Illinois State's Special Collections at Milner Library [stories to tell]: Rare & Fine

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Spooky Halloween Stories

Witches of Milner's Special Collection

In Milner's Special Collection there are 46 rare and classic books on witches (link to online catalog). And what can be a better time for some spooky reading than Halloween. Let's get spooky. Today when we dress up like a witch in a Halloween costumes party, knowing a little bit of history behind witch-craft helps us to appreciate this spooky phenomenon in a wholesome way. As this book detailed, witch-craft was a thing for real in the society, and there were serious consequences to those related to this custom.

We want to talk about two specific classics here: 'A Mirror For Witches' and 'The Wonders of the Invisible World' . We would leave the rest of the Milner's Witches for your exploration. :-)

A Mirror for Witches by Esther Forbes

A Mirror for Witches is a 1928 novel by American author Esther Forbes, dealing with the witch hunt in 17th Century New England. The book is still popular and is in print. It has also been adapted for the stage, including by Carlisle Floyd as the opera Bilby's Doll.

A Mirror for Witches - Cover Page

A Mirror for Witches

Milner's Special Collection has the first limited edition of this book, autographed by the author. The black and white woodcut prints throughout the book portray different avenues of this phenomenon very effectively.

The Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather

First published in 1693, the scene of this affair was the puritanical colony of New England, since better known as Massachusetts, the colonists of which appear to have carried with them, in an exaggerated form, the superstitious feelings with regard to witchcraft which then prevailed in the mother country. In the spring of 1692 an alarm of witchcraft was raised in the family of the minister of Salem, Massachusetts. This book defended Mather's role in the Witch hunt conducted in Salem, Massachusetts. It espoused the belief that witchcraft was an evil magical power. Mather saw witches as tools of the devil in Satan's battle to "overturn this poor plantation, the Puritan colony", and prosecution of witches as a way to secure God's blessings for the colony.

The Wonders of Invisible World

The Wonders of Invisible World - Cover

Cotton Mather was born in 1663. After graduating from Harvard College, he followed in his father's footsteps, becoming pastor of the Second Church of Boston. He continued in this role from 1685 until his death in 1728.

Mather began with an explanation of how the people of God were living in the devil's territories. He discussed the devil's plan to overturn the plantation and churches with the help of witches.

"...An army of devils is horribly broke in upon the place which is the center, and after a sort, the first-born of our English settlements..."

Mather prefaced the trials by saying he would recount them as a historian. One of the trials included was Martha Carrier's, who was "the person of whom the confessions of the witches, and of her own children among the rest, agreed that the devil had promised her she should be Queen of the Hebrews." Mather presented testimonies against Martha Carrier, all of which presumed her to be guilty.

Vampires of Milner's Special Collection

Fear of the undead is an ancient horror. Stories of cursed formerly human creatures that re-animate after their death to stalk the living are often now associated with zombies, as originally conceptualized by George Romero in his classic film “Night of the Living Dead” and now enjoyed on a weekly basis in the AMC series “The Walking Dead”. However, before the modern take on zombies, stories about vampires capitalized on the fear of the undead.

Vampire tales go back centuries in Europe. There is evidence going back over 700 years in places like Bulgaria where bodies were buried with teeth pulled out and a stake through the heart to prevent vampirism from occurring.

Somewhat surprisingly, the first known vampire novel was not written until 1819, a rather obscure novel, where one of the most fascinating facts about the story was its origination. The story of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is well known. Mary Shelley created the story in a friendly horror story competition in Switzerland with her husband, poet Percy Shelley, and friends including Lord Byron and his doctor John Polidori. Still a teenager at the time of writing, Shelley’s work became world-famous and an iconic work of horror.

What is less remembered is Polidori’s contribution to the competition. Polidori, inspired by a tale from Byron, crafted a novella titled “The Vampyre: A Tale”, about a vampire named Lord Ruthven, who tricks and murders members of London’s high society. Polidori, whose work was originally and erroneously credited to Lord Byron, helped shape the idea of the vampire as a suave aristocrat rather than monstrous ghoul. This idea was expanded on and made much more famous by Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” in 1897.

We had never heard of Polidori’s “Vampyre” before, but we were surprised and delighted to learn that Milner Library actually has a very rare printing of the novella from 1819 in its Special Collections!

Polidori's "Vampyre"

The introduction to the novella discusses the story’s genesis in the rainy boredom in Switzerland of the Shelleys, Byron, and Polidori in 1816. The introduction also shares famous legends of vampires in eastern Europe, such as the tale of Arnold Paul (also known as Arnold Paole) near Hungary in the early 1730s. Paul was alleged to have confided in his wife that he was attacked by a vampire while serving in war. Paul tracked down and killed the monster, then tried to rid himself of the vampire’s curse by eating dirt from its grave and washing in its blood. However, after dying from an accident, Paul was feared by the locals of becoming the undead and terrorizing the living due to multiple people claiming to have seen him after burial and then subsequently dying mysteriously.

Curious Case of Arnold Paul

Arnold Paul Meets His Fate...

The townspeople dug up his body several weeks after death and were horrified to find the corpse appearing fresh, with blood and fluid at the mouth, nose, and ears. The people took steps to destroy the vampire, including beheading and burning the body.

Vampires, along with all its spookiness, come up again in another of Milner’s Special Collections offerings, in a book titled “Popular Superstitions, and the Truth Contained Therein, with an Account of Mesmerism” published in 1852. The book is a curious attempt by a medical doctor named Herbert Mayo to discuss the potential scientific explanations behind such superstitions as ghosts, trances, mesmerism, and of course, vampyrism.

Mayo defines a vampire as “a dead body which continues to live in the grave; which it leaves, however, by night, for the purpose of sucking the blood of the living, whereby it is nourished and preserved in good condition, instead of being decomposed like other dead bodies”.... creepy, yet quite descriptive.

To be a Victim of the Vampyr

Mayo shares other vampire anecdotes from history. He finishes his chapter by speculating on possible scientific explanations for the vampire legend. He concludes vampyrism is possibly due to people taking on trances that create the appearance of death. He even suggests that such death-trances can become epidemic within populations.

Vampire Historical Anecdotes

Milner’s Special Collections – Additional Spooky Creeps

There are additional sources in Milner’s rare and fine collections that fit well in a 'Spooky Halloween Stories' theme.

Masquerades and Carnival

A book of masquerade designs published in 1892 demonstrate a variety of funny, interesting, and scary costumes. Some were highly racist (Darkey Girl with watermelon), although likely considered socially acceptable for the time.

Devilish Charms

Playing the Fool

Children's Costumes from 1892

Danse Macabre

Milner also has a rare French book from 1862 that contains a collection of weird and horrifying drawings and stories from different past eras. One of the sections is called “Danse Macabre”.

Danse Macabre/Dance of Death

Death Smiles upon Thee

Images from other sections of the book include medieval drawings of devils torturing poor souls...

Stewed in Hell

For those so inclined... there is a world of fright, terror, and the supernatural awaiting you in the stacks of the Special Collections unit at Milner Library. This Halloween, investigate them if you dare.