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Illegally Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids
Review:
This is a beautiful book and so user-friendly! It was great to avoid
frantically running around from store to store, since this book
has such simple patterns and shortcuts where you don't even have
to sew, as well as last-minute panic solutions. The 100 different
costume choices (from well-known bunnies, pirates and witches to
the amusing gingerbread house, octopus, swamp monster) will last
the Halloween life of my kids (and probably their kids too!), making
this book quite the bargain. Making and creating the costumes was
a fun family project and encouraged everyone's imagination. I like
the idea that a portion of the proceeds of the book go to UNICEF.
Review
I have made the squeleton costume for my 5 years old and it was
a success. It was a great initiation to costume making for me. It
also is easy to understand and do by them selfs for older kids.
It is our favorite bedtime story.
Sam (age 5) and Kate (age 3) have been so excited about this book
"reading" every page over and over and taking it to bed with them!
Kate has memorized the names of each costume and has been able to
ask for and describe a combination of costumes that she has imagined
for herself!
Review
This book is wonderful for inspiring creative imagination and the
costume tips and patterns ARE easy and versatile enough for you
to whip up an original costume with very simple inexpensive ingredients
or with whatever you have in the house even at the very last minute!
Review
I am very proud of Sam, who after much gleeful "study" of this book
with his sister, decided to make his own costume modifying one of
the ideas in this book - how satisfying for him to march in his
school costume parade wearing an original costume that started from
an idea from this book and made pretty much all by himself (hey,
no sewing, or even glue gun needed for that one!) I'm sure we will
get lots more year round dress-up inspiration from this truly "Illegally
Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids" book to come... my mind is already
brewing up some winter dress-up Birthday Party ideas!
Review
In Illegally Easy Halloween Costumes For Kids, Halloween costume
designer Leila Peltosaari showcases one hundred easy-to-make costumes
complete with matching treat bags and accessories. The simple, step-by-step
instructions are enhanced with detailed full-color photos and illustrations.
The color-coded, easy patterns for 3 to 12 year olds are well-organized
and feature a wealth of "no-sew" shortcuts and "last-minute" solutions.
Highly recommended for even the most novice costumer, Illegally
Easy Halloween Costumes For Kids is enhanced further with a history
of Halloween, safety tips, and anecdotal background stories. With
designs ranging from traditional and storybook characters to animals
and clowns, to celestial beings and cultural tributes, most of the
costumes can be assembled without a sewing machine and in only one
evening. Many of the costumes are made form Polarfleece (a perfect
Halloween fabric which is soft and lightweight, slightly stretchy,
warm, versatile, with no hemming or seam finished needed -- and
hotglues like a dream!). Although specifically targeted for the
Halloween holiday, these are delightful outfits that can well serve
for costume parties and school plays at any time of year!
Illegally Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids is the best I have seen
on this topic. The full color photographs of the costumes, complete
with makeup, are spectacular. The directions are thorough and easy
to follow. Any of these costumes would be a terrific for Halloween
and the ideas could also be used for making costumes for plays or
other productions. At the price of store bought costumes or patterns,
this book is a bargain, as it contains 100 costumes and many additional
ideas. You won't be disappointed!
Family Fun Tricks and Treats
Halloween is a time of transformation and not for just humans who
don the face paint and masks!
Reviews
There are a number of Halloween books out on the market for decorating,
baking and costume making, but this is one of the few that actually
has something new in it!
The crafts are clever, but actually look doable wtih
things you might already have on hand. The costumes ideas are fun
and innovative, the food ideas are also really cute, but not overly-complicated.
While some classic ideas never die, this book puts a nice twist
on things like "body parts" games.
Of course, the ideas come from the monthly magazine
that Disney produces, Family Fun, and if you get the magazine, you'll
have already seen alot of these things in print or on their website.
Still, the book is nicely layed-out, easy to flip through and a
good resource of party and costume ideas for both kids and their
grown-ups.
Review
This book is an awesome resource for make-at-home
costumes and decorations. The ideas are so cute, easy to follow,
and where else can you find a recipe for slime?
Review
This was great! My daughter & I love Halloween and when we saw
this we bought it right away. There are so many wonderful ideas.
A must have! There were a lot of spooky things to do with foods
and great little ideas for those little helpers to decorate your
home with lots of memories! You have to get this one!
