Halloween (n.):
also Hallow-e’en, c. 1745, Scottish shortening of Allhallow-even “Eve of All Saints, last night of October” (1550s), the last night of the year in the old Celtic calendar, where it was Old Year’s Night, a night for witches.
Videos: Halloween pumpkin carving tricks and NASA Engineers Show You How To Carve a Pumpkin.
Today I Found Out has an excellent Halloween Facts Roundup, including why witches are use broomsticks, trick or treating origins, and the relationship between Halloween candy and Daylight Saving Time.
The Onion’s Timeline Of Halloween History.
From 1873: How to Make a Turnip Jack-o-Lantern, plus The Oracle of the Nuts.
The story behind The Monster Mash.
The Psychology of Scary Movies, 13 Forgotten Frankenstein Movies and a Horror Movie Plot Generator.
Vintage and Antique Halloween Ephemera, 11 Fun Historical Newspaper Clippings About Halloween, Vintage Halloween Photos to Give You Nightmares, and Vintage Halloween Costumes (1865 – 1955).
Pumpkin Land at the Dallas Arboretum is rather extraordinary.
ICYMI, Dave Barry’s Halloween column from 1996: Night Of The Living Chocolate never gets old.
40,000 people’s votes determined this candy hierarchy.
No poisoned candy, no razor blades in apples: Free Range Kids’ archive of articles on ludicrous Halloween-related parental fears. Related: Has Anyone Ever Actually Poisoned Or Put Razor Blades or Needles in Halloween Candy? (spoiler alert – the short answer is “No!”)
A selection from Halloweens past: Faust, Mephistopheles, Napoleon, Oliver Cromwell or a Hugenot: Halloween Ideas From an 1884 Costume Guide, the best bacon costume from 1894’s Covent Gardens Fancy Dress Ball, several Batgirl costume ideas from the 1880s, and NYC architects dressed as their buildings.
Is someone you know wearing a Star Trek costume? How to Read The Secret Language of Starfleet Uniforms.
ICYMI, Friday’s links are here, and include an excellent site for DIY intelligent women’s costumes, rare photos from the 1862 battle of Antietam, and Earth’s eighth continent, Zealandia.