One of the most popular divinations – the spectre of a future love enters a lass’s farm’s stackyard at night, running round its circumference with her arms outstretched. Upon reaching full circle she would embrace the apparition of an unknown man – the man she was destined to wed.

A salt herring, eaten before bedtime, would ensure a visitation by the husband-to-be, who would appear sometime during the night to quench the girl’s thirst with a draught of cold water.

A similar ritual had the hopeful young girl hanging a wetted sleeve in front of the fire before retiring to bed. Once in bed she would wait for an apparition of her future spouse to enter her room and “turn the shift”.

Write your name on a stone and cast it into a bonfire. Next morning, find the stone in the ashes and take note of its condition. This can give you information about your state in the coming year.

Place two nuts in the shell (chestnuts, hazelnuts or walnuts) in front of the fire. If both nuts burn, all will be well with your relationship. If one explodes, there may be trouble ahead.

The most common of the Halloween divinations involved the sieve, the scissors and the knife. The brave girl would leave the house and go to the barn (or other building) where she had to stand in the dark, winnowing “three wechts o naitheen” with the sieve containing the knife and the scissors. If carried out correctly, the girl could expect to see an apparition of her future husband pass the open door.