−−− BY LINZI DAVIES −−−
It’s that time of year again when we imagine things that go bump in the night. Costumes and treats hit the shops, pumpkins are carved, and we hit the dark cold streets with our miniature witches, wizards and zombies all hoping for a basket full of treats by the end of the night.
The celebration of Halloween has increased a lot over the years, certainly since I was a child when all you could buy was a plastic face mask with two eye holes and one for your mouth that cut your tongue when you couldn’t resist poking it through. Pumpkins were not readily available then either – I remember my mum carving a swede instead, how she managed I will never know as I find them hard enough to simply dice up for a stew! But where does this strange tradition come from? Who decided it would be a good idea to dress up as the most hideous creature you can think of and wander the streets in search of goodies?
Well, I discovered that Halloween has not always been about pumpkins and trick or treating. In this month’s feature, find out all about how this autumnal festival came about and the traditions over the years.
The Origin Of Halloween
We can trace Halloween back to the time of the Celts in Britain. Celtic Britain was pre-Christian, and the year was organised by the growing seasons. As the summer ended and the harvest began before the dark and cold winter months set in, the people in these farming communities saw it as a change from the abundant time of growth into a time of dormancy. As they saw this transition between ‘life’ and ‘death’ they celebrated the festival of Samhain which symbolised the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead. The Druids – the Celtic priests, would lead the celebrations and a major part of this was to light a large bonfire in each village. The Celts believed that the ghosts of the dead were able to revisit the mortal world for one night and the bonfire was lit to ward off any evil spirits that might also try to sneak through. The hearth fire of each house was re-lit from the embers of the bonfire to protect the inhabitants throughout the coming winter months. Another ‘protection’ method the Celts used was to dress up as evil spirits. This way if they came across any they would think that they were one of them!
When the Romans invaded Britain in 43AD they assimilated their own celebrations into the existing Celtic festivals. The Roman goddess of fruit and trees was known as Pomona and her symbol was the apple. As her festival was celebrated at harvest time, when the Romans would have consumed apples, nuts, and grapes, it is suggested that this may be where the tradition of ‘bobbing’ for apples came from which many people still enjoy playing today at Halloween.
A Move Into Christianity
In the early 5th century as Romans began moving out of Britain, it was invaded by a new set of conquerors – the Saxons, Jutes and Angles. This pushed the Celtic tribes to the north and west of the country. Christianity began arriving over the next few decades from both the early Celtic Church, and the arrival of Saint Augustine in 597AD. Among the Christian festivals to arrive on our shores was All Hallows’ Day – or All Saints Day. This was traditionally celebrated on the 13th May each year to commemorate all those who had died for their beliefs, but in the 8th century Pope Gregory moved the feast to the 1st of November, attempting to replace Samhain with a celebration more in keeping with the Christian faith. This is where we get the name Halloween from as the night of Samhain became known as All-hallows-even, then Hallow Eve. It later was adapted into Hallowe’en before finally becoming Halloween.
Despite the changing faiths of Britain over the centuries, many people still believe Halloween to be a special time of year when the spirit world can make contact with the physical, and a time when magic is at its strongest. This is where hollowed out swedes and turnips come into play, only recently replaced by pumpkins. The faces carved into the vegetables would be lit from within by a candle and placed in the window to ward off evil spirits – the same thing the Celts were doing 2000 years ago with their bonfires!
Trick Or Treating
As well as the Celts dressing up as evil spirits all those years ago, the Christians would dress up as saints and angels as part of their All-Saints Day celebrations. This means that there is a tradition of dressing up around Halloween for thousands of years.
The first form of trick or treating began in the Middle Ages. Children and sometimes adults from poor families would dress up and go door to door begging for food or money in exchange for songs and prayers on behalf of the dead. This was called ‘souling’ as they would often be begging for soul cakes. These sweet, spiced currant cakes were baked as an offering to the dead and were then given to the children as alms. One such rhyme used by the children went like this “Soul, souls, for a soul cake; Pray you good mistress, a soul cake!” The practice was also mentioned by Shakespeare in his comedy ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’ when the character Speed accuses his master of “puling (whining) like a beggar at Hallowmas.”
