Current-day Halloween is widely seen as a night of harmless fun: children in costumes, neighborhood houses glowing with jack-o’-lanterns and bags of candy passed from door to door. But in Cleveland, the holiday has a far rowdier past.
At the turn of the 20th century and persisting into the 1950s, Halloween was a night full of chaos. Poor Scottish and Irish immigrants, who brought old pagan customs that gradually merged with Christian observances like All Hallows’ Eve, saw the night as an opportunity to push the boundaries of societal rules.
“It’s a night when you could put a mask on and you could be somebody other than yourself,” said John Grabowski, a historian at Case Western Reserve University. “And when you did that, you could challenge authority.”
The freedom sometimes turned destructive. Grabowski said teens and even adults would engage in vandalism and arson, or settle small scores with neighbors and local businesses.
Chalking doors, pelting homes and policemen with produce and leading livestock into church steeples were common tricks, according to the Cleveland Historical Society.
“You could do things that perhaps were improper that you couldn’t do on a normal day,” Grabowski said. “All the depredations that were done, burning the fence down and whatever else, nobody bothered them because it was Halloween.”
By the 1930s, the city began to curb the disorder. Communities sponsored parades and organized masquerade parties, an attempt to channel the energy into safer activities. It was during this period that modern trick-or-treating began to be widely adopted, providing children with a socially sanctioned way to roam the streets and ask for an apple or a pear during the hardships of the Great Depression.
Over the decades, Halloween in Cleveland evolved from a night of mischief and social rebellion into a family-centered celebration. As concerns about safety grew, communities introduced youth curfews and other rules, which reflected shifts in how society viewed childhood and safety, said Grabowski.
"In the early days, when people went out asking for something, they didn't have parents accompanying them. These were just kids on the street," he said. "(Today) it's not as rambunctious as it used to be. I haven't seen many soaped windows lately."
Some of the safety tips that date back to those days persist today: walk in groups, carry lights and dress warmly.
