History UsefulNotes / AllHallowsEve

* '''Costumes:''' One of the standout features of the holiday. The Halloween costume has traditionally been some form of [[OurMonstersAreDifferent monster]] -- popular choices include [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] (particularly of the [[BedsheetGhost bedsheet]] variety), [[DemBones skeletons]], [[WickedWitch witches]], [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]], [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]], [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]], [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombies]], and [[SlasherMovie masked slashers]]. Big rubber masks are often a component, as is [[KensingtonGore fake blood]]. Other popular (and less scary or supernatural) choices include [[EmergencyServices police officers, firefighters]], {{pirate}}s, soldiers, doctors, [[NaughtyNurseOutfit nurses]], animals, princesses, [[HalloweenCosplay TV and movie characters]], athletes, Presidential candidates in election years,[[note]]Election Day in the US falls no more than eight days after Halloween, meaning that the holiday occurs at the climax of the campaign. In fact, [[https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/halloween-mask-sales-predict-the-presidential-election connections have been made]] between the candidate who sells the most masks and the one who wins the election. 2020 was the first election where this rule did not hold, as UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump still lost to UsefulNotes/JoeBiden despite [[https://theojt100.com/halloween-mask-sales/ leading him]] in the mask race (though the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic did put a crimp on Halloween celebrations that year). [[NixonMask Masks of]] UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, of course, are also a perennial favorite.[[/note]] and costumes that parody the year's events, often in [[GallowsHumor a macabre and deliberately provocative fashion]] (such as a celebrity who died recently, or a victim of a recent disaster). Historically, costumes based on [[NationalStereotypes ethnic groups and stereotypes]] (particularly UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans) were also popular, and many stores still carry them, but [[ValuesDissonance these days]], going out in such a costume is as likely to get you an earful (or worse) as it is to get you a compliment.\\\

All Hallows' Eve. All Saints' Eve. Samhain. October 31. November Eve. Whatever you call it -- and whether you like it or not -- [[AntiquatedLinguistics Hallowe'en]] is a holiday that has pretty much ingrained itself into American (and, [[EaglelandOsmosis in turn]], global) culture.

All Hallows' Eve. All Saints' Eve. Samhain. October 31. Whatever you call it -- and whether you like it or not -- [[AntiquatedLinguistics Hallowe'en]] is a holiday that has pretty much ingrained itself into American (and, [[EaglelandOsmosis in turn]], global) culture.

TV channels, particularly cable channels, will run marathons of horror movies for days or even weeks leading up to Halloween, from [[Franchise/UniversalHorror the old]] [[Film/HammerHorror classics]] (''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}'', ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'', ''Film/{{The Wolf Man|1941}}'') to modern ones (the ''Film/{{Living Dead|Series}}'' series, ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''Film/{{Scream}}'', and--of course--''Franchise/{{Halloween}}''), as well as shows like ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'', ''Series/TheMunsters'', and ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}''. For kids and those not in the mood to be scared, ''WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown'' is usually on the air somewhere, as are other {{Halloween Special}}s both classic and modern. And most [[LongRunners long-running]] TV shows will do at least one HalloweenEpisode during their run; among the most famous of these are ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[='=] annual "WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror" anthology episodes.

For the most part, Catholics and mainline Protestants are tolerant of the holiday, regarding any ties to paganism as having long since been buried by centuries of Christian and secular tradition. (After all, does anybody, apart from Jehovah's Witnesses and [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]] churches, complain about the connections between [[UsefulNotes/ChristmasInAmerica modern Christmas celebrations]] and the pagan solstice holiday of Yule, or the fact that the mascot for St. Valentine's Day is Cupid, a literal pagan god?) To them, Halloween is seen as a harmless, secular event built around dressing up as imaginary monsters and handing out candy. Catholic schools often hold Halloween celebrations, and a Vatican exorcist has stated that the day is harmless. True, the Catholic and Anglican Churches may emphasize All Saints' Day, the celebration that comes on November 1, while Protestants may observe Reformation Day -- commemorating the day when Martin Luther posted his ''Ninety-Five Theses'' on the Wittenberg church door to launch UsefulNotes/TheProtestantReformation in 1517 -- on October 31. However, these celebrations are usually held simultaneously with Halloween, rather than in opposition to it. The laissez-faire attitude that Catholics hold toward Halloween makes sense, as the holiday's roots are Catholic, and it was Irish and Scottish Catholics who brought it to the Americas in the first place.