The Halloween Handbook : 447 Costumes
The collaborative effort of Halloween costume experts and enthusiasts
Bridie Clark and Ashley Dodd, The Halloween Handbook: Dress-Up For
Grown-Ups showcases 447 imaginative, easy-to-make, do-it-yourself
costume concepts. From traditional favorites such as Wonder Woman
or Peter Pan, to more eyebrow-raising unique costumes like the One-Night
Stand (the costumegoer appears as an actual stand with lampshade
over the head, bra and pantyhouse dangling on the tablecloth) or
the Green Card (wearing a large green sandwich board humorously
displaying a parody what a real green card looks like). Black-and-white
photographs illustrate fun, zany, sometimes edgy ideas with practical
suggestions to efficiently and frugally make a Halloween guise to
remember. Especially recommended not only for Halloween, but as
a source of ideas for costume parties year round or even school
and community theater apparel.
Dazzling Disguises and Clever Costumes
Reviews:
This book would be a really great book for kids.
It would be fantastic to use as inspiration for Halloween costumes.
There are some great ideas inside. The instructions seem easy for
children to follow and most of the materials used to make the costumes
are available around the house or at a craft store.
Dressed for Thrills : 100 Years of Halloween Costumes and Masquerade
From Publishers Weekly
From a 1930s waxed, painted buckram "Evil Bunny" and a mohair and
cotton "Colonial Ladies Wig" from the 1940s to "Buddie Beatnik"
and "Rubik's Cube" costumes, this colorful photographic survey by
Galembo, a photographer and SUNY professor of art, shows vintage
costumes worn by (sometimes rather unhappy looking) young models.
Mark Alice Durant, a University of Maryland professor of Visual
Arts, offers the accompanying essay, "Glowing Turnips, Pointy Black
Hats, & Insomniac Aliens: The Hybrid History of Halloween,"
showing how we "shape rituals to fit the realities of the moment."
The play versions of Groucho Marx, Olive Oyl, astronauts and Lady
Liberty among the 123 full-color photos illustrate that principle
whimsically and sometimes scarily.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
A whimsical array of ghosts and goblins, spooks and skeletons, vamps
and vampires parade through this unparalleled collection of more
than 100 years of American Halloween attire. From Little Bo Peep
with lamb in hand to beatniks and pirates, from monsters and witches
to clowns and animals, this veritable "carnival" of costumes visually
captures All Hallows' Eve like no other book before.
In her celebration of Halloween revelry, photographer Phyllis Galembo
never settles for the ordinary; here instead are evocative scenes
of dressed-to-scare young trick-or-treaters "modeling" their disguises,
of undead spirits haunting their surroundings, and of costumes spanning
over a century that take on an eerie new creepiness thanks to special
lighting effects. Accompanying the costume shots is a history of
this always-popular holiday and an essay placing the work in the
wider context of fashion and costume. Of interest to enthusiasts,
designers, and students alike, this devilishly diverting book is
the perfect gift for all Halloween aficionados.
Review
If you have ANY feel for Halloween, BUY this book! It is THAT good!
It will remind you of your childhood and the magic that flew through
the air on Halloween. HIGHLY reccomended!
Halloween : A Grown-Up's Guide to Creative Costumes, Devilish
Decor & Fabulous Festivities
Reviews
Finally, here's a Halloween book that's definitely
for adults. It's brimming with practical and inventive ideas for
parties, decorations, and costumes, and with an amazingly atmospheric
design that's a luscious treat for grown-up eyes. Take the dread
out of a costume party with creative and playful ways to dress for
success on All Hallow's Eve; there are even actual costume elements
to use, from wings and tails to masks and hats. You'll find ways
to repurpose items right out of your own closet or benefit from
a quick trip to the thrift shop. Unique make-up tips for a ghoulishly
great appearance will complete the effect. An elegant "Pumpkin Primer"
supplies projects to enhance the holiday spirit, including menacing
hex dolls and simple, spooky candlescapes. Finally, a selection
of theme party ideas, from Day o' the Dead to a Masked Ball, will
make for a Happy Halloween. After all: why should kids have all
the fun?
Review
The bug costumes actually looked pretty good, and so on. I especially
loved the Monet costume, which was of watery blue cloth and bedecked
in water-lilies, with a garden bridge on the hat. Many of the costumes
and decorations are very artistic. Even some of the no-sew costumes
made me say "Oooh, cool!"
Review
The "Mother Nature and Green Man" costume I find hilarious.
Just looking at the picture you'd think they were hippies covered
in vegetation and/or mossy stuff. On the next page there is an entire
page on "Who is The Green Man?" I figure if you have to go around
explaining who the heck you are it takes the fun out of it after
the 500th time. "No...I'm NOT the moss man or the hippy man covered
in vegetation...I am the Green Man (insert expletives and other
cuss words here)...!"
