According to Mr Bradley, caking was once practised around the rural fringes of north west Sheffield, in places like Dunworth, Stannington, Loxley, Oughtibridge, Worrall, Deepcar and Stocksbridge.
A similar practice was also believed to have taken place in Cheshire, where “soul cakers” would dress up and go performing in pubs.
Mr Bradley said: “Across cultures, this time of year is when a lot of people thought you were closest to your dead ancestors.
“So, in Celtic pagan times there’s a festival, the Dio de las Mortes, the Day of the Dead – that’s the same time of year.
“In this country before Christianity, we had pagan Celtic religions and there was a festival called Samhain which sort of mutated into Halloween.
“People who practise paganism will have like a Samhain altar and they’ll put photos of their dead relatives on it.
“It is a creepy time of year and it’s all about being frightened, shocked and horrified.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, Chris, from Hillsborough, who is in his 80s, said he remembered caking from his childhood.
“I grew up in Deepcar and we used to do it and we sang that song,” he said.
“I’ve heard people talking about lots of things to do on Halloween and I thought caking had just disappeared altogether and nobody remembered it at all.
“Some people gave you a penny or a halfpenny – and some people would tell you to get lost.”