The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol 1 of 2): With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc.Gomme, Alice Bertha
History
The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol 1 of 2): With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc.
Gomme, Alice Bertha
Folklore -- Great Britain; Games -- Great Britain
In Scotland the game is called “Hospy,” and is played by boys only, and
it can be played only in a village or hamlet in which there is the means
of hiding. A Spy is chosen, and a spot, called Parley, is fixed upon at
which the Spy stands till all the other players are hid, and to which he
can run when pursued. When the players are hid, the cry, “Hospy,”
_i.e._, “Ho! spy!” is raised by them. The Spy then sets out to find
them. The moment he detects one he turns and runs with all his might to
the Parley, pursued by the one he has discovered. If he is overtaken, he
must carry on his back the pursuer to the Parley. The same thing is gone
through till all the players are discovered.—Keith (Rev. W. Gregor).
Jamieson says, “‘Hy Spy,’ a game resembling ‘Hide and Seek,’ but played
in a different manner. The station, which in England is called Home, is
here the Den, and those who keep it are the Seekers, and are called the
Ins. Those who hide themselves, instead of crying ‘Hoop,’ as in England,
cry ‘Hy spy;’ and they are denominated the Outs. The business of the Ins
is, after the signal is given, to lay hold of the Outs before they can
reach the den. The captive then becomes one of the Ins; for the honour
of the game consists in the privilege of hiding oneself.” Jamieson adds,
“Hy is still used in calling after a person, to excite attention, or
when it is wished to warn him to get out of the way.” Strutt describes
it as “Harry-Racket,” or “Hide and Seek” (_Sports_, p. 381).
At Cork two sides are chosen for Spy; one side hides while the other
side hunts. When the hunters see one of the hidden players, they call
out, “I spy ——,” and the child’s name. The player called must run after
the Spy and try to catch him before he reaches his Den; if he succeeds,
the one caught must go to the opposite side of players, then next time
the spies hide, and those who have been hiding, spy (Miss Keane). A more
general form of the game is for one child to hide, and to make a noise
in a disguised voice to give notice of his whereabouts, or to call out
“Whoop!” or “Coo!” Until this noise or call is made, the searchers may
not seek him. If when spied or discovered the hider cannot reach home
before being caught, he again has to hide (A. B. Gomme).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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