Review
I am a fan of adult Halloween books - nothing cutesy or for the
kiddies. I bought this book thinking it would have equal amounts
of decor and costumes as I am the type of person that likes Martha
Stewart's Halloween decorating ideas. While this book is very good,
it is primarily costumes and masks. I would have liked to see more
decor. The first 108 pages out of 175 pages are costumes. The remaining
pages covers jack-o-lanterns, decorating with candles, a few recipes,
etc. Nothing new or spectacular. Great if you like to craft your
own costumes...mediochre if you want new decor ideas and crafting
your own Halloween items.
Maybe it's because I'm not a seamstress, or even a casual sewer,
but I don't understand the objections of an earlier review. It's
hard to believe we're talking about the same book! Yes, there is
a costume using duct tape, but throughout the book I found many
new, very original and creative ideas that I will be able to use
for my annual Halloween extravaganza. I have read dozens and dozens
of books on Halloween costumes, crafts, and decorating, and never
been quite so inspired. As a Halloween afficionado, I recommend
it highly!
So many times you see these books on line and wonder if they have
enough good ideas to make it worth the purchase price. In my humble
opinion this book at 172 pages, is worth the purchase price. Great
costume ideas including making wonderful fairy wings using a laminator
machine. Horns, hooves, and other accessories you don't often see
are described with nice pictures. One section is devoted to hats,
wigs, and make-up and includes a Medusa Wig! Pet costumes are also
included in this book! The decor section has some truly original
ideas along with the traditional hex dolls, corn dolly's, and a
giant spider. The table top Victorian graveyard was my favorite!
The last section is devoted to theme parties with a Day of the Dead
dinner party and Voodoo cocktail party. Handy copyright free images
are also provided to make decorations.
Halloween-Costumes and Treats on All
Hallows' Eve (Finding Out About Holidays)
From School Library Journal
Robinson opens with a lengthy history of Halloween and its ghostly
beginnings. The next section explains the different symbols and
traditions. The final chapter relates information about our modern
celebrations, safety issues for children, and costume and decorating
ideas. Full-color, archival photos appear on almost every page.
Directions for making mini-ghosts are included but not illustrated,
which may frustrate children. An additional purchase where more
material on the history of the holiday is needed.
Elegantly Frugal Costumes
Book Description
This wonderfully practical book literally shows you how to make
costumes for plays, pageants and musicals at the lowest possible
expense! Over 150 detailed illustrations work with the easy-to-follow
text to walk you through every step of the process. Just about every
basic period is covered: Biblical to Medieval, Renaissance, Angels,
the Fabulous Fifties, 1800s to World War I, The Roaring Twenties
and more. Many helpful hints on making or buying realistic period
theatrical costumes on a shoestring budget from cast-offs, donations,
scraps, and other easily-obtained materials. Also included are "special
effects" costumes, helpful hints for getting into and out of
costumes, and a glossary of costuming terms A book that will pay
for itself with its first use.
About the Author
Shirley Dearing holds degrees in music and art and has sung and
designed costumes for several operas. She lives in Colorado Springs,
Colorado.
Review:
What I like about this book is that it foregoes any esoterica and
costuming theory in favor of good old fashioned practicality. The
reader doesn't have to sift through the excruciating snobby details,
but instead is given the real lowdown as if visiting with a best
friend who happens to be a costume mistress.
This book focuses mainly on costuming for low-budget productions
(such as community theatre or a school play), providing useful information
and advice on making good-looking costumes from already existing
garments and/or thrift store offerings. Information abounds about
time period, costume cuts & styles, ways to splurge or skimp
on your costumes and still have them look fabulous, as well as details
that an inexperienced costumer might overlook (such as using velcro
instead of buttons for ease in costume changes).
I would highly recommend this to anyone who is involved
in costuming for a production, or anyone who simply loves costumes
and loves to recycle old clothes into great new ones. I love this
book and have read through it several times just for inspiration.
An excellent book of ideas and help for someone wanting to learn
to costume for community theatre. It contains excellent examples
of her own work that is easy to follow. It does not overload your
brain with useless information. A good starting out book, that aids
a person in organizing the information , and research problems needed
to suceeded in this field. Also a good read for veterans of the
design buisness to give fresh ideas and back up what they have done
. After 35 years finally I have found someone who appreciates the
use of thrift stores , goodwill and lace curtains for stage costumes.
Thank you Shirley for putting it into words and pictures.
Clever Costume Creating for Halloween (Paperback)
Review" Prrrfect booook for the costume
inclined!
From mens to adults, everyone loves being someone (or someTHING!)
else for Halloween. Singleton's book provides a wealth of ideas
and resources, and the interior illustrations, photographs, and
black-and-orange two-color printing make for a very attractive product.
