On Halloween the fairies would all be out

October 31, 2022 1:58 PM

Want to know more about Halloween Customs, Games Connected with Halloween? Or maybe you’d prefer Strange Happenings on Halloween Night or a Ghost Story?

The Schools Collection at Dúchas.ie (Irish for heritage) is the result of an effort by the Irish Folklore Commission between 1937 and 1939, when school children were asked to collect local stories, customs and knowledge from older people in their locality, so as to make sure these could be written down.

The original manuscripts (usually copybooks) have been digitised and transcribed, so that they can now been enjoyed, complete with the original handwriting. There are also photos available.

posted by scorbet (5 comments total)

I was not expecting that twist in the “Ghost Story.”
posted by Ishbadiddle at 3:23 PM on October 31, 2022 [2 favorites]

And this is your annual reminder that kids in St. Louis bring jokes when they go trick-or-treating.

https://youtu.be/mB28Q-Cl7OM
posted by neuracnu at 8:55 PM on October 31, 2022

I was not expecting that twist in the “Ghost Story.”

There are a lot more ghost stories available, most of them a bit more standard! I just like that one for being different. (The kid who did the recording seems to have liked those types of stories - the one on the next page, is similar, but she put a spoiler in the title...)
posted by scorbet at 6:47 AM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have a friend who is a cartographer. Part of the process is to seek out and chat to The Oldest Inhabitant to capture names for ruined steadings, streams and other features. The standard response is "oh, you're at nothing, because Tommie Coleman died two years ago - he knew everything". This is a) not helpful b) not true: the second oldest inhabitant [or John and Ned, indeed] is rich in their own memories.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:00 PM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Part of the process is to seek out and chat to The Oldest Inhabitant to capture names for ruined steadings, streams and other features

The Ordnance Survey of Ireland Letters are great for this type of thing. (Assuming you can read the handwriting.) They're from the 1830s, and are basically the cartographers' notes when they were surveying for the first proper maps of Ireland.
posted by scorbet at 2:52 AM on November 2, 2022