Author:
Morton, Lisa, 1958- author.
Edition Statement:First paperback edition.
ImprintLondon, UK : Reaktion Books Ltd, 2019.
Description229 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm
Note:Originally published: 2012.
Note:Halloween : the misunderstood festival -- Snap-apple Night and November Eve : Halloween in the British Isles -- Trick or treat in the New World -- La Toussaint, Allerbeiligen and Tutti i Santi : the global celebration -- Dias de los Muertos -- From Burns to Burton : Halloween and popular culture.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-212) and index.
Note:Halloween has spread around the world, yet its associations with death and the supernatural as well as its inevitable commercialization have made it one of our most puzzling holidays. How did it become what it is today? Trick or Treat is the first book both to examine the origins and history of Halloween and to explore in depth its current global popularity. Festivals like the Celtic Samhain and Catholic All Souls' Day have blended to produce the modern Halloween, which has been reborn with new customs in America--but there are also related but independent holidays, especially Mexico's Day of the Dead. Lisa Morton lifts the cobwebs off everything from the explosion in popularity of haunted attractions to the impact of events like the global economic recession, as well as the effect Halloween has had on popular culture through literary works, films, and television series. Taking us on a journey from the spectacular to the macabre, this book is a treat for anyone who wants to peep behind the mask to see the real past and present of this ever more popular holiday.
Note: Awards"Winner of the 2012 Halloween Book Festival Grand Prize."--Front cover.
