a performance of a mummer's play.  Allhallowtide (Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day) had its own equivalent custom in the form of souling. Souling was a custom observed in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales on All Souls' Day whereby individuals would go from door to door singing and praying for those who have died in exchange for soul cakes. At least from the 16th Century a similar custom was observed in Scotland on Halloween itself. Guising consisted of groups of young men setting about in costumes and singing in exchange for nuts, apples, or money.

While these customs are quite similar to today's trick-or-treating, a direct line cannot be traced from trick-or-treating back to any of them. The first book-length history of Halloween, The Book of Hallowe'en by Ruth Edna Kelley, was published in 1919. Ruth Edna Kelley was very extensive when it came to the many customs, tricks, games, and other forms of revelry with which Halloween was observed in the United States at the time. She makes no mention of trick-or-treating or any ritual even resembling it.

A still from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Of course, while trick-or-treating might not have existed (or at least was not widely practised) in the United States in 1919, tricks were a well established Halloween tradition.  Playing pranks while wearing costumes on Halloween dates back to at least the 18th Century in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. Irish and Scottish immigrants quite naturally brought the tradition of Halloween tricks to the United States. Among the stranger pranks described in Ruth Edna Kelley's The Book of Hallowe'en is bags of flour being dumped on passers-by. This odd custom is also referenced by Sally Benson in her semi-autobiographical vignette "October, 1903", one of the vignettes in her series 5135 Kensington. First published in the November 1 1941 issue of The New Yorker and included in the 1942 book Meet in St. Louis, the vignette describes a custom whereby individuals are hit with flour and said to be "killed". This custom would later be portrayed in the musical based on the book, Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).

From ringing doorbells and hitting people with flour there would not seem to be too much of a leap from threatening people with pranks (that is, "tricks") if they do not hand over treats.  Quite simply, at some point in the early 20th Century perhaps some enterprising child or group of children realised that they could use the threat of the typical pranks performed at Halloween as a means of getting treats in return. Don't want your windows soaped or your outhouse turned over? Then hand over the goodies!  Indeed, this would explain the origin of the phrase "trick or treat" quite easily. Of course, here it must be pointed out that we really don't know how or why trick-or-treating came about at all.

The historic first mention of "trick or treat"

While trick-or-treating is often thought of as an American custom, the first known use of the phrase "trick-or-treat" in print came from Blackie, Alberta in Canada. In the November 4 1927 issue of the Herald (published in Lethbridge, Alberta) there appeared an article entitled, "'Trick or Treat' Is Demand." After mentioning the usual, harmless pranks pulled at Halloween, the article states, "The youthful tormentors were at back door and front demanding edible plunder by the word 'trick or treat' to which the inmates gladly responded and sent the robbers away rejoicing."

Curiously, while the phrase "trick-or-treat" is first mentioned in Canada in 1927, it is not until 1934 that it is first mentioned in the United States. In fact, 1934 seems to be a bit of a banner year for the custom, with no less than two newspapers referencing trick-or-treating and another describing what would seem to be trick-or-treating, even though the phrase "trick-or-treating" is not used. The first article, "Halloween Pranks Keep Police on Hop", was from the November 1 1934 Oregon Journal (published in Portland). There it was reported, "Other young goblins and ghosts, employing modern shakedown methods, successfully worked the 'trick or treat' system in all parts of the city." The second article, "The Gangsters of Tomorrow", from the November 2 1934 issue of the The Helena Independent in Montana, described how a child would "...give a citizen every opportunity to comply with his demands before pulling any rough stuff." The article gives an unusual variation of the now traditional exhortation, "Madam, we are here for the usual purpose, 'trick or treat.'"

While both the Oregon Journal and The Helena Independent characterise trick-or-treating in terms suggesting a form of extortion, the November 3 1934 "Front Views and Profiles" column by June Provines in The Chicago Tribune treats the young custom slightly more positively. Although neither the terms "trick-or-treat" or "trick-or-treating" appear,  it would seem the author is clearly describing the custom. Quite simply, Miss Provines writes that the children of Aurora, Illinois "..have a unique way of celebrating Halloween. Instead of soaping windows and ringing doorbells they get into costume and go from door to door asking for handouts." She notes that if "...no contribution is forthcoming they soap the windows in revenge." Although the words "trick-or-treat" never appear, the "Front Views and Profiles" column is clearly describing trick-or-treating.