For the most part, Catholics and mainline Protestants are tolerant of the holiday, regarding any ties to paganism as having long since been buried by centuries of Christian and secular tradition. (After all, does anybody, apart from Jehovah's Witnesses and [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]] churches, complain about the connections between [[UsefulNotes/ChristmasInAmerica modern Christmas celebrations]] and the pagan solstice holiday of Yule, or the fact that the mascot for St. Valentine's Day is Cupid, a literal pagan god?) To them, Halloween is seen as a harmless, secular event built around imaginary monsters and handing out candy. Catholic schools often hold Halloween celebrations, and a Vatican exorcist has said that the day is harmless. True, the Catholic and Anglican Churches may emphasize All Saints' Day, the celebration that comes after Halloween, while Protestants may celebrate Reformation Day -- the day when in 1517, Martin Luther started UsefulNotes/TheProtestantReformation -- which falls on the same day. However, these celebrations are usually held simultaneously with Halloween, rather than in opposition to it. The laissez-faire attitude that Catholics hold to the holiday makes sense -- the holiday's roots are Catholic, and it was Irish and Scottish Catholics who brought Halloween to the Americas in the first place.

TV channels, particularly cable channels, will run marathons of horror movies for days or even weeks leading up to Halloween, from [[Franchise/UniversalHorror the old]] [[Film/HammerHorror classics]] (''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}'', ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'', ''Film/{{The Wolf Man|1941}}'') to modern ones (the ''Film/{{Living Dead|Series}}'' series, ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''Film/{{Scream}}'', and of course, ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}''), as well as shows like ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'', ''Series/TheMunsters'', and ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}''. For kids and those not in the mood to be scared, ''WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown'' is usually on the air somewhere, as are other {{Halloween Special}}s both classic and modern. And most [[LongRunners long-running]] TV shows will do at least one HalloweenEpisode during their run; among the most famous of these are ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[='=] annual "WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror" anthology episodes.

TV channels, particularly cable channels, will run marathons of horror movies for weeks, from [[Franchise/UniversalHorror the old]] [[Film/HammerHorror classics]] (''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}'', ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'', ''Film/{{The Wolf Man|1941}}'') to modern ones (the ''Film/{{Living Dead|Series}}'' series, ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''Film/{{Scream}}'', and of course, ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}''), as well as shows like ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'', ''Series/TheMunsters'', and ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}''. For kids and those not in the mood to be scared, ''WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown'' is usually on the air somewhere, as are other {{Halloween Special}}s both classic and modern. And most [[LongRunners long-running]] TV shows will do at least one HalloweenEpisode during their run; among the most famous of these are ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[='=] annual "WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror" anthology episodes.

TV channels, particularly cable channels, will run marathons of horror films for weeks, from [[Franchise/UniversalHorror the old]] [[Film/HammerHorror classics]] (''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}'', ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'', ''Film/{{The Wolf Man|1941}}'') to modern ones (''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''Film/{{Dawn of the Dead|1978}}'', ''Film/{{Scream}}'', and of course, ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}''), as well as shows like ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'', ''Series/TheMunsters'', and ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}''. For kids and those not in the mood to be scared, ''WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown'' is usually on the air somewhere, as are other {{Halloween Special}}s both classic and modern. And most [[LongRunners long-running]] TV shows will do at least one HalloweenEpisode during their run; among the most famous of these are ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[='=] annual "WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror" anthology episodes.

The roots of what we now know as Halloween are often thought to be descended from the Irish Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced "sah-win"), which is believed to mean "summer's end". Very little is known about the original Samhain, but during the Celtic Revival movement of the 19th century a lot of speculation was put forth about the holiday, which seems to have stuck in the public consciousness: supposedly, the ancient Celts believed that the "veil" between the worlds of the living and the dead was thin from the night of October 31st through to the night of November 1st; anybody who knows anything about Halloween knows where this is going. Of course, Halloween was already a popular holiday by the time these theories were put forth, so most serious modern historians agree that it was Halloween that shaped our perceptions of Samhain, rather than Samhain shaping Halloween itself. What we do know is that Samhain marked the last harvest, the end of foraging for livestock, and the beginning of winter. It may have been a religious holiday or a purely practical harvest festival; we're really not sure. It is also worth remembering that "the Celts" were not a single people with a single set of traditions, but a disparate group of many tribes stretching from Ireland all the way to the Adriatic Sea, so the traditions of one Celtic people would not have lined up with those another.

