WELCOME TO An Entertainment Site for Scottish Country Dancers - Enjoy the curated selection of theme-related dances for celebrations and holidays, or find a dance associated with a special calendar day, or EVEN your own birthday!
Vintage postcard
October Parties Month
Oct 18
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"Ghosts and goblins on the floor,
Spinning 'round forevermore,
Witches waltz with eerie grace,
Skeletons join in the race.
Pumpkins glow, the night’s alive,
Spirits sway and strathspeys thrive,
Costumed dancers whirl away,
In moonlit mischief they will stay.
Let the music cast its spell,
On this haunted night, all's well!"
It's Party Time! Scottish Country Dancers are lucky that there are still opportunities for fancy dress or costumed dance parties for Harvest time and Hallowe'en parties of all kinds. A Harvest Ball can celebrate the season with dancers in rustic-themed attire and decorations like pumpkins, hay bales, and twinkling lights, and tunes to match the cozy fall atmosphere. For a spookier twist, a Halloween Dance Party invites guests to don creative and danceable costumes, with eerie lighting and a playlist mixing traditional tunes with classic Halloween hits that would work for jig, reel, or strathspey tempos. Some unexpected choices that work well for reels and strathspeys include "The Theme from the Addams Family", "Ghostbusters", and "Thriller"! You could also host a Masquerade Phantom of the Opera Dance Night, where mystery and elegance combine, and dancers wear masks! This easy to learn reel has a different "non-widdershins" (clockwise) chase every 8 bars, plenty to make you look over your shoulder for ghosts, goblins, or dancers that go "bump in the night"! Whatever the reason, whatever the season, dance on, dancers! 🖤 🧡 🖤 🎉 🎃 👻 🎃
October's Party Reel
Vintage Halloween celebrations were rich in tradition and charm, featuring handmade decorations, simple costumes, and community-centered activities that have become timeless. In the early 20th century, Halloween was marked by homemade paper mâché masks, black cats, witches, skeletons, and grinning jack-o’-lanterns. Children often dressed in costumes created from everyday items like sheets or fabric scraps, while neighborhoods gathered for parties filled with classic games, rather than the commercial trick-or-treating we see today. These celebrations were fun, mysterious, and full of playful superstition.
Party games played a big role in vintage Halloween festivities.
One of the most iconic was bobbing for apples, where participants tried to grab apples floating in a tub of water using only their mouths. It wasn’t just a game; catching an apple first was said to predict future romance or fortune. Another game, snap apple, involved apples hanging from strings, which players attempted to bite without using their hands. Fortune-telling games were especially popular, with participants peeling apples or dropping chestnuts into a fire to uncover hints about their futures.
Adding to the fun was the Scottish tradition of pulling kail. In this outdoor activity, blindfolded participants would pull up a stalk of kale to predict details about their future spouse—whether they would be tall, short, wealthy, or poor. The condition of the kale stalk revealed these fortunes, and the amount of dirt on its roots signified the spouse’s wealth. The pulled kail would then be hung over a doorway, and the first person to walk under it was said to resemble the participant’s future partner.
Along with lighthearted games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey and spooky mystery boxes, where players reached into bowls of "eyeballs" (peeled grapes) or "intestines" (spaghetti), these activities brought laughter and a bit of eerie fun to vintage Halloween. Combined, these games and traditions created an atmosphere that perfectly balanced the spooky and the playful, making vintage Halloween parties a beloved memory for generations.
For a collection of Hallowe'en themed tartans and vintage Scottish Hallowe'en postcards, click the vintage postcard below!
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