Review: Fun! Fun! Fun!
This is such a fun book for Halloween! I have enjoyed looking at
the photographs and illustrations. I can't wait to try some of the
creative costumes out on my children. The book makes it so easy
to put together and understand! In this day of rush, rush, rush,
its so wonderful to have a book that makes life simple. Thank you
for such a great tool!
Review: Clever Costume Creating for Halloween
I found this book to be very enlightning for ideas on creating Halloween
costumes. It is full of so many good tips, many requiring a minimal
amount of effort in putting together a costume. I would recommend
this book to many, both young and old and particularly to parents
who every year need to come up with a new and unique costume for
their children to dress for Halloween.
Review: Clever Costume Creating for Halloween
Suzanne Singleton has certainly outdone herself on this release.
Clever Costume Creating for Halloween is jam-packed with unique
ideas for easy to make, NO SEW costumes. The illustrations help
you visualize the overall effect and the instructions are packed
with appropriate props and accessories.
Although I am an artist and consider myself to be pretty creative,
when it comes to Halloween costumes I go blank. The creative part
of me wants to do something original, unique. I definitely could
never bring myself to buy those mass produced, plastic-masked versions
available in the stores. When I flipped through Suzanne Singleton's
book, my mind began to race with all the possiblities. I found myself
thinking, "Why didn't I think of that? This is sooooooo clever!"
Now my only problem is choosing which idea to try first!
Review: FUN & EASY NO SEW COSTUME Ideas
w/visuals!
This title had just been published a view days when I purchased
it. If you are like me and love Halloween but panic at the thought
of what to be? what to wear? This is for you! Singleton has written
a book with A to Z costume ideas that are fun and refreshing and
all NO SEW!
What you also receive with this book purchase are pages filled with
fun to view black and white visuals of the costume ideas. The pages
are bordered with corn candy and various halloween graphics which
only adds to the fun and festive halloween spirit.
Year after year, my husband and I along with our children
are invited to dress up Halloween costume parties.These parties
are usually fun and yet I am always feeling pressure for myself
and my family. What to do? Like many women of today, I do not sew
which only adds to my frustration. Well now here is the perfect
remedy, this title is not only packed with fun and easy costume
ideas but each page is sure to bring a smile with each costume visual!
It is cute, fun, festive and fills a need! Never again
will you lose sight of the Halloween fun that costume panic brings!
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All about Halloween from Wikipedia
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation
License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Halloween"
Halloween is an observance celebrated on the night of October 31,
most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door
collecting sweets or money. It is celebrated in much of the Western
world, though most common in the United States, Puerto Rico, the
Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. Irish,
Scots and other immigrants brought older versions of the tradition
to North America in the 19th century. Most other Western countries
have embraced Halloween as a part of American pop culture in the
late 20th century.
The term Halloween, and its older spelling Hallowe'en,
is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening before "All
Hallows Day". In Ireland, the name was All Hallows Eve and
this name is still used by some older people. Halloween was also
sometimes called All Saints' Eve. The holiday was a day of religious
festivities in various northern European pagan traditions, until
it was appropriated by Christian missionaries and given a Christian
interpretation. In Mexico November 1st and 2nd are celebrated as
the Day of the Dead.
Halloween is also called Pooky Night in some parts
of Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous
spirit.
On Great Britain and Ireland in particular, the pagan
Celts celebrated the Day of the Dead on All Hallows Day (1st November).
The spirits supposedly rose from the dead and, in order to attract
them, food was left on the doors. To scare off the evil spirits,
the Celts wore masks. When the Romans invaded Great Britain, they
embellished the tradition with their own, which is both a celebration
of the harvest and of honoring the dead. Very much later, these
traditions were transported to the United States, Canada and Australia.
Halloween is sometimes associated with the occult.
Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of
the liminal times of the year when the spiritual world can make
contact with the physical world and when magic is most potent (e.g.
Catalan mythology about witches).
Halloween in the UK
In some parts of the United Kingdom, Halloween was formerly known
as Mischief Night. People would take the doors off their hinges
on this night. The doors were also often thrown into ponds, or taken
a long way away.
In England it is said that elves rode on the backs
of the villagers' cats. The cats had fun but the villagers did not
and would lock their cats up so that the elves could not catch them.
Children were told not to sit in the circles of yellow
and white flowers where fairies have danced as they may be stolen
by the fairies. It was also bad to sit under the hawthorn tree since
fairies loved to dance on these and if they saw children their tempers
would be prickled.
In England, the black cat was considered to be good
luck, whereas a white cat was considered to be bad luck.
In England children make "pumpkin men" from
large pumpkins. They cut out designs into the pumpkin. Then they
place them on display in their windows to go along with the scary
theme of Halloween.