During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church put forth the observance of All Souls' Day (aka All Hallows' Day or Hallowmas), becoming "All Hallows' Evening", which was then contracted into "Hallowe'en". It was a day on which the living would pray for the souls of the dead who were thought to still be in Purgatory. Originally, in the seventh century, All Saints' Day was celebrated on May 13th, right after Easter. A few centuries later, it was shifted to November; there are multiple theories as to why. Some Orthodox churches continue to celebrate it in April, as did the Irish for a time. During the Reformation, Protestant monarchs tried to ban the practice (Protestantism largely rejecting the idea of Purgatory), but by then it had entered into too many folklore traditions, and was hard to stamp out, but the traditions were strongest in places where Catholicism remained -- specifically, Ireland, parts of [[OopNorth Northern England]], and the Scottish Highlands. Over time, it had absorbed a number of other autumn traditions, including the practice of "souling", also known as "wassailing", in which people -- usually out-of-work plowmen -- would go door-to-door begging for food and drink. Those who were generous to the soulers would be rewarded with a song, a display of acrobatics, or a prayer for their recently departed, shortening their time in Purgatory, while stingier homeowners might be punished with retaliatory pranks from the rough-and-tumble plowmen. To avoid the shame of begging, and to avoid reprisals for their pranks, the soulers would often wear frightening disguises, hence the Scottish name for the practice: "guising". This tradition would eventually evolve into the modern ritual of trick-or-treating, but was also the forerunner of [[ChristmasCarolers Christmas caroling]] later in the year -- some older carols still have references to praying for the host's household, or veiled threats of mischief, in the lyrics.

For the most part, Catholics and mainline Protestants are tolerant of the holiday, regarding any ties to paganism as having long since been buried by centuries of Christian and secular tradition. (After all, does anybody, apart from Jehovah's Witnesses and [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]] churches, complain about the connections between [[UsefulNotes/ChristmasInAmerica modern Christmas celebrations]] and the pagan solstice holiday of Yule?) To them, Halloween is seen as a harmless, secular event built around imaginary monsters and handing out candy. Catholic schools often hold Halloween celebrations, and a Vatican exorcist has said that the day is harmless. True, the Catholic and Anglican Churches may emphasize All Saints' Day, the celebration that comes after Halloween, while Protestants may celebrate Reformation Day -- the day when in 1517, Martin Luther started UsefulNotes/TheProtestantReformation -- which falls on the same day. However, these celebrations are usually held simultaneously with Halloween, rather than in opposition to it. The laissez-faire attitude that Catholics hold to the holiday makes sense -- the holiday's roots are Catholic, and it was Irish and Scottish Catholics who brought Halloween to the Americas in the first place.

The roots of what we now know as Halloween are often thought to be descended from the Irish Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced "sah-win"), which is believed to mean "summer's end". Very little is known about the original Samhain, but during the Celtic Revival movement of the 19th century, a lot of speculation was put forth about the holiday which seems to have stuck in the public consciousness: supposedly, the ancient Celts believed that the "veil" between the worlds of the living and the dead was thin from the night of October 31st through to the night of November 1st; anybody who knows anything about Halloween knows where this is going. Of course, Halloween was already a popular holiday by the time these theories were put forth, so most serious modern historians agree that it was Halloween that shaped our perceptions of Samhain, rather than Samhain shaping Halloween itself. What we do know is that Samhain marked the last harvest, the end of foraging for livestock, and the beginning of winter. It may have been a religious holiday or a purely practical harvest festival; we're really not sure. It is also worth remembering that "the Celts" were not a single people with a single set of traditions, but a disparate group of many tribes stretching from Ireland all the way to the Adriatic Sea, so the traditions of one Celtic people would not have lined up with those another.

The roots of what we now know as Halloween are often thought to be descended from the Irish Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced "sah-win"), which is believed to mean "summer's end". Very little is known about the original Samhain, but during the Celtic Revival movement of the 19th Century, a lot of speculation was put forth about the holiday which seems to have stuck in the public consciousness: supposedly, the ancient Celts believed that the "veil" between the worlds of the living and the dead was thin from the night of October 31st through to the night of November 1st; anybody who knows anything about Halloween knows where this is going. Of course, Halloween was already a popular holiday by the time these theories were put forth, so most serious historians agree that it was Halloween that shaped our perceptions of Samhain, rather than Samhain shaping Halloween itself. What we do know is that Samhain marked the last harvest, the end of foraging for livestock, and the beginning of winter. It may have been a religious holiday or a purely practical harvest festival; we're really not sure. It is also worth remembering that "the Celts" were not a single people with a single set of traditions, but a disparate group of many tribes stretching from Ireland all the way to the Adriatic Sea, so the traditions of one Celtic people would not have lined up with those another.

