Related recipes, poems, songs, crafts, and photos perfectly complement the meticulouslydocumented text. Ghosts, ghouls, andgoblins lurk behind every page.The book traces the contributions of America's immigrants to the holiday, documenting the beliefs each ethnic group has added to the mix. This, the only book tocompletely cover All Hallow's Eve, examines those ancient origins as well as itstraditions and celebrations, from costuming to bobbing for apples.Jack-o-lanterns, black cats, and witches are explained. Highly Recommended.The Book ReportHalloween has evolved from the Druids' celebrations of 2,000 years ago tobecome today the fastest-growing holiday in the country. It is by far the best book on the history of Halloweenavailable today.Alison Guss, senior producer, The Haunted History of Halloween, The History ChannelAn excellent resource for research into the history of holidays.

will be widely appealing toanyone who ever wondered where witches, trick-or-treating, and jack-o-lanternsreally came from. Trick or Treat also examines the effect Halloween has had on popular culture through the literary works of Washington Irving and Ray Bradbury, films like Halloween and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Simpsons.and#160 Considering the holiday in the context of its worldwide popularity for the first time, this book will be a treat for any Halloween lover. Morton takes into account the influence of related but independent holidays, especially the Mexican Day of the Dead, as well as the explosion in popularity of haunted attractions and the impact of such events as 9/11 and the economic recession on the celebration today. She begins by looking at how holidays like the Celtic Samhain, a Gaelic harvest festival, have blended with the British Guy Fawkes Day and the Catholic All Soulsandrsquo Day to produce the modern Halloween, and she explains how the holiday was reborn in America, where costumes and trick-or-treat rituals have become new customs. How did it become what it is today?and#160 In Trick or Treat, Halloween aficionado Lisa Morton provides a thorough history of this spooky day. The popularity of Halloween has spread around the globe to places as diverse as Russia, China, and Japan, but its association with death and the supernatural and its inevitable commercialization has made it one of our most misunderstood holidays. There are parades, fireworks displays, cornfield mazes, and haunted housesandmdash and, most important, copious amounts of bite-sized candy. They carve pumpkins and play pranks, and the braver ones watch scary movies and go on ghost tours. Every year, children and adults alike take to the streets dressed as witches, demons, animals, celebrities, and more.

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