Halloween in North America
Anoka, Minnesota, USA, the self-proclaimed "Halloween Capital
of the World," celebrates with a large civic parade.
Salem, Massachusetts, USA, also has laid claim to
the title "Halloween Capital of the World," though Salem
has tried to separate itself from its history in the subject of
witchcraft. Despite that, the city does see a great deal of tourism
surrounding the Salem witch trials, especially around Halloween.
New York City, New York, USA, hosts the United States'
largest Halloween celebration, The Village Halloween Parade. Started
by a Greenwich Village mask maker in 1973, the parade now attracts
over 2 million spectators/participants as well as roughly 4 million
television viewers each year. It is the largest participatory parade
in the country if not the world, encouraging spectators to march
in the parade as well. It is also the largest annual parade held
at night.
In North America people believed that it was unlucky
for a black cat to cross one's path, to come into homes, or to travel
on ships.
In the United States trick-or-treaters are welcomed
by placing lighted pumpkins known as jack-o'-lanterns in their windows.
The North American tradition of trick-or-treat comes
from the original idea that you must be kind to dead ancestors or
they will play a trick on you.
The War of the Worlds, a radio adaptation by Orson
Welles based upon H. G. Wells' classic novel of the same name, was
performed by Mercury Theatre on the Air as a Halloween special on
October 30, 1938 and the live broadcast reportedly frightened many
listeners into believing that an actual Martian invasion was in
progress.
Halloween in Australia
Halloween is not celebrated as much as it is in the U.S., despite
this, most children still believe in "trick or treating".
And most houses are decorated with a Halloween themed style, by
carving pumpkins and placing a candle in the middle of the hollowed
pumpkin, and are usually placed in their windows or in their living
room. It is also a tradition in Australia for children to leave
the candy on people's door mats.
In Adelaide, South Australia, a large festival takes
place at the Norwood Oval (an oval close to the city) and people
celebrate in a huge parade. Stalls include activities such as; Bobbing
for Apples, Discos, carving Pumpkins, Rides, Candy and many more
Dark Attractions.
Symbols
Jack-o'-lanterns may be carved with funny faces.Halloween's theme
is spooky or scary things particularly involving death, magic, or
mythical monsters. Commonly-associated Halloween characters include
ghosts, ghouls, witches, bats, black cats, spiders, goblins, zombies,
skeletons and demons, as well as certain fictional figures like
Dracula and Frankenstein's monster. Homes are often decorated with
these symbols around Halloween.
Black and orange are the traditional colors of Halloween.
In modern Halloween images and products, purple, green, and red
are also prominent.
Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins and
scarecrows, are also reflected in symbols of Halloween.
The carved jack-o'-lantern, lit by a candle inside,
is one of Halloween's most prominent symbols. In the British Isles,
a turnip was and sometimes still is used, but immigrants to America
quickly adopted the pumpkin because it was more readily available;
additionally, it is much larger and easier to carve. Many families
that celebrate Halloween carve a pumpkin into a frightening or comical
face and place it on their home's doorstep after dark. The practice
was originally intended to frighten away evil spirits or monsters.
Neopagans of North America honor their ancestors on
October 31. It was once believed that on this night any souls who
had not yet passed into the paradise of the summer lands might return
to wander the streets and visit their old homes once more.
Trick-or-treating and guising
The main event of modern US-style Halloween is trick-or-treating,
in which children dress up in costume disguises and go door-to-door
in their neighborhood, ringing each doorbell and yelling "trick
or treat!" This is a watered-down version of the older tradition
of guising in Ireland and Scotland. The occupants of the house (who
might themselves dress in a scary costume) will then hand out small
candies, miniature chocolate bars or other treats. Some American
homes will use sound effects and fog machines to help set a spooky
mood. Other house decoration themes (that are less scary) are used
to entertain younger visitors. Children can often accumulate many
treats on Halloween night, filling up entire pillow cases or shopping
bags.
In Ireland, great bonfires were lit throughout the
breadth of the land. Young children in their guises were gladly
received by the neighbors with some "fruit, apples and nuts"
for the "Halloween Party", whilst older male siblings
played innocent pranks on bewildered victims.
In Scotland, children or guisers are more likely to
recite "The sky is blue, the grass is green, may we have our
Halloween" instead of "trick or treat!". They visit
neighbours in groups and must impress the members of the houses
they visit with a song, poem, trick, joke or dance in order to earn
their treats. Traditionally, nuts, oranges, apples and dried fruit
were offered, though sometimes children would also earn a small
amount of cash, usually a sixpence. Very small children often take
part, for whom the experience of performing can be more terrifying
than the ghosts outside.