* '''Decoration:''' Halloween trails only UsefulNotes/{{Christmas|InAmerica}} in the U.S. as the most popular holiday for decorating one's house, and as with Christmas, said decoration nowadays can take place [[ChristmasCreep weeks ahead of time]]. The Celtic jack-o'-lantern tradition has been imported largely intact, the main difference being that pumpkins long ago replaced turnips as the carved vegetable of choice in North America (with pumpkins being larger, easier to carve, and more plentiful than in Europe). Most people carve the usual scary faces into their jack-o'-lanterns, although some will carve (or paint) funny faces, words, or images instead. In addition to jack-o'-lanterns, people will decorate their houses and property with things like scarecrows, witches, skeletons, black cats, spiders, tombstones, hands reaching up out of the ground, and various items (blood splatters, hand prints) in their windows. Occasionally a home's decorations will turn out to be a little ''too'' realistic, leading to the police being called to the "murder scene" and the very pleased-with-themselves homeowner getting on the news as a human interest story. (And, in the other direction, there was [[http://www.people.com/article/murdered-woman-body-hanging-fence-initially-mistaken-halloween-decoration one time]] when an actual murder victim was mistaken for a decoration.)

During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church put forth the observance of All Souls' Day (aka All Hallows' Day or Hallowmas), becoming "All Hallows' Evening", which was then contracted into "Hallowe'en". It was a day on which the living would pray for the souls of the dead who were thought to still be in Purgatory. Originally, in the seventh century, All Saints' Day was celebrated on May 13th, right after Easter. A few centuries later, it was shifted to November; there are multiple theories as to why. Some Orthodox churches continue to celebrate it in April, as did the Irish for a time. During the Reformation, Protestant monarchs tried to ban the practice (Protestantism largely rejecting the idea of Purgatory), but by then it had entered into too many folklore traditions, and was hard to stamp out, but the traditions were strongest in places where Catholicism remained -- specifically, Ireland, parts of [[OopNorth Northern England]], and the Scottish Highlands. Over time, it had absorbed a number of other autumn traditions, including the practice of "souling", also known as "wassailing", in which people -- usually out-of-work plowmen -- would go door-to-door begging for food and drink. Those who were generous to the soulers would be rewarded with a song, a display of acrobatics, or a prayer for their recently departed, shortening their time in Purgatory, while stingier homeowners might be punished with retaliatory pranks from the rough-and-tumble plowmen. To avoid the shame of begging, and to avoid reprisals for their pranks, the soulers would often wear frightening disguises, hence the Scottish name for the practice: "guising". This tradition would obviously evolve into the modern ritual of trick-or-treating, but was also the forerunner of [[ChristmasCarolers Christmas caroling]] later in the year -- some older carols still have references to praying for the host's household, or veiled threats of mischief, in the lyrics.

What really took the festival beyond a few rural folk traditions and into the cultural mainstream was Creator/RobertBurns' poem "Halloween", published in 1785. Burns, a chronicler of Scottish cultural practices, was not the first to write a poem on the subject, but his poem was by far the most successful, and he is often considered the godfather of the entire holiday today. Nearly a hundred years later, the Irish Canadian poet and political leader Thomas D'Arcy [=McGee=] would refer to Burns simply as "the Bard of Hallowe'en" in his own poem "Hallowe'en in Canada, 1863". (Burns, by the way, also wrote the lyrics to "Auld Lang Syne", the undisputed [[NewYearHasCome New Year's]] anthem, making him a defining figure for two major holidays.)

What really took the festival beyond a few rural folk traditions and into the cultural mainstream was Creator/RobertBurns' poem "Halloween", published in 1785. Burns, a chronicler of Scottish cultural practices, was not the first to write a poem on the subject, but his poem was by far the most successful, and he is often considered the godfather of the entire holiday today. Nearly a hundred years later, the Irish Canadian poet and political leader Thomas D'Arcy [=McGee=] would refer to Burns simply as "the Bard of Hallowe'en" in his poem "Hallowe'en in Canada, 1863". Burns also wrote the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, the undisputed anthem of New Years, making him a defining figure in two major holidays.

By the 19th century, the aforementioned Celtic Revival movement was launching, bringing a new wave of interest in the traditions and beliefs of pre-Christian Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It was here that Samhain was finally dug up as a possible antecedent to Halloween, and relatively-recent traditions derived from Christian folk theology backdated to new origins in pagan antiquity.

By the 19th Century, the aforementioned Celtic Revival movement was launching, bringing a new wave of interest in the traditions and beliefs of pre-Christian Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It was here that Samhain was finally dug up as a possible antecedent to Halloween, and relatively-recent traditions derived from Christian folk theology backdated to new origins in pagan antiquity.

