For the last few millennia, the changing of the seasons has been marked by Celtic peoples with festivals. And some of the costumes were genuinely terrifying.
Articles on Samhain
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Folklorists created a through line from the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain to Halloween. But the Halloween we know today has more to do with the English, a 9th century pope and American consumerism.
Nos Galan Gaeaf on October 31 in Wales is steeped in folklore and tradition.
A recent addition to the “spooky” calendar of events are Gothic festivals, inspired by Gothic literature classics such as “Dracula”.
Halloween was virtually nonexistent in South Korea until about a decade ago. But commercialization is taking popular holidays to unlikely places across the globe.
A folklorist explains how Halloween continues an ancient Celtic tradition of the celebration of the dead.
Beyond the fairy tales, mythical stories and stereotypes, there are many ways to be a witch.
Samhain will be particularly poignant this year for Wiccans who are members or veterans of the US military as they process the end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
For members of the minority religion of Wicca and witchcraft – part of contemporary paganism – Halloween is not just a children’s holiday: It is both a celebration and acceptance of death.
Top contributors
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Affliated Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University
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Senior Lecturer in Religion and Education
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Associate Professor of Sociology, Middlebury College
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Lecturer in Celtic Studies, Aberystwyth University
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PhD candidate and co-owner of Desmond Tours, Technological University of the Shannon
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Dean’s Professor of Religion & Professor of History, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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Professor of Anthropology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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Sir Warwick Fairfax Lecturer in Celtic Studies, University of Sydney