Same in Southern Germany 40 years ago. We would carve faces into turnips. After dark we would put a small candle inside & place them in front of a neighbour‘s d

Same in Southern Germany 40 years ago. We would carve faces into turnips. After dark we would put a small candle inside & place them in front of a neighbour‘s door. We rang the bell and hid. If the „turnip-ghosts“ were to the neighbours‘ delight, they would put a few coins or treats next to them. We did this for the whole neighbourhood. Once a guy who moved in only recently from a different area in Germany wasn’t aware of the tradition. He took them inside! We were probably equally offended by this reaction as he was by what he must have thought was a very strange way to say „welcome“ from his new neighbours in this godforsaken place he got stranded for a job :D