The 19th Century also saw substantial [[UsefulNotes/TheIrishDiaspora Irish]] and Scottish migration to the New World, and these immigrants brought Halloween traditions with them. Back in this time, Halloween in North America was more of a celebration of Irish and Scottish heritage than anything else, much like Columbus Day is for Italian Americans. It was celebrated with large feasts, apple bobbing, and other divination games (mostly based around romance and marriage), as well as pranks and mischief. By the turn of the century, the "pranks and mischief" had become the defining feature of Halloween, turning it into a night of hooliganism and vandalism. As a result, the Boy Scouts and neighborhood groups started working to turn Halloween back into a safe celebration, organizing trick-or-treating events based around the old practice of "guising" to redirect the focus of the festivities away from violence. With Halloween now becoming a popular celebration outside of Welsh, Irish and Scottish neighborhoods, retailers jumped at the opportunity for a new holiday to commercialize. While this commercialization first began in the early decades of the 20th century (mass-produced costumes started appearing in [[TheGreatDepression the 1930s]]), it really took off after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and it hasn't stopped since.

And finally, with so much controversy over its alleged pagan history, what do actual pagans think about it? Celtic pagans (of both the [[UsefulNotes/NeoPaganism neo-pagan]] and reconstructionist variety) consider the season to be a holy time of year, and make offerings to the gods and the ancestors. A fair number of UsefulNotes/{{Wicca}}ns, however, feel that the modern, Western incarnation of the holiday is offensive -- they see it as promoting old stereotypes and caricatures of "{{wicked witch}}es" that serve to make people suspicious and fearful of real-life pagans and witches. (One ''Series/BostonLegal'' episode, "Witches of Mass Destruction", featured conservative Christians and hardline Wiccans [[EnemyMine teaming up against Halloween]], which is sad.)

Some conservative Christians, however, maintain that Halloween trivializes (or outright celebrates) the occult and is therefore incompatible with the Christian faith. They will often bolster this stance by pointing to the holiday's alleged pagan connections, which they maintain to be [[UsefulNotes/{{Satanism}} Satanic]] in nature. There have consequently been many religious challenges to and protests against the celebration of Halloween lodged over the years, particularly in the evangelical "[[UsefulNotes/AmericanChurches Bible Belt]]" regions of [[DeepSouth the South]] and [[DownOnTheFarm the rural Midwest]]. A more recent tradition among many conservative Christians has been to hold "Halloween alternative parties", in which people dress up as Biblical characters, and to stage [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_house "Hell houses"]] as TheMoralSubstitute to regular Halloween attractions. At Hell houses, attendees are shown scenes meant to portray the decadence of secular culture, finally ending up in a room that represents either {{heaven}}, which is the reward for not behaving in the manner just witnessed, or {{hell}}, which is occupied by {{Satan}}, who claims that all of the characters they have seen (who usually reappear here) are now firmly in his grasp. In order to get out afterwards, attendees must agree to be "saved" (become born-again Christians) or traverse the length of the building. In some cases a Hell house will be marketed as a normal haunted house attraction, making it a BaitAndSwitch for unwitting attendees who don't realize that they're going to a fire-and-brimstone sermon until they're already through the door.

TV channels, particularly cable channels, will run marathons of horror films for weeks, from [[Franchise/UniversalHorror the old]] [[Film/HammerHorror classics]] (''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}'', ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'', ''Film/{{The Wolf Man|1941}}'') to modern ones (''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''Film/DawnOfTheDead'', ''Film/{{Scream}}'', and of course, ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}''), as well as shows like ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'', ''Series/TheMunsters'', and ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}''. For kids and those not in the mood to be scared, ''WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown'' is usually on the air somewhere, as are other {{Halloween Special}}s both classic and modern. And most [[LongRunners long-running]] TV shows will do at least one HalloweenEpisode during their run; among the most famous of these are ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[='=] annual "WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror" anthology episodes.

