Halloween is a ceremonial celebrated on the night of October 31, most exceptionally by children dressing in diverse as well as striking costumes and going door-to-door collecting sweets or money. It is notorious in most of the Western world, though most common in the United States, Puerto Rico, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, Irish, Scots and other refugees brought grown-up versions of the custom to North America in the 19th century. The holiday was a day of religious festivities in assorted northern European pagan traditions, until it was appropriated by Christian missionaries and given a Christian interpretation. In Mexico November 1st and 2nd are celebrated as the Day of the Dead. In Great Britain and Ireland, the pagan Celts celebrated the Day of the Dead on All Hallows Day (1st November).

Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the liminal times of the year when the spiritual world can make contact with with the physical world and when magic is most effective. One story says that, on the day of Halloween, the ethereal feelings of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to hold for the next year. The Celts alleged all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, permitting the spirit world to amalgamate with the living. Naturally, the still-living did not want to be haunted. So on the night of October 31, villagers would snuff out the fires in their homes, to make them cold and detrimental. They would dress up in all modes of ghoulish costumes and raucously paraded around the neighborhood, being as caustic as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.

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