Halloween

The word "Halloween" immediately evokes all kinds of weird images relating to ghosts, spirits, witches and other such paranormal entities.

For centuries, Halloween has always been regarded as the night when the spirits of the dead emerge from their graves to walk the earth, when kids everywhere don Halloween horror costumes and go trick-or-treating, when Jack-'o'-lanterns abound, and when all the witches ride the night skies on their broomsticks, cackling fiendishly and casting spells.

Also called All Hallows Eve and All Saints' Eve, Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (prounounced "Sow'in). The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year". The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the living and the dead dissolved, and the deceased become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would often involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Various costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits, or placate them

The imagery surrounding Halloween is generally an amalgamation of the Halloween season itself, nearly a century of work from American filmmakers and graphic artists, and a rather commercialized take on the dark and mysterious. Halloween imagery tends to involve death, magic, or mythical monsters. Traditional characters include ghosts, ghouls, witches, owls, crows, vultures, pumpkin-men, black cats, spiders, goblins, zombies, mummies, skeletons, and demons.

The telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror films are common events of Halloween parties. Episodes of TV series and specials with Halloween themes (with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly aired on or before the holiday, while new horror films, like the Saw films, are often released theatrically before the holiday to take advantage of the atmosphere.

In America, Halloween symbolism is inspired by classic horror films, which contain fictional figures like Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, The Wolf Man and The Mummy. Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of images around Halloween. Also, plenty of Halloween parties are always held, many of which still include the old traditional Halloween game of "Duck Apple". This game involves retrieving an apple from a bucket of water using only one's mouth.

The horror film most connected with October 31st is, of course, HALLOWEEN. Made in 1978 on a low budget - but which became a HUGE blockbuster movie that spawned many sequels - and directed by John Carpenter, HALLOWEEN tells the chilling tale of the sinister masked killer Michael Myers as he prowls through a small American town on Halloween's Night, stalking and killing everyone in his path as he relentlessly pursues the heroine, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Also starring Donald Pleasance as Dr Loomis, who is Michael's main adversary and pursuer throughout the film, and full of atmosphere (the creepy theme music brilliantly enhancing the general air of unease), HALLOWEEN is truly a masterpiece of horror film making.

In recent years, Halloween has really grown into being a top money-spinning business, like Bonfire Night and Christmas, with many shops and stores throughout the world selling a plethora of Halloween items, from fancy dress costumes to Halloween cakes. BIGresearch conducted a survey for the National Retail Federation in the United States and found that 53.3% of consumers planned to buy a costume for Halloween 2005, spending $38.11 on average (up 10 dollars from the year before). They were also expected to spend $4.96 billion in 2006, up significantly from just $3.3 billion the previous year. Haunted attractions are entertainment venues designed to thrill and terrify patrons, and typically are seasonal Halloween businesses. They include haunted houses, ghost trains, corn mazes, and hayrides that are staffed by actors in horrifying costumes placed to startle and frighten customers.

Despite all the universal enjoyment and excitment many people derive from the event of Halloween, some Wiccans feel that the tradition is offensive to "real witches" for promoting stereotypical caricatures of "wicked witches". However, most Neopagans see it as nothing more than just a harmless holiday, in which some of the old traditions are celebrated by the mainstream culture, albeit in a different manner.