40 Best Halloween Websites of 2024

Where does Halloween come from?

An autumn nip in the air and leaves fading from green to amber. The streets are quiet and there’s a cool breeze in the east – like something is brewing. The days are getting shorter, and the nights are growing longer…it must be Halloween! So where does Halloween come from?

The festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-wen) dates back 2000 years. A celebration marked by the Celts as the division between Summer and Winter, it represents the end of the harvest season and is one of four seasonal Celtic holidays. It is said on Samhain, the barrier between the living and the spirit world became so thin the dead could pass right through it. Spooky, right? Traditionally family hearths were left to burn out while communities lit bonfires, practised ancient traditions and divination and held contests and competitions. At the end of the celebrations, the villagers would take a flame home to relight the family hearths.

People also wore costumes to ward off spirits, a tradition that continues to this day. However, it isn’t just spirits who walk among us on Samhain. Travellers should watch out for The Lady Gwyn. She’s a forlorn-looking, headless spirit appearing dressed all in white with her black sow. Legend has it she pretends to be a lost soul. Be wary though traveller! She will lure or chase anyone she catches wandering at night. There’s also the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a lazy drunkard stuck in purgatory after a deal with the devil went awry. You should also watch out for the nefarious creature called the Púca which translates to spirit or goblin in Irish Gaelic.

Is Samhain celebrated today?

Samhain is traditionally celebrated from late October into early November, whereas Halloween is strictly an October 31st activity. Some historians believe Halloween is actually a Christianised Samhain and a result of early pagan festivities and traditions dying out as Christianity spread to Europe and Great Britain. Others say the festivities have always been separate. One thing is for sure, Samhain will forever be shrouded in mystery.

These days, Halloween is very much a family affair. In fact, it is the second biggest holiday celebrated in the world after Christmas. Other names for the spookiest night of the year include Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints’ Eve.

Halloween in the UK

Unlike the US, Halloween is not a massive commercial holiday here in the UK. Bonfire Night on November 5th, also known as Guy Fawkes Night, is a lot more popular with many Brits across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland setting off fireworks and lighting bonfires to commemorate a failed assassination attempt of King James I in 1605.

In some parts of the world, the pagan festival of Samhain is still celebrated. This is particularly popular in Ireland where it is said the festival originated. In a similar fashion, many Brits celebrate October 31st with small rituals and traditions, much like their ancestors did 1000s of years ago. Trick or treating is also popular with families, who dress up and go from door to door in search of sweet treats.

Local festivities are often celebrated in Dartmoor National Park, just down the road from Priority Pixels HQ. This is unsurprising considering Dartmoor is the centre of many myths about ghouls, ghosts and spirits. There are also a number of local legends about witches, including Old Hannah, Witch Hare, Levera, Vixana, Mary Ann and many more. Although most of the stories tell of old, wicked women who’d curse anyone who dared to cross their path, these tales most likely stem from medieval witch hunts. It is more likely that these women were healers, herbalists and midwives who lived by the land and worked with the cycles of the moon, changes in the weather and seasonal plants.