Tricks play less of a role in modern Halloween, though
Halloween night is often marked by vandalism such as soaping windows,
egging houses or stringing toilet paper through trees. Before indoor
plumbing was so widespread, tipping over or displacing outhouses
was a popular form of intimidation. Casting flour into the faces
of feared neighbors was also done once upon a time.
Typical Halloween costumes have traditionally been
monsters such as vampires, ghosts, witches, and devils. In 19th-century
Scotland and Ireland the reason for wearing such fearsome (and non-fearsome)
costumes was the belief that since the spirits that were abroad
that night were essentially intent on doing harm, the best way to
avoid this was to fool the spirits into believing that you were
one of them. In recent years, it has become common for costumes
to be based on themes other than traditional horror, such as dressing
up as a character from a TV show or movie, or choosing a recognizable
face from the public sphere, such as a politician (in 2004, for
example, George W. Bush and John F. Kerry were both popular costumes
in America). In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, for example,
costumes of Islamic terrorists, firefighters, police officers, and
United States military personnel became popular among children and
adults. In 2004, an estimated 2.15 million children in the United
States were expected to dress up as Spider-Man, the year's most
popular costume. [1]
"'Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" has become
a common sight during Halloween in North America. Started by UNICEF
in 1950, the program involves the distribution of small boxes by
schools to trick-or-treaters, in which they can solicit small change
donations from the houses they visit. It is estimated that children
have collected more than $119 million for UNICEF since its inception.
BIGresearch conducted a survey for the National Retail
Federation in the US and found that 53.3% of consumers planned to
buy a costume for Halloween 2005, spending $38.11 on average (up
10 dollars from last year). An estimate of $3.3 billion was made
for the holiday spending.
A child usually "grows out of" trick-or-treating
by his or her teenage years. Trick-or-treating by teenagers is accepted,
but generally discouraged with genial ribbing by those handing out
candy. Teenagers and adults instead often celebrate Halloween with
costume parties, staying home to give out candy, listening to Halloween
music, or scaring people.
Visiting a Haunted house or a Dark Attraction are
other Halloween traditions. Notwithstanding the name, such events
are not necessarily held in houses, nor are the edifices themselves
necessarily regarded to possess actual ghosts. A variant of this
is the haunted trail, where the public encounters supernatural-themed
characters or presentations of scenes from horror films while following
a trail through a heavily wooded area or field.
Games and other activities
There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween
parties. The most common is dooking or bobbing for apples, in which
apples float in a tub or a large basin of water; the participants
must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. A variant
involves kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and
trying to drop the fork into an apple. Another common game involves
hanging up treacle or syrup-coated scones by strings; these must
be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string,
an activity which inevitably leads to a very sticky face.
Some games traditionally played at Halloween are forms
of divination. In Puicíní (pronounced "pooch-eeny"),
a game played in Ireland, a blindfolded person is seated in front
of a table on which several saucers are placed. The saucers are
shuffled and the seated person then chooses one by touch. The contents
of the saucer determine the person's life for the following year.
A saucer containing earth means someone known to the player will
die during the next year, a saucer containing water foretells travel,
a coin means new wealth, a bean means poverty, etc. In 19th-century
Ireland, young women placed slugs in saucers sprinkled with flour.
The wriggling of the slugs and the patterns subsequently left behind
on the saucers were believed to portray the faces of the womens
future spouses.
In North America, unmarried women were frequently
told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror
on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear
in the mirror. However, if they were destined to die before they
married, a skull would appear. The custom was widespread enough
to be commemorated on greeting cards from the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries.
The telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror
films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Television specials
with a Halloween theme, usually aimed at children, are commonly
aired on or before the holiday while new horror films are often
released theatrically before the holiday to take advantage of the
atmosphere.
Foods
Main article: Poisoned candy scare
Because the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest,
Candy Apples (also known as toffee, taffy or caramel apples) are
a common treat at Halloween. They are made by rolling whole apples
in a sticky sugar syrup, and sometimes then rolling them in nuts.
At one time candy apples were a common treat given to children,
but this practice rapidly waned after widespread rumors that some
individuals were embedding items like pins and razor blades in the
apples that they would pass out to children. While there is evidence
of such incidents occurring they are very rare and have never resulted
in any serious injuries. Nonetheless, many parents were under the
assumption that the practice was common. At the peak of this hysteria,
some hospitals were offering to x-ray children's Halloween haul
at no cost in order to look for such items. Almost all of the very
few Halloween candy poisoning incidents on record involved parents
who poisoned their own children's candy, while there are occasional
reports of children sticking needles in their own candy (and that
of other children) more in an effort to get attention than cause
any harm.