The first recorded use of the words ‘trick or treat’ comes from Alberta Canada in 1927. It says, “Hallowe’en provided an opportunity for real strenuous fun……The youthful tormentors were at back door and front demanding edible plunder by the word “trick or treat” to which the inmates gladly responded and sent the robbers away rejoicing.” It did not become widespread though until the 1930’s in America, and this was halted during WW2 due to sugar rationing. The term ‘trick or treating’ did not become popular in Britain until the 1970’s-80’s.
Today, the custom is still a matter of much debate. While many households see it as harmless fun for children, providing them with an opportunity to dress up and eat large amounts of sweets, some hate it. They see it as begging, bad manners and a huge inconvenience to have constant knocking at their door.
Whatever your personal views are on Halloween, children invariably love it and even though it has changed a lot over the years, it is one of our longest running traditions!
Here are some family friendly events in your area which are sure to send a tingle of terror up your spine!
Halloween Adventure
At Stockeld Park
Pumpkins, witches, massive mummified maze, zombie laser tag, a spooky panto and more adventure playgrounds than you can rattle a bone at… it’s the Halloween Adventure at Stockeld Park!
Yorkshire’s biggest, best and most family-friendly Halloween extrava-‘goul’-za returns to this hidden woodland gem this October, situated conveniently between Harrogate, York, and Leeds.
Every child who visits the Park during half-term can choose a FREE pumpkin from Stockeld’s amazing pumpkin field! Then explore the Enchanted Forest where woodland witches are lurking. Get lost in the maze but watch out for a mummy you really don’t want to meet! Brave young souls can then pick up their laser guns and look to save Stockeld from the zombies in the frightening woodland laser-tag arena. Then warm up with a hot chocolate but get ready to shiver again as the Stockeld Theatre presents their spooky panto, Halloween Street…
Opening Times for Halloween Adventure:
Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd October
Open daily from Saturday 28th October – Sunday 5th November.
Tickets from £16
Halloween At Thackray
Sat, 28 October 2023 – Sun, 5 November 2023
Dissecting Stories of the Forgotten
This half-term Thackray Museum of Medicine tells the chilling history of surgery and dissects the forgotten stories of the inhabitants of Leeds Union Workhouse.
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Play at being surgeon with the giant operation game. Can you save your patient before the buzzer sounds?
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Get creative in the dedicated making station and craft your own spooky corpse. See it brought to life in the haunted Thackray graveyard.
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Come on now, look lively and stand up straight, Matron is coming! Daily talks will bring to life a day in the workhouse, and reveal your chances of survival on the Victorian operating table
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Show and Tell: Beckett Street Bodies – get up close to the toolkit of a Victorian surgeon, while hearing about the long-forgotten stories of those on the operating table. The team explore how dissections and post-mortems from the period shaped our modern understanding of the human body, but at what cost? And would these experiments take place today?
Activity runs every day of the holidays. Show and Tell: Beckett Street Bodies will take place every day at 11am and 2pm, with the exception of Tuesday 31 October, Thursday 2 and Saturday 4 November. Book your place on arrival.
Activities included in cost of admission
Halloween Cellar Tours At Temple Newsam
Date/Time
28 October 2023 – 04 November 2023
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Dare you venture into the cellars of Temple Newsam House? Explore the dark and scary route below the creaking floorboards – what horrors will you find there?
Be sure to book your cellar tour in advance to avoid disappointment. Purchase your general admission tickets and there will be the option to add tours on for just £5 extra per person. Tours are every half hour with the first at 11am and the last at 4pm.
Please note that access to and from the cellar is via stairs only. The cellar is dark and has uneven surfaces. This experience is unsuitable for children under 7 and all children must be accompanied by a paying adult.
www.museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk
Spooky Skeletons Trail
At Lotherton
27th October 2023 – 5th November 2023
Lotherton Hall and Estate
Visit Lotherton this October half term and follow the spooky skeletons trail around the estate and into the haunted house!
Dress up in your best Halloween costume and prepare to be scared as you explore the woods and seek out all of the skeletons who have made Lotherton their home.
Don’t miss the Nocturnal House in Wildlife World to see the bats in action!
