The Pumpkin Thief (A Chloe Boston Mystery

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1. Halloween is kept on October 31st which is the last day of the Celtic calender.

2. The Halloween habit has evolved from the ancient Celts faith that the border amongst this world and “the Otherworld” becomes thin on All-Hallows-Eve. People wore costumes to camouflage themselves and keep away from harm.

3. The day after Halloween is called All Saints Day. Christians dedicate this day to all those saints who don’t have a particular day of their own.

4. All hallows is another way to say all saints. All-Hallows-Eve means the night before All-Saints Day.

5. The basi proof of the use of the word Halloween comes from Scotland in the early 16th century. It was slang for All-Hallows-Eve.

6. The colours orange and black represent Halloween because orange is the colour of pumpkins (and autumn) and black is related with death.

7. The tradition of carving a jack o’ lantern started in the United Kingdom. They were carved on All Hallows Eve and left on the door step to ward off evil spirits.

8. The basi jack o’ lanterns were carved from a swede or a turnip.

9. Jack o’ lanterns were named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs.

10. Carving gourds into elaborately fancified lanterns dates back thousands of years to Africa. They were on purpose brought to the New World thru prehistoric migration through Asia.

11. A record for the most simultaneously lit jack o’ lanterns was set on October 21, 2006 when 30,128 jack-o’-lanterns were simultaneously lit on Boston Common.

12. The world’s biggest jack o’ lantern was carved from the world’s greatest pumpkin (at the time) on October 31, 2005 in Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania, United States by Scott Cully. The pumpkin weighed 1,469 lb (666.33 kg),

13. Today the record for the world’s biggest pumpkin is held by Nick and Kristy Harp whose pumpkin weighed in at 1,725 lbs (782.45 kg).

14. Trick-or-treating is the Halloween habit where children dressed in costume go door to door asking for candy with the question, “trick or treat?” The “trick” is a (usually idle) threat to carry out mischief on the home-owners or their property if no treat is given.

15. Many people believe, trick or treating evolved from the Middle Ages habit of giving freshly baked soul cakes to children who went door to door on All-Hallows-Eve providing prayers.

16. It was believed that each soul cake eaten represented a soul being freed from purgatory.

17. In Sweden, children dress up as witches and go trick-or-treating on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter).

18. In Northern Germany, Norway and Southern Denmark children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating on New Year’s Eve in a tradition called”Rummelpott”.

19. In Scotland, children are only supposed to receive treats if they carry out tricks for the households they go to. This commonly takes the form of singing a song or reciting a funny poem.

20. For a number of years (in the late 19th century and early 20th century) Halloween in the U.S became synonymous with vandalism.

21. In 1912, Boy Scout clubs and other community organisations came together to give hope or courage to a safe Halloween celebration. School posters at this time called for a “Sane Halloween”.

22. In an effort to prevent harm to their properties, householders begun to offer children treats if they promised not to play “tricks”.

23. By the end of the 1930′s trick or treating had become widespread.

24. Research done by the U.S National Confectioners association in 2005 revealed that 80% of adults and 93% of children went trick or treating on Halloween.

25. The firstborn screen depiction of Trick or Treating was in Disney’s cartoon, “Trick or Treating”. In this cartoon Huey, Duey and Louie try to trick their Uncle, Donald Duck into giving them candy.

26. In 1964 a New York housewife annoyed by Halloween started giving out packages of inedible objects to children whom she believed were too old to be trick-or-treating. The packages contained items such as steel wool, dog biscuits and ant buttons (which were without doubt or question labelled with the word “poison”). Though not anyone was injured, she was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to endangering children.

27. In 1970, the New York Times published an article that claimed that “those Halloween goodies that children gather this weekend on their rounds of ‘trick or treating’ may fetch them more horror than happiness”. It provided examples of potential tamperings. The examples were speculative but led to a ground outstanding of fear.

28. By the 1980s, US and Canadian parents fear that trick or treating children could eat compromised candy reached a peak. In 1985, an ABC News/Washington Post poll that found 60% of parents dire that their children would be injured or killed because of Halloween candy sabotage.

29. Apart from one incident-actually an act of premeditated murder by a trick-or-treater’s father-there have been no recorded incidents of malicious and deliberate tampering of candy for the duration of Halloween.

30. In 1970, a 5-year-old boy from the Detroit area found and ate heroin his uncle had stashed. The boy passed from physical life following a four day coma. The family attempted to protect the uncle by claiming the drug had been sprinkled in the child’s Halloween candy.