A Halloween custom which has survived unchanged to
this day in Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays the purchase)
of a barmbrack (Irish "báirín breac"). This
is a light fruit cake into which a plain ring is placed before baking.
It is said that whoever finds this ring will find his or her true
love during the following year.
Other foods associated with the holiday:
candy corn
bonfire toffee (in the UK)
Toffee Apple (in Australia, instead of "Candy Apples")
hot apple cider
roasted pumpkin seeds
"fun-sized" or individually wrapped pieces of small candy,
typically in Halloween colors of orange, and brown/black.
Cultural history
Main article: History and folklore of Halloween
Christian festival
Pope Boniface IV established an anniversary dedicated to the Virgin
Mary and the martyrs when he consecrated the Pantheon on May 13,
609 (or 610). This Christian feast day was moved to November 1st
from May 13th by Pope Gregory III in the eighth century in order
to mark the dedication of the All Saints Chapel in Rome — establishing
November 1st as All Saints Day and October 31st as All Hallows'
Eve. Initially this change of date only applied to the diocese of
Rome, but was extended to the rest of Christendom a century later
by Pope Gregory IV in an effort to standardize liturgical worship.
The feast day of All Souls Day, celebrated to commemorate
those souls condemned temporarily to Purgatory, was inaugurated
by St Odilo, at the time the abbott of the influential monastery
at Cluny, on November 2, 998.
Halloween's Origin: Celtic observation of Samhain
According to what can be reconstructed of the beliefs of the ancient
Celts, the new year began around November 1 or on a New Moon near
that date, a day referred to in modern Gaelic as Samhain ("Sow-in"
or alternatively "Sa-ven", meaning: End of the Summer).
Just as sundown meant the start of a new day, shorter days signified
the start of the new year; therefore the harvest festival began
every year on the night of preceding the autumn new year date. After
the adoption of the Roman calendar with its fixed months, the date
began to be celebrated independently of the Moon's phases.
As November 1 is the first day of the new year, the
day also meant the beginning of Winter, which the Celts often associated
with human death. The Celts also believed that on October 31 (the
night before the new year), the boundary separating the dead from
the living became blurred. (There is a rich and unusual myth system
at work here; the spirit world, the residence of the "Sidhe,"
as well as of the dead, was accessible through burial mounds. These
mounds opened at two times during the year, making the beginning
and end of Summer highly spiritually resonant.)
The Celts' survival during the cold harsh winters,
depended on the prophecies of their priests or Druids. They believed
that the presence of spirits would aid in the priests' abilities
to make future predictions.
The exact customs observed in each Celtic region differ,
but they generally involved the lighting of bonfires and the reinforcement
of boundaries, across which malicious spirits might cross and threaten
the community.
Like most observances around this season, warmth and
comfort were emphasized, indulgence was not. Stores of preserved
food were needed to last through the winter, not for parties.
Norse Elven Blót
In the old Norse religion an event believed to occur around the
same time of the year as Halloween was the álfablót
(elven blót), which involved sacrifices to the elves and
the blessing of food. The elves were powers connected to the ancestors,
and it can be assumed that the blót related to a cult of
the ancestors. The álfablót is also celebrated in
the modern revival of Norse religion, Ásatrú.
Halloween customs
Observance of Halloween traditions faded in the South of England
from the 17th century onwards, being replaced by the commemoration
of the Gunpowder Plot on November 5. However, it remained popular
in Scotland, Ireland and the North of England. It is only in the
last decade that it again became popular in the south of England,
but as an entirely Americanized version.
The custom survives most accurately on the island
of Ireland, where the last Monday of October is a public holiday.
All schools close for the following week for mid-term, commonly
called the Halloween Break. As a result Ireland and Northern Ireland
are the only countries where children never have school on Halloween
and are therefore free to celebrate it in the ancient and time-honored
fashion.
The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have
evolved from the European custom called souling, similar to the
wassailing customs associated with Yule. On November 2, All Souls'
Day, beggars would walk from village to village begging for "soul
cakes" — square pieces of bread with currants. Christians would
promise to say prayers on behalf of dead relatives helping the soul's
passage to heaven. The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged
by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving
food and wine for roaming spirits at the Samhain.
Further information: Puck
In Celtic parts of western Brittany, Samhain is still heralded by
the baking of kornigou. Kornigou are cakes baked in the shape of
antlers to commemorate the god of winter shedding his "cuckold"
horns as he returns to his kingdom in the Otherworld.