Much like the earliest articles in the Herald from Lethbridge, Alberta, the Oregon Journal, and The Helena Independent, various accounts of trick-or-treating in American newspapers in the Thirties tended to describe the custom in terms that bring to mind extortion or other rackets associated with gangsters. The title of an article from the November 1 1938 issue of The Reno Evening Gazette in Nevada was simply, "Youngsters Shakedown Residents". An article from the October 30 1938 issue of The Los Angeles Times, "Halloween Pranks Plotted by Youngsters of Southland", refers to groups of trick-or-treaters as "diminutive Halloween goon squads". While many articles couched trick-or-treating in such terms, there were also many articles on the custom  from the Thirties that seem sympathetic to the trick-or-treaters. Much of the reason that trick-or-treating was treated sympathetically by many adults at the time could be that with the adoption of trick-or-treating there appears to have been a reduction in the usual sorts of vandalism that had characterised Halloween in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. For example, the aforementioned article from The Reno Evening Gazette noted that it was "... one of the quietest Halloweens on record."

Gloria DeHaven bobbing for apples

As to the treats children "extorted" from adults in the Thirties at Halloween, they were not always the candy that is usually handed out today. The aforementioned Oregon Journal article notes, "Many women have some apples, cookies or doughnuts for them." The aforementioned "Front Views and Profiles" column from The Chicago Tribune reported that the children are "..given pop corn balls, apples, or candy." The aforementioned Los Angeles Times article notes trick-or-treaters "...are bought off with cookies, candy, tickless alarm clocks or the price of an ice cream cone." It would appear in the Thirties that treats often varied and many times (such as the popcorn balls) they were home-made.

Of course, from the very beginning trick-or-treating has involved children dressing up in costumes. In the early days of trick-or-treating Halloween costumes would often be home-made. As might be expected, such traditional Halloween favourites as ghosts, witches, devils and skeletons were popular in the Thirties.  Also popular were clowns (although not of the creepy kind), cowboys, police officers, and assorted other occupations as choices for costumes. That having been said, even as trick-or-treating took hold in the United States and Canada in the Thirties, children's choices in costumes were beginning to change. Such companies as Ben Cooper, Collegeville, and Halco had entered the Halloween costume industry in the Twenties. By the Thirties they had started manufacturing costumes of licensed characters. From 1935 to 1938 Halco made costumes based on the characters from the comic strip Thimble Theatre, including Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Wimpy. Starting in 1937, Ben Cooper produced costumes of various Walt Disney characters under F. S. Fishbach, Inc.'s "Spotlight" label. During the Thirties Collegeville manufactured a "Lone Ranger" costume.

Today it is not unusual for trick-or-treaters to be accompanied by adults, but in the Thirties this does not seem to be the case. Indeed, from the earliest articles it would appear that trick-or-treating was instigated by the youngsters themselves (The Chicago Tribune's "Front Views and Profiles" column from November 3 1934 being an example). The earliest articles about trick-or-treating do not mention adults accompanying trick-or-treaters on their rounds What is more, it appears from the earliest articles children had to actually explain the whole concept of "trick-or-treating" to adults.

It would also appear that from the first references to trick-or-treating in the United States that it was originally a phenomenon in the West and the Mid-West. The three earliest references to trick-or-treating in the United Statse are from Oregon, Montana, and Illinois. As the Thirties progressed, reports of trick-or-treaing began to appear further and further east. There was a story in The Hammond Times in Indiana on October 31 1938. There was a story on trick-or-treating in The Oil City Derrick in Pennsylvania on October 29 1939. By the late Thirties or early Forties trick-or-treating appears to have reached the East Coast. There was an article on trick-or-treating in The Cumberland Evening Times in Maryland on October 24 1942.

It was in 1939 that the first reference to trick-or-treating occurred in a national publication. It was in the article "A Victim of the Window Soaping Brigade?" by Doris Hudson Moss in the November 1939 issue of The American Home. The article detailed her success over the past few years in hosting trick-or-treaters. Another early reference from a national publication occurred in a 1941 issue of the magazine Gleanings in Bee Culture, wherein it included "some toothsome recipes for some honey goodies that you can hand out to these would-be pranksters."

A 1946 Curtiss Candy ad

Not only would national publications take greater notice of trick-or-treating as the Forties progressed, but it was not long before the candy industry took notice as well. In the 1942 annual report for Brach's it was noted, "As one of the three biggest candy occasions of the year, Halloween found Brach's ready with a full line for the Trick or Treat set." By the mid to late Forties candy manufacturers were taking full advantage of trick-or-treating to sell their products. The advertising of Curtiss Candy Company, Mars, and other candy companies in the mid to late Forties often referenced trick-or-treating. It would not be long before candy would be the chosen treat given out to trick-or-treaters.

