Halloween pranks and vandalism have been a part of the holiday for a long time, coming over from Europe along with other Halloween traditions. While victims of these pranks were rightly annoyed, they mostly just chalked it up to youth blowing off steam, as they themselves did when they were younger. That tolerance, as thin as it was, came to a screeching halt during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Everyday people were suffering, and could no longer afford to lose a gate or an outhouse, or have their automobiles damaged by being flipped over. What to do? Halloween mischief was a tradition!
Citizens from small towns to big cities worked to find other spooky amusements for rambunctious youth to celebrate Halloween. Younger children were happy to go trick-or-treating and maybe attend a party, but older kids and teenagers really needed something to make the holiday exciting. And a haunted house was just the right thing to give them a thrill. Read about the rise of haunted houses for Halloween at History. -Thanks, WTM!
(Image credit: John Anster Fitzgerald)
