It used to be believed that the fairies were abroad in great numbers on Hallowe’en and that they were malovently disposed towards mortals. There are many stories of local ‘forths’ – the raths or ring forts – being lighted up on such occasions, and it was thought that the fairies held a special feast on this night at which they particularly desired the presence of a mortal. Sometimes, according to the stories, one was beguiled into visiting them, others were stolen. In the Portrush district there is a tale of a fiddler who allowed himself to be persuaded into attending one of the fairy balls. He played his fiddle while the fairies danced and, when he returned to earth at the break of day, he found that he had been underground for one hundred years. A cave at the Whiterocks is pointed out as the spot where he disappeared, and he is said to have re-emerged at Dunmull, some miles away. Stories of this type are common in most countries. Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle is a literary version. (Foster, Ulster, 30)