This paper explores Halloween observances in eighteenth century Scotland, as represented in Robert Fergusson's 'Hallow Fair' and in the two 'Halloween' poems by Robert Burns and Janet Little. These three pieces, taken together, provide a comprehensive picture of Halloween customs--economic and cultural--in eighteenth century Scotland. Halloween provided a potent imaginative source of expression for eighteenth century Scottish poets like Fergusson, Burns and Little, and it is suggested, that their representations of this calendar custom illuminate the ways in which individuals engage in different ways with community celebrations