31. In 2008, candy was found with metal shavings and metal blades embedded in it. The candy was Pokemon Valentine’s Day lollipops purchased from a Dollar General store in Polk County, Florida. The candy was determined to have been fictitious in China with wrong equipment.

32. In the U.S, Halloween accounts for 25% of the year’s candy sales.

33. In the U.S, almost $2 billion is expended each year on Halloween candy.

34. Candy corn is the most usual Halloween candy.

35. Candy corn was formulated by the U.S Wunderlee Candy company in the 1880′s.

36. Snickers bars are the most frequent candy bar sold on Halloween.

37. Snickers bars were developed in 1930 by the Mars family. They named it after their family horse.

38. Research conducted by the U.S National Retail Federation found that in 2005 – 53% of Americans purchased a Halloween costume, spending an intermediate of $38.

39. The firstborn mass produced Halloween costumes appeared in the 1930′s in the U.S.

40. Originally Halloween costumes were scary characters like vampires, ghosts, skeletons, witches and devils.

41. Today, Halloween costumes are often times inspired by science fiction, television, cinema, cartoons and pop culture.

42. According to the U.S National Retail Federation the most frequent Halloween costume themes for adults are, in order: witch, pirate, vampire, cat, and clown.

43. In 2009, the most frequent Halloween reputation for Adults and Children was Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson passed away on June 25, 2009.

44. In 1966, The TV series Batman was so popular, a fabric company issued patterns for costumes.

45. Apple bobbing is a conventional Halloween game. The game is played by filling a tub or a big basin with water and putting apples in the water. Because apples are less dense than water, they will float. Players then try to catch one with their teeth.

46. Apple bobbing is getting less popular, perhaps because more and more persons regard it as unsanitary.

47. Girls who place the apple they bobbed beneath their pillows are said to dream of their future lover.

48. On 19 February, 2008, New Yorker, Ashrita Furman, bobbed 33 apples in one minute to establish a world record.

49. Agatha Christie’s mystery novel, “Hallowe’en Party” is in regards to a girl who is drowned in an apple-bobbing tub.

50. New York City hosts the United States’ greatest Halloween celebration, known as The Village Halloween Parade. The evening parade attracts over two million viewers and participants.

The Pumpkin Thief A Chloe Boston Mystery

Chloe Boston, meter maid and unofficial sleuth of the Hope Falls Police Department, is on the trail of the Halloween Killer and a second troublesome criminal, the Pumpkin Thief, who has robbed each pumpkin patch in town. Aided by her dog and new boyfriend, Chloe is closing in on Hope Falls public oppositions 1 and 2.

Most helpful customer reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Fun, cozy mystery…….
By kindle addict
This is the second Chloe Boston Mystery, and I liked it so much better than the first. The book is humorous, the protagonist is intelligent and quite funny, and the story of an unknown murder victim at a Halloween Haunted House is good. The small town of Hope Falls is well-described, and Chloe’s desire to solve the murder is admirable considering her personal fears and that she is a meter maid and not a detective. Her interactions with her family and new boyfriend are entertaining. Her love for her dog, Blue, is evident and sweet. The formatting for the Kindle was very good. I am so glad I continued with this series, and I’m really looking forward to Book 3.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Another Great Cozy from Melanie Jackson
By C. Parker
I reviewed this book for my blog Ruminations from an Unkempt Mind, and I felt that the book is worthy of reviewing for the rest of the world as well.

I really love Chloe Boston (protagonist). I think that if she existed in the real world, she and I would be friends. I thoroughly enjoy her thought processes, as well as the stories that surround her.

This book is well-written and well-edited. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries. Before reading this book, however, I would suggest that you read the first book in the series: Moving Violation (A Chloe Boston Mystery Book 1). If you love cozies, you won’t be disappointed.

Well, ta for now, as I am off to read Death in a Turkey Town (A Chloe Boston Mystery Book 3), the third book in the series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
I Love Chloe and Blue
By Edward Barnes
Meter maid and amateur sleuth, Chloe Boston solves crimes with the help of her dog, Blue, ex-police chief and knife sharpener, Dad, and a slew of other fun characters.

I enjoyed this book, especially the first part that had such a cozy, small town feel to it. The mystery itself was of secondary interest to me as I caught up on Chloe’s exploits from the first book, Moving Violation (A Chloe Boston Mystery Book 1). I found the pumpkin thief thread to be touching and wished that I could stop by for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.

I’d like to say more but I’d probably give stuff away. I recommend the book. Meantime, I’m off to read the next book in the series, Death in a Turkey Town (A Chloe Boston Mystery Book 3).

Happy reading, all.

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