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SlmTnmmm mTTTTTTTTTfTmmTJ| SOCIETY’S NEW FAD |Ghost Parties Are tha Latest Diversion of Faablonab'e ^£ N«w York. 3A new fad has Invaded upper ien-dora. Ping pong must look to Its laurels. The ghost party Is the latest diversion of those weary of the conventional amusements of the drawingroom. weary even of bridge and of ping-pong, are seeking new sensations.It is not the ghost party of the nurseries. with lowered lights and the sheets wound, fantastic figures that thrill the children with the excitement of a sort of pleasurable fear. Oh, dear, no! Society has found a sedate and dignified substitute for the romp of the nursery.The drawing room lights are extinguished and n candle is brought Inand placed on the floor In front of what modernity lias left us as a substitute for the hearth.The company gather about the flickering light, sitting on rugs and stools, and tell ghost stories, vying with each other in relating weird and uncanny tales. The sensation, so unlike that produced bf any of the commonplace diversions of the drawing room, is a new one, and the Ill-repressed yawn Ib banished from the drawing room, for society la entertained.The unsteady light of the solitary candle provides a congenial atmosphere for the weird tale It wraps the company in shadows, covers thestory teller with a generous cloak of semi-darkness, gives welcome opportunities for the tender touching of hands, and rests the eyes, while the novelty of it all refreshes tha pleasure-sated.The young man or young woman who can tell a good ghost story becomes the hero or heroine of the evening. and this new diversion Is quite as effective as the country literary clr-[ cle in sending the young folk—and older folk, too—to their books. Libraries are ransacked for queer andfantastic tales. The Arabian Nights' tales are retold and Poe is revamped by the flickering candle light, while the German folk lore Is drawn upon.and Eugene Fields clever bits ofImagination always bring delight.The young man may he a poor dancer. but If he can offer a new ghost story or some uncanny tale he rises in popularity as the lights are lowered, and. taking his place on the floor by the taper, old folk and young llBten with eagerness to his story. Tha ghost-party fad threatens to establisha new criterion of desirability In thecircles in which it has taken bold,says the New York Times, for In making up Invitation lists cleverness In telling a good candle light story counts more than aptness at the tamo old amusements of which folk aro heartily tired.
Newspaper Details
Manti San Pete Free Press
Manti, Utah, US
Wed, Jul 23, 1902
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
AL, USA 24 Oct 2018
Other Publications Near Manti, Utah
The Home Sentinel
Manti San Pete Free Press
Manti Messenger
Manti Sentinel
Manti Reporter