Bring your little ones along for a great day out during the school holidays with plenty of spooky surprises along the way.
Pre-booking a time slot is essential to secure tickets during half term, including members.
Skeleskare is a thrilling evening event for families with children aged 8 and over!
Are you brave enough to visit after hours when skeletons come alive? Experience Lotherton in the dark in the haunted woods and ghoulish gardens and spooky skeletown with a skeleton surprise to scare you silly around every corner.
This event is for the grounds and gardens only, the Hall and Wildlife World will be closed.
Please note this event has live characters and suitable only for age 8+.
Pre-booking a time slot is essential to secure tickets during half term, including members.
www.museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk
Halloween Fun Day At Leeds City Museum
Date/Time
31 October 2023
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Join the museum on Halloween to see monstrous magic shows, bat-tastic balloon creations, and get involved in frightening face painting.
This activity-packed fun day is free and suitable for all the family – why not pick up a Shadow Seekers Trail and craft your own shadow puppet while you’re there?
www.museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk
Adventure Cinema At Castle Howard
From witches to vampires, monsters and more, Adventure Cinema will have a film for everyone this Halloween. Celebrating its 30-year birthday this month, American fantasy Hocus Pocus is the perfect viewing for younger audiences and those who love a Disney movie.
Those searching for a light scare factor, can also book a spot at Monsters Inc, Room on the Broom or The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Stepping up the scare factor, Adventure Cinema will also offer cult-classic The Lost Boys – with its famous soundtrack, Scream – famously directed by Wes Craven. New for this season and transporting audiences to a haunted house full of ghosts, Adventure Cinema will also welcome 1998’s Beetlejuice.
Tickets for Adventure Cinema start from £9.50 + Booking fee and are available now via: www.adventurecinema.co.uk
Ghost Stories In A Graveyard At Dig
28 & 29 October 2023
Can you think of a spookier place to hear ghost stories than in a real graveyard? That’s the treat in store for the young and fearless at DIG: An Archaeological Adventure this month, when they will be invited to gather around the campfire next to St Saviour’s Church for two special evenings of Halloween fun.
DIG After Dark: Ghosts in the Graveyard is a brand-new event created by the expert storytellers from DIG and JORVIK Viking Centre. Those brave enough to join the evening will gather around a real campfire within the grounds of the former church on St Saviourgate to hear the tragic tales of the ghost of a Viking warrior and the ghost hunter who yearned to witness him!
The fireside tales will also include folklore, ghost stories framed in the history of St Saviour’s Church, which has stood on the site since the 11th century but deconsecrated in the 1950s. The evening includes snacks and a hot drink, but does take place outdoors, so appropriate outdoor clothing is strongly recommended, though shelter will be available if the weather is inclement.
The interactive and immersive sessions take place at 5.30pm and 7.30pm on both days, and are suitable for those aged seven and over, with tickets on sale now. Tickets are £10.00 for adults and £7.50 for under 16s, with a family ticket for up to four people for £30.00. Prebooking is strongly advised as the events are expected to sell out quickly.
Visit www.digyork.co.uk/events
Halloween Half Term
At Whitby Abbey
Sat 21 Oct – Sun 5 Nov 2023
Grab your broomsticks and get ready for a bewitchingly brilliant day out. Gather round for tales from spooky storytellers and solve creepy clues in the Halloween Quest.
Join Victorian ghost hunters in the ruins of Whitby Abbey for all things Gothic this half term. Listen to some spooky stories and be inspired to create your very own tale of terror just like Bram Stoker did with Dracula.
From Saturday 21 October to Sunday 5 November, you can take part in the Halloween quest and discover magical potion ingredients. Complete the booklet’s activities and solve its creepy clues to become a wonderfully wicked witch’s apprentice!
Family Halloween
Fancy Dress Walk
Outside of the Royal Pump Room Museum, Crown Place, HG1 2RY.
Sat 28th October 2023 4:00PM
Harrogate Ghost Walk is the first and only ghost walk in Harrogate. Are you brave enough to join them?
This Halloween they will host the very first family event. Fancy dress fun!
Wear your most gruesome and scary outfit to be in with the chance of winning a prize.
The walk will last 1 hour and is suitable for all ages.