Candy manufacturers weren't the only advertisers to capitalise on trick-or-treating. A 1946 advertisement for the soft drink featured a couple greeting trick-or-treaters at their door with bottles of 7 Up. A 1950 ad for Coca-Cola featured a jack o'lantern filled with bottles of Coca-Cola and the slogan "Treat 'em right with Coke!"

It should perhaps not be surprising that the earliest references to trick-or-treating in pop culture stem from the Forties. What might possibly be the first reference to trick-or-treating in film occurred in the classic comedy Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). Although the film was shot in 1941, Warner Bros. delayed the release of Arsenic and Old Lace until the stage play (upon which it was based) finished its run. Early in the film there is a scene in which Aunts Abby and Martha give trick-or-treaters at their door two carved pumpkins. Following the war trick-or-treating would also be referenced on popular radio shows. Trick or treating was at the centre of the plot of November 1 1946 episode, "Halloween Show", of The Baby Snooks Show. Trick-or-treating also played a role in the plots of the episode "Jack Goes Trick or Treating"  of The Jack Benny Programme (which aired on October 31 1948) and the episode "Haunted House" of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (which also aired on October 31 1948).

By the late Forties and early Fifties trick-or-treating had become an established custom that was observed nationwide in the United States. It was in 1950 that the fundraising programme Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF began. It was in 1949 that  Mary Emma Allison, a pastor's wife, observed a UNICEF booth taking a collection for funds to send powdered milk to malnourished children around the world. It occurred to Mrs. Allison that children could collect for UNICEF while trick-or-treating. She then enlisted both her own children and the children in her community to collect money for UNICEF on Halloween in 1950. It was in 1953 that the United States Committee for UNICEF began actively promoting the campaign. The campaign had spread throughout the nation by the Sixties, and in 1967 President Lyndon B. Johnson declared October 31 to be "UNICEF Day" in the United States. Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF would play a central role in the plot of the Bewitched episode "To Trick-Or-Treat or Not to Trick-Or-Treat" that aired on October 30 1969.

Given the prevalence of trick-or-treating in the Fifties, it should come as no surprise that it was referenced in the popular culture of the era. The October 31 1952 episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, "Halloween Party", portrayed the Nelsons as besieged by trick-or-treaters. It was that same year that Walt Disney released the classic Donald Duck animated short "Trick or Treat". As might be expected, the candy industry continued to exploit the holiday. A 1953 ad for Dubble Bubble Gum featured  a cartoon of a woman handing out treats to youngsters with the slogan, "Treat the kids on Halloween with Fleer's Dubble Bubble Gum." A 1955 Mars ad stated, "When 'TRICKS OR TREATS' is the question, here are two perfect answers: Mars 6-Packs--Mars '24s'."

From the Fifties into the Sixties there would be a shift in the sort of costumes children wore while trick-or-treating. Following the end of World War II costumes of licensed characters manufactured by Ben Cooper, Collegeville, and Halco became a popular choice for many youngsters. The shift from children's tastes in costumes from the traditional ghosts and goblins to the latest television heroes was significant enough to be noted in an Associated Press article by Sid Moody published on October 31 1960. In the article, Harry Mirsky, a representative for J. Halpern Company (better known as Halco), is quoted as saying, "Oh, we still sell devil suits, and witches and hobgoblins, but we're getting away from those weirdies. Television did it. Nowadays kids don't want to be skeletons. They want to dress up like the characters they see on TV." Ben Cooper and Collegeville would continue to dominate the Halloween costume market into the Nineties.

As prevalent as trick-or-treating had become in the Fifties, it was perhaps inevitable that urban legends surrounding the custom would arise. Namely, the early Sixties saw the emergence of rumours of poisoned candy being handed out at Halloween. It is difficult to say why these rumours came about, although they may have originated in 1959 with a California dentist named William Shyne. That year William Shyne handed out 450 laxative tablets to trick-or-treaters. About thirty of them ate the tablets and became sick. Dr. Shyne was charged with "outrage of public decency" and "unlawful dispensing of drugs".  It seems possible that the tale of William Shyne distributing laxative tablets to trick-or-treaters could have gotten misconstrued as poison candy being distributed. Regardless, urban legends of poisoned candy persisted from the Sixties well into the Eighties. Despite this, according to sociologist Joel Best of the University of Delaware (who did an in-depth study of the phenomenon), there appears to be nearly no evidence of strangers randomly handing out poisoned candy to children on Halloween.

