Written by Mary Ross | Site Director
Halloween is some people’s favorite day of the year. With lots of candy, creative costumes, spooky decorations and so much more. But where does Halloween originate from? Did it develop from All Souls Day, Day of the Dead, or something different altogether? The following books take a look at the history of Halloween, in all its romance, spookiness and spiritedness around the season.
Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night by Nicholas Rogers
This novel about Halloween history primarily examines various points throughout history that impacted the evolution of Halloween. These various points in history include Celtic and Christian roots, immigration to the United States, the development of Halloween sadism in the 1970s and 1980s, and the influence of the horror film genre.
Haunted Air: Anonymous Halloween photographs from c. 1875-1955 by Ossian Brown
Haunted Air by Ossian Brown is a pictorial history of Halloween, showing glimpses into Halloween’s past. Per the description of the book on Good Reads, “The photographs in Haunted Air provide an extraordinary glimpse into the traditions of this macabre festival from ages past, and form an important document of photographic history. These are the pictures of the dead: family portraits, mementos of the treasured, now unrecognizable, and others.” Visit hauntedair.com for a preview into the pictures in this book
Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne
Bannatyne’s book traces the evolution of Halloween from Celtic celebrations to the celebrations we know today. She covers topics such as immigration, ancient traditions and modern traditions, costuming, superstitions and much more. Bannatyne also offers recipes, poems, songs and photos of Halloween in the past and now to accompany her analysis of the festive American holiday.
Mary Ross is a third-year English major at BGSU. She enjoys all types of books, with a special love for historical fiction, poetry and Mitch Albom’s books. When she is not reading, you can find her taking care of her plants, writing content to hopefully publish her own book one day, or studying for her classes, always with a coffee nearby. Any questions about her thoughts or opinions in these blog posts can be sent to her email, mkross@bgsu.edu.
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