{"id":5488,"date":"2026-10-31T08:58:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T08:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/?p=5488"},"modified":"2026-10-21T09:13:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T08:13:35","slug":"halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/2026\/10\/31\/halloween\/","title":{"rendered":"Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong><u>Halloween<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong><u>\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Trick or treat! Halloween is officially here \u2013 celebrated annually and widely on the 31<sup>st<\/sup> of October every year. Get ready for a full day of costumes, candy and spooky celebrations of this annual holiday and season. Maybe even some pumpkin carving or picking is on the cards &#8211; how exciting! Have you ever wondered where Halloween originated from and why we celebrate it? It all goes back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain dating back 2,000 years ago&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The word \u2018Samhain\u2019 essentially means \u2018summer\u2019s end.\u2019 It indicates the transition from the harvest season to the beginning of the winter period, which was also historically defined as the Celtic new year. The Celts commonly believed that Samhain was when the boundary between our world and the spirit world blurs and allows spirits to roam in ours. Some of these spirits were thought to be mischievous gods who would come through to our world to cause chaos and play devious tricks on individuals and communities at the time. Spooky! But great inspirations and foundations for the emergence of Halloween, formally referred to as All Hallows Eve.<\/p>\n<h2>Fun and Freaky facts about Halloween<\/h2>\n<p>Here are some fun and freaky facts about Halloween and some of it&#8217;s traditions:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Did you know that the tradition of dressing up for Halloween goes back 2,000 years \u2013 all the way back to Samhain in fact! On this day, the Celts would get dressed up in spooky costumes and disguises to disorientate and ward off evil spirits as well as lighting bonfires for extra protection.<\/li>\n<li>Trick or treating is also a well-known Halloween tradition which started centuries ago in Medieval England. Back then, it was called \u2018Souling.\u2019 The practice of \u2018Souling\u2019 was very similar to how we do trick or treating in the modern day and involved individuals going door to door on All Saints Day and praying or singing at someone\u2019s door in exchange for food or commodities. The type of food most often offered was a \u2018Soul Cake,\u2019 which was a small spiced and sweet cake that usually had the texture of a shortbread biscuit, cookie or scone rather than a soft sponge like most traditional cakes. Sounds delicious!<\/li>\n<li>It was originally turnips that people would carve before the 19<sup>th<\/sup> century \u2013 not pumpkins! Sometimes, potatoes, radishes or beets would be used if that was the only thing available to them at the time. People believed that carving an angry looking face on a turnip or other suitable vegetable and carrying it around with them in a lantern or leaving it outside their houses would offer them protection against evil spirits and harm. It soon became pumpkins that were most frequently used after a mass migration of Irish people over to the US in the 19<sup>th<\/sup> This is because pumpkins were more readily available due to being easier to grow over in the US so this eventually became standard practice and tradition as we know today!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Halloween reading list<\/h4>\n<p>We have compiled a list of the library&#8217;s top picks of books, articles, films and videos for Halloween. Check this out by signing into <a href=\"https:\/\/napier.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/search?vid=44NAP_INST:44NAP_ALMA_VU1\"><strong>LibrarySearch<\/strong><\/a> then by going to the Reading Lists tab. Search for &#8216;The Library&#8217;s Halloween Picks&#8217; to find your next spooky read!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>By Rachel Downie<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/a-group-of-pumpkins-in-a-field-HSL4FinR2Hg\">Stephen Van Elk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We have plenty of<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/?s=ghosts\"> ghost stories<\/a> for you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Halloween \u00a0 Trick or treat! Halloween is officially here \u2013 celebrated annually and widely on the 31st of October every year. Get ready for a full day of costumes, candy and spooky celebrations of this annual holiday and season. Maybe even some pumpkin carving or picking is on the cards &#8211; how exciting! Have you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":275,"featured_media":5491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[829],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-halloween","post-preview"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Halloween - The Library Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The library team is wishing everyone a hauntingly happy Halloween with our latest spooky blog post. 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If so, let me begin with a fascinating history of Halloween. People trace the origins of Halloween back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated around 2,000 years ago. This festival marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Celebrations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Celebrations","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/category\/celebrations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"picture of carved pumpkins for post A History of Halloween","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2023\/10\/david-menidrey-MYRG0ptGh50-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2023\/10\/david-menidrey-MYRG0ptGh50-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2023\/10\/david-menidrey-MYRG0ptGh50-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3450,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/2026\/08\/01\/lughnasa-celtic-harvest-festival\/","url_meta":{"origin":5488,"position":1},"title":"Lughnasa Celtic Harvest Festival","author":"julietkinsey","date":"01\/08\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Lughnasa Celtic Harvest Festival Lughnasa is one of four traditional Celtic harvest festivals alongside Samhain, Imbolc and Beltane.