A recent trend has been for women's Halloween costumes to crank up the {{fanservice}} with plenty of [[NavelDeepNeckline cleavage]], [[ShowSomeLeg leg]], [[BareYourMidriff midriff]], and [[HellBentForLeather leather]]. In fact, as noted on the page for HotterAndSexier, the "[[{{Stripperiffic}} slutty]] [[SexyWhateverOutfit Halloween costume]]" has almost become a trope in itself, with [[https://www.yandy.com/halloween-costumes entire companies]] specializing in making sexy costumes. Halloween has been described (most famously by [[Film/MeanGirls Cady Heron]]) as the one day on which women are allowed to pretty much dress like strippers without any repercussions, no matter how strait-laced they are on the other 364 days of the year, while Creator/DanSavage has [[http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/happy-heteroween/Content?oid=2594616 called it]] the closest thing that straight people have to a gay PrideParade, or that Americans have to Mardi Gras or Carnival. That said, it does make a good target for snark, with lists of the most [[FetishRetardant laughable]] "sexy" Halloween costumes cropping up every October. And just in case you were wondering, while it is less common, guys get in on this too; the usual male variant of the above is either the WalkingShirtlessScene, or something that [[DoubleEntendre calls attention to the guy's junk]], such as elephants, hot dogs, genie bottles, or "ball pits". The [[MemeticMutation meme]] [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/036/460/078.jpg "Is Halloween getting too sexy for kids?"]] parodies this by showing someone crawling in an Creator/{{Amazon}} box.

Candy apples (apples coated with caramel or toffee) used to be a popular treat, but that ended due to [[MediaScaremongering a scare]] in TheEighties over people putting [[RazorApples razor blades, needles, or poison in the apples]]. [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer In reality]], the [[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/halloween.asp only proven cases]] of people deliberately spiking kids' candy with poison or drugs were crazy parents who were trying to kill their own children (and one of the most famous cases involved Pixi-Stix, a "safe" wrapped candy), not strangers handing out poison at the door. Hiding pins or needles in Halloween candy [[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/needles.asp has been known to happen several times,]] but usually as a prank by one's friends -- and it can just as easily be done with a wrapped Snickers bar as with an apple. There certainly wasn't any conspiracy by [[HollywoodSatanism Satanic cultists]] to murder children as sacrifices to the Dark Lord, as has been claimed.[[note]]Perhaps not coincidentally, the rise of this legend came at the same time as the SatanicPanic of TheEighties, when so-called [[UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories "Satanic ritual abuse"]] (now believed by most serious investigators to be an {{urban legend|s}}) was being hyped up by churches and even law enforcement as the latest threat ''du jour''.[[/note]] So basically, nice job ruining our fun, [[MoralGuardians assholes]]. Starting TheNewTens, as more states began fully legalizing recreational marijuana, the new big Halloween candy worry is people giving out THC edibles to children; of course, the fact that a small container of THC gummies runs ''much'' more expensive than regular candy (on average, a container with 10 gummies will cost somewhere in the ballpark of $20) doesn't cross their minds.

* '''Decoration:''' Halloween trails only UsefulNotes/{{Christmas|InAmerica}} in the U.S. as the most popular holiday for decorating one's house, and as with Christmas, said decoration nowadays can take place [[ChristmasCreep weeks ahead of time]]. The Celtic jack-o'-lantern tradition has been imported largely intact, the main difference being that pumpkins long ago replaced turnips as the carved vegetable of choice in North America (pumpkins being larger, easier to carve, and more plentiful than in Europe). Most people carve the usual scary faces into their jack-o'-lanterns, although some will carve (or paint) funny faces, words, or images instead. In addition to jack-o'-lanterns, people will decorate their houses and property with things like scarecrows, witches, skeletons, black cats, spiders, tombstones, hands reaching up out of the ground, and various items (blood splatters, hand prints) in their windows. Occasionally a home's decorations will turn out to be a little ''too'' realistic, leading to the police being called to the "murder scene" and the very pleased-with-themselves homeowner getting on the news as a human interest story. (And, in the other direction, there was [[http://www.people.com/article/murdered-woman-body-hanging-fence-initially-mistaken-halloween-decoration one time]] when an actual murder victim was mistaken for a decoration.)

* '''Trick-or-treating:''' A practice that is mostly celebrated by children and their parents (although some will tell you that you're never too old to trick-or-treat), in which they go door-to-door asking for candy, saying "Trick or treat!" whenever the door is opened. The "trick" refers to the (mostly idle) threat of performing mischief against the homeowners or their property if no treats are given. No, most of us do not view this as extortion. A house is marked as "open" for trick-or-treaters by the presence of a lit jack-o'-lantern and porch lights. Trick-or-treating usually takes place at very specific hours of the evening (often 5-8 PM) so that kids won't stay out too late. The treats are almost always wrapped candies bought from a store, such as chocolate bars, lollipops, Twizzlers, and candy corn. Sometimes, people giving out candy, not wanting to be bothered to go to the door, choose to rely on the honor system, leaving a bowl of candy that kids are expected to only take small amounts of. Kids being kids, the bowl is usually empty, if not outright gone, halfway through the night. A similar, older tradition in Scotland and Wales is "guising", in which the children are expected to do a "turn" (e.g. recite a poem or tell a few jokes) before they get any sweets. The first written record of the phrase "trick or treat" dates back to 1927 and an article in the ''Blackie Herald'', a local newspaper from Blackie, Alberta, Canada.\\\

