Who would have thought that the fun loving-sometimes vicious-pranks that happen each Halloween would have roots that date all the way back to around 800 B.C. in Ireland?

Like all early societies, the Celts were very structured and organized-but during Samhain celebrations, which lasted from October 31st to November 2nd, order and structure were thrown out the window and chaos reigned. People would do crazy things such as moving people's horses to different fields and they also unhinged farmers gates and left them in ditches.

In 19th century America, rural immigrants from Ireland and Scotland brought Halloween customs from from their homelands and one of those traditions was that on Halloween night, the boys would roam the outdoors engaging in almost ritualized pranks. At that time, the favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates. The next day, the pranks were blamed on unruly sprits.

In 1930's America, when pranks got increasingly more expensive and dangerous, householders began giving out bribes to the neighborhood kids as a way to distract them away from their previous anarchy.

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