In the Isle of Man where Halloween is known as Hop-tu-Naa
children carry turnips instead of pumpkin, and sing a song called
Jinnie the Witch.
"Punkie Night"
"Punkie Night" is observed on the last Thursday in October
in the village of Hinton St. George in the county of Somerset in
England. On this night, children carry lanterns made from hollowed-out
mangel-wurzels (a kind of beet; in modern days, pumpkins are used)
with faces carved into them. They bring these around the village,
collecting money and singing the punkie song. Punkie is derived
from pumpkin or punk, meaning tinder.
Though the custom is only attested over the last century,
and the mangel-wurzel itself was introduced into English agriculture
in the late 18th century, "Punkie Night" appears to be
much older even than the fable that now accounts for it. The story
goes that the wives of Hinton St. George went looking for their
wayward husbands at the fair held nearby at Chiselborough, the last
Thursday in October, but first hollowed out mangel wurzels in order
to make lanterns to light their way. The drunken husbands saw the
eerie lights, thought they were "goolies" (the restless
spirits of children who had died before they were baptized), and
fled in terror. Children carry the punkies now. The event has spread
since about 1960 to the neighboring village of Chiselborough.
Sources: on-line report from the Western Gazette and
a National Geographic radio segment. Chiselborough Fair is memorialized
by Fair Place in the village. The National Gazetteer of Great Britain
and Ireland (1868) reported that there was "a fair for horses
and cattle on the last Thursday in October."
"Mischief Night"
The night before Halloween, known alternately as "Devil's Night",
"Mischief Night", "Mizzie Night", "Gate
Night", "Cabbage Night", "Mat Night", or
"Goosie Night" is often associated with pranks or destructive
activities performed by adolescents. Some of the acts range from
minor vandalism to theft (e.g. of door mats — thus the name "Mat
Night" in some areas), or even arson. Many youths involved
in Mischief Night would be considered too old for traditional trick-or-treating.
One of the most common wrong-doings is "egging", the act
of throwing eggs (sometimes left out for several days to rot) at
neighbors' houses, the eggs' yolk causing damage to the paint. Another
common Mischief Night act is "T.P.ing", in which people's
houses, lawns, and trees are covered in toilet paper streamers.
In parts of northern England, "Mischievous Night"
occurs on the 4th of November, the night before Bonfire Night(associated
to Bonfire night because the last phases of the plot were coming
together). It is celebrated in the same way, although minor vandalism
often includes fireworks, which appear in shops in the United Kingdom
around this time for legitimate reasons — to set off alongside bonfires
on the following night.
Religious viewpoints
The majority of Christians ascribe no doctrinal significance to
Halloween, but the Celebration of Halloween by the support of Catholic
and other Christian sects exist because how it mocks Pagan beliefs
by presenting outrageous superstition and religious concepts, and
supports the more easily accepted Christian beliefs.
The mingling of Christian and Pagan traditions in
the development of Halloween, and its real or assumed preoccupation
with evil and the supernatural, have left many modern Christians
uncertain of how they should react towards the holiday. Some fundamentalist
and evangelical along with many Eastern Orthodox Christians and
Orthodox Jewish believers consider Halloween a pagan or Satanic
holiday, and refuse to allow their children to participate. In some
areas, complaints from fundamentalist Christians that the schools
were endorsing a pagan religion have led the schools to stop distributing
UNICEF boxes at Halloween. Another response among conservative evangelicals
in recent years has been the use of Hell houses, which attempt make
use of Halloween as an opportunity for evangelism.
Other Christians, however, continue to connect the
holiday with All Saints Day. Some modern Christian churches commonly
offer a fall festival or harvest-themed alternative to Halloween
celebrations. Still other Christians hold the view that the holiday
is not Satanic in origin or practice and that it holds no threat
to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and
mortality actually being a valuable life lesson.
Likewise, to many Protestant churches, October
31 is also the date of Reformation Day, a minor religious festival.
Some families, churches, and religious schools combine the holidays.
Halloween Costumes
Halloween costumes are outfits worn on October 31st, the day of
Halloween. Halloween is a modern day holiday (spun off of the Gaelic/Druidic/Pagan
holiday of Samhain (in Christian times, the eve of All Saints Day).
Originally a day to remember the dead by celebrating the darker
and more gruesome side of human existence, celebrants would dress
as their deceased relatives. It has now become a very commercialized
celebration. Because of this, popular costumes are often mass manufactured
and sold in specialty stores.
What sets Halloween costumes apart from costumes for
other celebrations or days of dressing up is that they are often
designed to be gruesome or scary. Popular monsters of legend or
fiction are regular themes for Halloween costumes, as are pop culture
figures like presidents, film or television characters.
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