Halloween & its Creepy Irish Origins

Want a chilling experience? Not too chilling — we want you entertained, not terrified. But we do venture into the supernatural and the origins behind Halloween customs we still enjoy today.

Halloween began as a Christian overlay on the ancient Irish feast of Samhain. The Celts revered their ancestors — and feared them too. On this night, the veil between worlds thinned and spirits, mostly malevolent, walked the land. People devised tactics to protect themselves, customs that survive today as Halloween traditions.

Irish writers drew on this folklore for their own spectral creations — The Picture of Dorian Gray, Melmoth the Wanderer, Carmilla, and Dracula. We'll dip into it all, and try not to get splashed in blood!