The idea of Halloween has existed for ages, but how has The Forge celebrated it in the past? I took a trip to The Forge Archives to find out. Most of our spooky content has come in publications throughout the 2000’s, and only a few articles exist before that. By far, the most common article was the “History of Halloween,” showing up six different times in October issues from the 1990’s to today. We are not running that article this year. Unless you count this as Halloween history, in which case the irony is very strong. 

Current events and politics also leaked into our past Halloween reporting, with coverage of the clown plague of 2016 and Donald Trump’s presidency in 2018. The article titled “No More Clowning Around” reported that there were clown sightings in Oakland, Antioch, and Fairfield, with recommendations to not dress as clowns that Halloween. Thankfully, nothing ever came of it. A political cartoon was also published in The Forge depicting Trump as being scarier than everyone else’s Halloween costumes.

Not counting articles, the most prevalent thing in The Forge’s past Halloween issues are spooky images and drawings—and, coincidentally, the word “spooky.” Pumpkins, black cats, ghosts, and skeletons have always adorned the pages of the Forge in the October issues. The oldest Halloween related thing I could find in the forge was in the October 1941 issue. It was a cartoon pinched between 3 different articles, with the caption “Watch Your Step Tonight!” It depicts the “trick” part of “trick or treat.” I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick history lesson, and have a happy Homecoming and Halloween!