A recent trend has been for women's Halloween costumes to crank up the {{fanservice}} with plenty of [[NavelDeepNeckline cleavage]], [[ShowSomeLeg leg]], [[BareYourMidriff midriff]], and [[HellBentForLeather leather]]. In fact, as noted on the page for HotterAndSexier, the "[[{{Stripperiffic}} slutty]] [[SexyWhateverOutfit Halloween costume]]" has almost become a trope in itself, with [[https://www.yandy.com/halloween-costumes entire companies]] specializing in making sexy costumes. Halloween has been described (most famously by [[Film/MeanGirls Cady Heron]]) as the one day when women are allowed to pretty much dress like strippers without any repercussions, no matter how strait-laced they are on the other 364 days of the year, while Creator/DanSavage has [[http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/happy-heteroween/Content?oid=2594616 called it]] the closest thing that straight people have to a gay PrideParade, or that Americans have to Mardi Gras or Carnival. That said, it does make a good target for snark, with lists of the most [[FetishRetardant laughable]] "sexy" Halloween costumes cropping up every October. And just in case you were wondering, while it is less common, guys get in on this too; the usual male variant of the above is either the WalkingShirtlessScene, or something that [[DoubleEntendre calls attention to the guy's junk]], such as elephants, hot dogs, genie bottles, or "ball pits". The [[MemeticMutation meme]] [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/036/460/078.jpg "Is Halloween getting too sexy for kids?"]] parodies this by showing someone crawling in an Creator/{{Amazon}} box.

A recent trend has been for women's Halloween costumes to crank up the {{fanservice}} with plenty of cleavage, leg, [[BareYourMidriff midriff]], and [[HellBentForLeather leather]]. In fact, as noted on the page for HotterAndSexier, the "[[{{Stripperiffic}} slutty]] [[SexyWhateverOutfit Halloween costume]]" has almost become a trope in itself, with [[https://www.yandy.com/halloween-costumes entire companies]] specializing in making sexy costumes. Halloween has been described (most famously by [[Film/MeanGirls Cady Heron]]) as the one day when women are allowed to pretty much dress like strippers without any repercussions, no matter how strait-laced they are on the other 364 days of the year, while Creator/DanSavage has [[http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/happy-heteroween/Content?oid=2594616 called it]] the closest thing that straight people have to a gay PrideParade, or that Americans have to Mardi Gras or Carnival. That said, it does make a good target for snark, with lists of the most [[FetishRetardant laughable]] "sexy" Halloween costumes cropping up every October. And just in case you were wondering, while it is less common, guys get in on this too; the usual male variant of the above is either the WalkingShirtlessScene, or something that [[DoubleEntendre calls attention to the guy's junk]], such as elephants, hot dogs, genie bottles, or "ball pits". The [[MemeticMutation meme]] [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/036/460/078.jpg "Is Halloween getting too sexy for kids?"]] parodies this by showing someone crawling in an Creator/{{Amazon}} box.

