The Irish Times view on the meaning of Halloween: spooky stories

The origins of Halloween are still debated. Some folklorists draw a line straight to Samhain – the Celtic festival marking the end of harvest season – thereby dating it to a pre-Christian era. But others say the holiday properly began as All Hallows’ Eve, the day before All Saints’ Day, and then pagan traditions latched onto it. Whatever theory you favour, there is one thing everyone seems to agree on: Halloween has become far too Americanised.

Older generations will recall more simple fare – nuts, oranges and the odd toffee apple – but there is a risk of being too nostalgic about frugality. Also, there is nothing inherently wrong with a tradition shapeshifting over time, and Halloween would seem ripe for this.

Its agricultural roots are largely moot: the closest most Irish people come to harvesting these days is with data online. And hoarding treats for winter is hardly advisable for a population with a diabetes problem. As for its religious role, Halloween may remind Catholics of November 1st, but Ireland doesn’t do Holy Days of Obligation as it once did.

What then is the point of Halloween in 2022? Recent celebrations have drawn on Ireland’s rich literary heritage in horror, from Bram Stoker and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu to authors on the latest Young Adult bestsellers list. Spooky stories may seem trivial but their appeal endures – this year’s Booker Prize winning novel is about a travelling ghost sensitive to the horror of war, while Netflix’s blockbuster Stranger Things is another take on the supernatural theme.

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Psychologists have long recognised that experiencing staged fear can be pleasurable. A scary scene in a horror story triggers a fight-or-flight response – your fists clench or you scream involuntarily – while at the same time your brain produces more dopamine, the feel-good hormone. Here we can extract a contemporary purpose to all the dressing up, gory tales and jump scares. At a time of terrifying threats in the real world, it is oddly comforting to be spooked by something you know not to be true. Boo!