Halloween

When I was a child, Halloween was definitely a holiday for children. While our elementary school teachers dressed in costumes, I do not recall other adults donning any significant apparel of any kind. I do not even recall older students in costume. My older brother pretty much stopped dressing up at age 13, and so did I. When we were younger, we wore purchased full-body costumes made of some plastic-like material that basically had an image of the character’s body painted on. Along with the costume was a plastic mask that covered the entire face—devil, robot, Six Million Dollar Man, witch, Cinderella, Casper the friendly ghost.

The holiday consisted mostly of a children dressing in their costumes and going door-to-door through the neighborhood to collect a treat or two from friendly neighbors on one specific evening, usually October 31, but not always. In the 1970s, most neighbors were friendly. We also had a classroom party at school, and sometimes there was a Halloween party with games and activities at church.

Also, we didn’t have “pumpkin patches.” We went to the supermarket or the farmer’s vegetable stand for our pumpkins. We did have freshly made apple cider, however. A gas station of all places near our house had a cider press, and the owner would make gallons and gallons to sell. (Even when I learned that cider was made from rotting apples, I didn’t care. The tangy taste of the seasonal beverage always perked me up.)

When I was a little older, a community organization hosted a haunted house (which I volunteered for one year in high school). A few friends might hold parties in their homes or barns. (I grew up in a suburban/rural area.) There was some dressing up in high school itself. I recall that after rehearsal for a play when I was in 10^th grade, my castmates and I put on costumes, wandered through a cemetery and then went to Big Boy for a late night snack.

However, Halloween was primarily a holiday for small children.

During my childhood, however, there were glimmers of change. For example, in the autumn of 1979, the film Halloween was released. This film launched a couple of decades of horror/slasher films that included several more in the series, as well as the Friday the 13^th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream franchises. When I was in high school, Little House on the Prairie darling Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary) even starred in Happy Birthday to Me. Not all of these films were released for Halloween, however, but I do believe they increased interest in Halloween for more than just children.

For several years (decades), I have been an adult, and for a long time now the celebration of Halloween is much more expansive. I heard the expression “Halloween is Gay Christmas!” when I moved to New York City for graduate school, making it somewhat special. The evening parades and parties were a time for LGBT folks and their friends to let loose, dress up, and even for some to come out of hiding. Alas, in San Francisco, at least, the long-held Castro Street festivities were abandoned after several years of violence. In my estimation, this is part of the holiday’s expansion, or perhaps resurgence. (GLBT folks have long been leaders in cultural awareness.)

Today’s Halloween celebration still includes the annual trick-or-treating for children, with each community setting its own time and date. Children go door-to-door, ostensibly in the neighborhoods in which they live. They are dressed in their costumes (mostly popular film and television characters) and receive a treat—usually candy—from their neighbors. But instead of or in addition to this activity, there are many opportunities for children to dress, including business district walks, church parties, amusement park events (for young and old alike) and even local zoos.

As for adults, there are dozens of opportunities for dressing and celebrating—street parties, the aforementioned amusement parks, film parties, giant high-priced-ticket masked balls, bar celebrations and dozens of private parties. Cobwebs and giant spiders on the bushes, bats and rats hanging on railings, large blow-up demons and monsters, and orange Christmas lights have replaced the traditional jack-o-lantern with a candle on the front porch. With the popularity of The Walking Dead, Zombies are very much in style.

I am personally attending one family party, one adult party and a church-hosted neighborhood party for the holiday. I also have some Halloween decorations in my living area.

Another indication of the expansion of Halloween occurred in the 1990s, with conservative Christian congregations creating what they consider the truly scary tableaux within the concept of a Hell House. First, many of these groups eschew standard Halloween practices, and consider these Halloween-time fixtures as a vital ministry. In a typical Hell House (one can buy a kit—with a 263-page manual—from the concept’s champion), individuals are led through several “contemporary” American scenes of sin, such as a young woman dying from a botched abortion, an individual becoming possessed by a demon for dabbling in the occult, a gay man dying of AIDS. In each of these scenes, the sinner goes right to hell for eternal punishment. The scenes are graphic and gruesome. At the end of the journey, guests are invited to reject these sins and become “Saved.”

But the strongest indication I have had that Halloween has exploded as a holiday has been my experiences in Europe—Britain and Ireland, specifically. While many cultures throughout the world have observed harvest festivals (and many still do), for a very long time, Halloween was a uniquely American holiday. During the autumn of 1984, I was an exchange student, studying at S. Katharine’s College in Liverpool, England. At Halloween, the student association hosted a Halloween party. As this was a college activity, the event was mostly an excuse to get ripping drunk. About one-third of the students wore costumes, and most of the women were dressed as traditional witches with long black gowns and pointed black hats. If there were decorations, these were few and far between. (Yes, I went to the party; no, I didn’t have a costume; and I didn’t drink alcohol at the time.) During my attendance at the event, a couple of dozen of the attendees asked me if they were “doing it right.”

Now one of the origins—if not the primary origin—of Halloween is the Irish-focused Celtic Festival of Samhain. During this festival (held beginning the evening of October 31), everything human, including livestock, was kept in a protected area. This enabled the spirits, fairy folk—basically the defeated descendants of the magical people the Celts overthrew when they landed in Ireland—to leave their underground world and enjoy the surface world for the night. During some periods, food was left for these spirits. Anyone who has been to Ireland knows that the Island country is covered with ancient burial mounds (pre-Celtic). These were considered by the Celts and early Irish to be the entrances into the underground world of the spirits. The Christian All Saints’ Day, a solemnization of those who have previously died in the Spirit of God, is held the following day, November 1. As it dates back to the second century, there may be some connection between it and the pagan Samhain. From a literary perspective, celebrating all the saints on the day after the spirits of paganism/evil roam the earth seems quite logical.

In 2001, I was in the Republic of Ireland for several weeks. As part of my cultural study, I spent time at and conversation on the many burial mounds covering the countryside, Celtic festivals and current relevance. Again, there was very little celebration of Halloween. It was an American holiday. Well, last year, 2013, I was in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, and as far as I could tell, the Irish have taken Halloween back! In every city and village I visited, there were preparations for a community Halloween festival of sorts. Pubs and restaurants were closed for private affairs. All of the streets were decorated, and several places were planning to have fireworks! In Belfast, where I spent October 31, the entire city shut down for an evening festival at the shipyards. This festival included a large carnival, everyone in costumes, snacks and treats, a stage concert, after hours party and fireworks. I was grabbing a quick supper at McDonald’s (the only place open or not reserved for a “private party”), when the place closed down for the festivities!

What does all this have to do with my great-grandmother Leta and her scandalous and remarkable life? I keep wracking my brain for Halloween activities with her from my childhood. As her daughter—my grandmother—lived only a few blocks from us, we always stopped in costume to conclude our trick-or-treating. Grandma also gave us all her leftover candy. Because this happened for several years, my great-grandmother may have been present sometimes. But I doubt it.

I have a feeling that she was one of those people who turned off her lights and left her house dark during trick-or-treating, although not for any specific religious reason. By the way, she was a church-going Christian. I just never connect her to anything frivolous, and the activities of Halloween could be construed as such. It’s hard for me to consider myself that the holiday is not all frivolity. Still, she laughed frequently and loved spending time with her great-grandchildren. What more could we have asked for?