The History of Halloween: 7 Educational and Entertaining Books to Get You in the Mood for Halloween

While we are preparing for Halloween ALL YEAR LONG here in the Freeman household, I try to rein in my enthusiasm till we get to within the 100 day countdown for the big day. And guess what?!?! We are well within that 100 day countdown folks! Let the nonstop Halloween blog posts commence! hehehe…

One of the things I have been doing this year, that I’ve NEVER done before – which is odd, considering I am a ravenous bookworm – is read BOOKS about Halloween. Not just creepy, ghost story type books, but actual history books on the holiday. And I’ve found that, oddly enough, there aren’t very many Halloween books published.

It’s becoming more and more evident that Halloween is fairly unique among festivals and holidays. While other holidays like Christmas and Easter have remained recognizably the same over the last century, Halloween is constantly changing and seems to have transformed itself over and over again.

What began as a pagan New Year celebration and a Christian commemoration of the dead, has over time served as: 

• A Harvest Festival 
• A romantic night of mystery for young adults
• An Autumn party for adults 
• A costumed begging ritual for children 
• A season for exploring fears in a controlled environment
• And most recently: A heavily commercialized product exported by the United States to the rest of the world

Halloween also has the unenviable distinction of being the most demonized of holidays. Some Christian groups decry it as “The Devil’s Birthday”, some authorities fear its effect on public safety and many nationalist leaders around the world denounce its importation for conflicting with their own native traditions. Some of these concerns may be valid, but they are all rooted in a history that often mixes myth with occasional facts.

Perhaps because Halloween has always been connected with the macabre, those who have chronicled the holiday in the past have frequently been less interested in accuracy and much more interested in dramatic and ghoulish ramblings.

Despite a history extending back well over a millennium, it’s only been within the last three decades that historians, folklorist and modern writers have begun to take the study of Halloween seriously. And even in that brief period of time, Halloweens identity has shifted again and again, making it difficult to produce a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of WHAT Halloween is and HOW it is celebrated. 

Within the last year alone Halloween has expanded into parts of the world where it was previously unknown, and here in its main home of America, corporations and industries are becoming so hyper focused on the growing interest in Halloween – and the profit that can be had from this new subculture – and THAT alone has spawned in Halloween a movement and a fan base that extends beyond mere October celebrations.

Halloween is truly becoming more than just a mostly-American mark on the calendar – it’s on the verge of blossoming into a global subculture.

If you are interested in diving into some History of Halloween books that are both educational and entertaining, check out this list of titles that are available on Amazon:

So while the current offering in the literature department are limited, more and more books are beginning to look at both the history of the festival and its growth around the world in the 21st century. Hopefully these books will serve to fill a gap in the understanding of Halloween and to capture as detailed an image as possible of where Halloween stands at this time. Because given the astonishing speed with which the festival continues to transform and expand, its almost certain that Halloween will continue to grow and morph and will undoubtedly change again soon.

That said, how do YOU celebrate Halloween? Share your Halloween traditions below!