Halloween

If you were searching through the back copies of the Brighton Herald and Brighton Gazette you would find few references to Halloween until the late 1940s and early 1950s.

These events were unassuming compared with today’s celebrations. In 1949, a Halloween dance was held at the Aquarium Ballroom, accompanied by a ‘Special Scottish Cabaret’ arranged by that doyenne of Brighton’s dancing class set, Vera Garbutt.

Even more daring was Hove Young Conservative’s dabble with witchcraft, when they held a Halloween Ball at Hove Town Hall in 1955.

By 1959, all restraint was thrown aside when the Brighton Herald gave over a whole page to Halloween. Local traders joined in with various adverts punning the day. Jack’s, Hair Fashions of Brighton, ran with the line “don’t let your hair stand on end” and Wade’s, drapers, of Western Road advised frightened customers to hide under bed sheets bought from their store.