* '''Costumes:''' One of the standout features of the holiday. The Halloween costume has traditionally been some form of [[OurMonstersAreDifferent monster]] -- popular choices include [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] (particularly of the [[BedsheetGhost bedsheet]] variety), [[DemBones skeletons]], [[WickedWitch witches]], [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]], [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]], [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombies]], and [[SlasherMovie masked slashers]]. Big rubber masks are often a component, as is [[KensingtonGore fake blood]]. Other popular (and less scary or supernatural) choices include [[EmergencyServices police officers, firefighters]], {{pirate}}s, soldiers, doctors, [[NaughtyNurseOutfit nurses]], animals, princesses, [[HalloweenCosplay TV and movie characters]], Presidential candidates in election years[[note]]Election Day in the US falls no more than eight days after Halloween, meaning that the holiday occurs at the climax of the campaign. In fact, [[https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/halloween-mask-sales-predict-the-presidential-election connections have been made]] between the candidate who sells the most masks and the one who wins the election. 2020 was the first election where this rule did not hold, as UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump still lost to UsefulNotes/JoeBiden despite [[https://theojt100.com/halloween-mask-sales/ leading him]] in the mask race (though the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic did put a crimp on Halloween celebrations that year). [[NixonMask Masks of]] UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, of course, are also a perennial favorite.[[/note]], and costumes that parody the year's events, often in [[GallowsHumor a macabre and deliberately provocative fashion]] (such as a celebrity who died recently, or a victim of a recent disaster). Historically, costumes based on [[NationalStereotypes ethnic groups and stereotypes]] (particularly UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans) were popular, and many stores still carry them, but [[ValuesDissonance these days]], going out in such a costume is as likely to get you an earful as it is to get you a compliment.\\\
A recent trend has been for women's Halloween costumes to crank up the {{fanservice}} with plenty of cleavage, leg, [[BareYourMidriff midriff]], and [[HellBentForLeather leather]]. In fact, as noted on the page for HotterAndSexier, the "[[{{Stripperiffic}} slutty]] [[SexyWhateverOutfit Halloween costume]]" is almost a trope in and of itself, with [[https://www.yandy.com/halloween-costumes entire companies]] specializing in making sexy costumes. Halloween has been described (most famously by [[Film/MeanGirls Cady Heron]]) as the one day when women are allowed to pretty much dress like strippers without any repercussions, no matter how strait-laced they are on the other 364 days of the year, while Creator/DanSavage has [[http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/happy-heteroween/Content?oid=2594616 called it]] the closest thing that straight people have to a gay PrideParade, or that Americans have to Carnival or Mardi Gras. That said, it does make a good target for snark, with lists of the most [[FetishRetardant laughable]] "sexy" Halloween costumes cropping up every October. And just in case you were wondering, while it is less common, guys get in on this too; the usual male variation of the above is either the WalkingShirtlessScene, or something that [[DoubleEntendre calls attention to the guy's junk]], like elephants, hot dogs, genie bottles, or "ball pits". The [[MemeticMutation meme]] [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/036/460/078.jpg "Is Halloween getting too sexy for kids?"]] parodies this by showing someone crawling in an Creator/{{Amazon}} box.

* '''Trick-or-treating:''' A practice that is mostly celebrated by children and their parents (although some will tell you that you're never too old to trick-or-treat), in which they go door-to-door asking for candy, saying "Trick or treat!" whenever the door is opened. The "trick" refers to the (mostly idle) threat of performing mischief against the homeowners or their property if no treats are given. No, most of us do not view this as extortion. A house is marked as "open" for trick-or-treaters by the presence of a lit jack-o'-lantern and porch lights. Trick-or-treating usually takes place at very specific hours of the evening (often 5-8 PM) so that kids won't stay out too late. The treats are almost always wrapped candies bought from a store, such as chocolate bars, lollipops, Twizzlers, and candy corn. Sometimes, people giving out candy, not wanting to be bothered to go to the door, choose to rely on the honor system, leaving a bowl of candy that kids are expected to only take small amounts of. Kids being kids, the bowl is usually empty, if not outright gone, halfway through the night. A similar, older tradition in Scotland and Wales is 'guising', in which the children are expected to do a 'turn' (e.g. recite a poem or tell a few jokes) before they get any sweets. The first written record of the phrase "trick or treat" dates back to 1927 and an article in the ''Blackie Herald'', a local newspaper from Blackie, Alberta, Canada.\\\

During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church put forth the observance of All Souls' Day (aka All Hallows' Day or Hallowmas), becoming "All Hallows' Evening", which was then contracted into "Hallowe'en". It was a day on which the living would pray for the souls of the dead who were thought to still be in Purgatory. Originally, in the seventh century, All Saints' Day was celebrated on May 13th, right after Easter. A few centuries later, it was shifted to November; there are multiple theories as to why. Some Orthodox churches continue to celebrate it in April, as did the Irish for a time. During the Reformation, Protestant monarchs tried to ban the practice (Protestantism largely rejecting the idea of Purgatory), but by then it had entered into too many folklore traditions, and was hard to stamp out, but the traditions were strongest in places where Catholicism remained -- specifically, Ireland, parts of [[OopNorth Northern England]], and the Scottish Highlands. Over time, it had absorbed a number of other autumn traditions, including the practice of "souling", also known as "wassailing", in which people -- usually out-of-work plowmen -- would go door-to-door begging for food and drink. Those who were generous to the soulers would be rewarded with a song, a display of acrobatics, or a prayer for their recently departed, shortening their time in Purgatory, while stingier homeowners might be punished with retaliatory pranks from the rough-and-tumble plowmen. To avoid the shame of begging, and to avoid reprisals for their pranks, the soulers would often wear frightening disguises, hence the Scottish name for the practice: "guising". This tradition would obviously grow into the modern ritual of trick-or-treating, but was also the forerunner of Christmas caroling later in the year, and some older carols still have references to praying for the host's household, or veiled threats of mischief, in the lyrics.