\u00a0 It happens at the end of summer when the grains are ripening but have not yet been harvested. Traditionally celebrated on the 1st of August, it marks the end of summer and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Celebration Week&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Celebration Week","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/category\/celebration-week\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image of crops for blog post Lughnasa Celtic Harvest Festival","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2023\/07\/polina-rytova-1dGMs4hhcVA-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2023\/07\/polina-rytova-1dGMs4hhcVA-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2023\/07\/polina-rytova-1dGMs4hhcVA-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5195,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/2026\/04\/30\/edinburgh-beltane-fire-festival\/","url_meta":{"origin":5488,"position":2},"title":"Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival","author":"julietkinsey","date":"30\/04\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival Your Complete Guide to Scotland's Ancient Celtic Celebration Every year since 1988, the Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival draws up to 15,000 people to Calton Hill for a spectacular celebration marking the arrival of summer. The Beltane fire festival honours an ancient Celtic tradition that began on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Celebrations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Celebrations","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/category\/celebrations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival image of fire on top of a hill with people all around it","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/04\/Designer.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/04\/Designer.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/04\/Designer.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/04\/Designer.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/04\/Designer.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5485,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/2026\/10\/28\/black-cat-day-luck-legend-and-loyal-companions\/","url_meta":{"origin":5488,"position":3},"title":"Black Cat Day : Luck, Legend and Loyal Companions","author":"julietkinsey","date":"28\/10\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Black Cat Day: Luck, Legend and Loyal Companions \u00a0As someone with their own black cat, this is a day I can appreciate. Black cats have always divided opinion. Some people see bad luck, while others see a sleek and loving companion. My grandmother taught me they were only bad luck\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Awareness&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Awareness","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/category\/awareness\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo of black cat","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/10\/20261024_074439.jpg?fit=1200%2C660&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/10\/20261024_074439.jpg?fit=1200%2C660&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/10\/20261024_074439.jpg?fit=1200%2C660&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/10\/20261024_074439.jpg?fit=1200%2C660&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2026\/10\/20261024_074439.jpg?fit=1200%2C660&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4987,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/2025\/12\/05\/krampusnacht\/","url_meta":{"origin":5488,"position":4},"title":"Krampusnacht","author":"julietkinsey","date":"05\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Krampusnacht If you just can\u2019t get enough of Halloween, then Krampusnacht may be for you! It\u2019s celebrated on 5th December. Taking place the night before the Feast of St. Nicholas (the patron saint of children). Krampus is very different to Saint Nicholas \u2013 he's a devil like creature compared with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Library Information&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Library Information","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/category\/library-information\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Krampusnacht image of Krampus beside a xmas tree. ai generated","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2025\/11\/Untitled1-2.png?fit=988%2C778&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2025\/11\/Untitled1-2.png?fit=988%2C778&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2025\/11\/Untitled1-2.png?fit=988%2C778&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2025\/11\/Untitled1-2.png?fit=988%2C778&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2759,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/library\/2022\/10\/31\/day-of-the-dead-dia-de-los-muertos\/","url_meta":{"origin":5488,"position":5},"title":"Day of the Dead (D\u00eda de los Muertos)","author":"jemmalidgard","date":"31\/10\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Day of the Dead (D\u00eda de los Muertos) The Mexican Day of the Dead known as D\u00eda de los Muertos is a two-day holiday celebrated from the 31st of October to the 2nd of November to honour and reunite the living and dead together. 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