Ruth Edna Kelley (April 8, 1893 – March 4, 1982) was an American librarian and writer. She is chiefly remembered for The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), the first book-length history of the holiday.

Biography

Kelley was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on April 8, 1893, the only child of Charles F. Kelley, a carpenter, and his wife Mary. She grew up in Lynn, and received a master of arts degree in literature, magna cum laude, from Radcliffe College. The Book of Hallowe'en was Kelly's first book. Her second book, A Life of Their Own (1947), dealt with immortality and spirituality. Kelley died in Marblehead, Massachusetts, at the age of 88.