Of course, the urban legends regarding poisoned candy were probably helped greatly by a murder case in Houston, Texas in 1974. On October 31 1974 eight-year-old Timothy Marc O'Bryan died from eating Pixie Stix laced with cyanide. As it turned out, the young boy was given the Pixie Stix by his own father, Ronald Clark O'Bryan, who also gave cyanide-laced Pixie Stix to his daughter and three other children. Fortunately none of the other youngsters ate the Pixie Stix. The police soon figured out that Ronald Clark O'Bryan was the culprit as none of the houses visited were handing out Pixie Stix. Sadly, it seems that Timothy Marc O'Bryan's own father had murdered him for insurance money. Ronald Clark O'Bryan was executed by lethal injection on March 31 1984.

It was around 1967 that urban legends of sharp objects in trick-or-treat candy (needles, pins, razor blades, etc.) began to overtake the urban legends of poisoned candy. While these urban legends about sharp objects in Halloween candy would be prevalent throughout the late Sixties and into the Eighties, according to Joel Best every single instance of such candy tampering since 1959 has proven to be a hoax. Not only does it seem that there are not people randomly handing out poisoned candy to children at Halloween, there aren't people randomly handing out candy filled with needles or pins or razor blades either.

Unfortunately in 1982 trick or treating would feel the impact of a real life case of product tampering, although it had nothing to do with Halloween. On September 29 1982 a twelve year old Illinois girl died after taking a capsule of Extra-Strength Tylenol that had been laced with cyanide. Over the next few days six more people in the Chicago area died from cyanide laced doses of Tylenol. On October 5 1982 Johnson & Johnson issued a nationwide recall of Tylenol products.

As the first major case of product tampering in American history, not only would the Chicago Tylenol murders result in pharmaceutical companies developing new, tamper resistant packaging, but it would have a serious impact on the holiday of Halloween as it was celebrated in 1982. Many parents, concerned that similar product tampering might occur with regards to candy, refused to take their children out trick-or-treating that year.  Cities in New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Massachusetts outright banned trick-or-treating. Stores across the nation reported that candy sales had dropped 20 to 50 percent. The Tylenol scare even affected Halloween costume manufacturers, such as Ben Cooper and Collegeville, who saw their sales drop precipitously.

Fortunately Halloween and trick-or-treating would recover from the Tylenol Scare. In 1983 eight different Halloween costume manufacturers and the Toy Manufacturers of America formed the Halloween Celebration Committee in an effort to save the holiday. The Halloween Celebration Committee published a pamphlet entitled "13 Great Ways to Celebrate Halloween" in an effort to revitalise the holiday. Candy sales rebounded in 1984 and trick-or-treating resumed as it had in previous years.

That is not to say that trick-or-treating would not continue to change and evolve.  The Eighties would see a trend towards latex masks of the sort Don Post Studios had made since 1938 and a concurrent trend towards more realistic, more sophisticated costumes. Ben Cooper went out of business in the early Nineties. Collegeville was bought by younger rival company Rubies Costume Company at auction in 1996. The Nineties saw a return to people making their own costumes, and those costumes manufactured by costume companies were generally more realistic than the plastic masks and plastic smocks of the sort made by Ben Cooper, Collegeville, and Halco in the mid-20th Century.

My brother's car trunk
decorated for Trunk or Treat

There also developed a variant on trick-or-treating known as trunk-or-treat. Trunk-or-treating is a community event wherein children go from car to car in a parking lot, usually that of a school, church, city hall, or other community building. It is not known precisely where the first trunk-or-treat event was held, much less who came up with the idea or how they came up with it. It does seems as if it was a particularly attractive alternative for those churches that regarded Halloween as a "pagan" festival and trick-or-treating with it (at such churches children are encouraged to dress as characters from the Bible). Regardless, trunk-or-treating appears to have developed sometime in the mid-Nineties and exploded in popularity in 2006. Since then many communities in the United States and Canada have held their own "trunk-or-treat" events, even though trick-or-treating often continues to take place in those communities as well.

It has been 89 years since the phrase "trick-or-treat" first appeared in print. While trick-or-treating has changed over the years, there is little sign that it is declining in popularity. The American Retail Federation estimated that Americans would spend $2.1 to $2.6 billion on Halloween candy and $2.5 billion on costumes in 2015. Trick-or-treating is nearing its 100th anniversary, but it shows no sign of going out of style.