Halloween Culture/Society

[TheHallow1]

Of my personal opinion, it seems that Halloween has more going for it than any other holiday. It's based and rooted in one of the most fundamental and primal aspects of life: Fear. All living things feel fear. The original fear, the fear of death, is what sparked Halloween's origin, Samhain, in the first place. Back when the Winter season truly meant life or death, the societies of old had to prepare accordingly. The Celts, of course, were the ones to fashion a holiday in the name of it. Samhain has only grown since; bringing in all matter of dark and supernatural beliefs and practices. All things weird, freakish, dark, scary, spooky, horrifying, paranormal, and just downright insane are what make Halloween what it is. There is a magic to it; an almost tangible substance. Something about it that draws us in. It is something that speaks to our very nature. The darker and more secretive side of human nature...

I have heard over and over again that Halloween is not just a holiday, but a lifestyle. I think a holiday that is so deep and expansive in lore, myth, legend, and belief could only be so. Everything from the Gothic subculture to those that practice Wicca/Witchcraft; even those that believe themselves to be Vampires and live their lives as such. There are many more, of course. Those are just but a few examples. Even the people here on this very site who actually bothered to make an account and come together to share and talk about a common interest: Our love and passion for this holiday. Look at our pop culture today where tv shows like Supernatural, The Walking Dead, Vampire Diaries, Ghost Hunters, True Blood, Penny Dreadful, A Haunting, Salem, American Horror Story, and Sleepy Hollow thrive. And that's just to name a few. The Horror genre' alone speaks for itself in everything ranging from film to literature and even video games. All of these things are but a small part of a much larger hidden culture.

Surely, I am not the only one who has noticed this rather expansive Halloween style subculture that lurks just beneath our everyday society. There are people who have the Halloween spirit. An obsession that they feel is part of their very being. I am one of these people. For as long as I can remember, I have always loved Halloween and have always been obsessed with it. It is always there... lurking in the back of my mind and I have not gone a single day without thinking about it or something relating to it.

I am calling out to anyone and everyone who may think and/or feel as I do and I would be more than appreciative to hear your thoughts and opinions on this supposed Halloween culture that has long since taken root in our history, society, and minds.

[Murfreesboro]

Well, I think you are right that Halloween has endured and spread around the world because it speaks to primal fears. It is not the only holiday I love. I think Christmas (winter solstice celebrations, etc.) is pretty primal, too. I guess, if you take both of them back to their roots in early agricultural societies, Halloween is about the fear of the approaching winter season, and Christmas is about celebrating that we have survived it and will probably make it to spring, since the days are starting to get longer. Those two holidays have dramatically different "feels," but I love them both.

You make an interesting point about the current cultural fascination with the supernatural beneath the mask of the everyday. (I believe you left out Grimm, one of my favorite TV shows, when you listed others, but that just goes to show how many TV shows & movies there are like this right now. Think about the Harry Potter books, too.) Maybe we all sense that there is more to life than what we see on the surface? Or maybe we are just hoping there is more to life than what we see on the surface. I think many of us feel the need to see life as somehow "enchanted."

[TheHallow1]

I think Christmas (winter solstice celebrations, etc.) is pretty primal, too. I guess, if you take both of them back to their roots in early agricultural societies, Halloween is about the fear of the approaching winter season, and Christmas is about celebrating that we have survived it and will probably make it to spring, since the days are starting to get longer. Those two holidays have dramatically different "feels," but I love them both."

I couldn't agree more. I've always seen Christmas (or any other winter holiday) as a candle in the darkness. A glimmer of hope. Something to keep the peoples' spirits up through the cold death of winter.

[TheHallow1]

You make an interesting point about the current cultural fascination with the supernatural beneath the mask of the everyday. (I believe you left out Grimm, one of my favorite TV shows, when you listed others, but that just goes to show how many TV shows & movies there are like this right now. Think about the Harry Potter books, too.) Maybe we all sense that there is more to life than what we see on the surface? Or maybe we are just hoping there is more to life than what we see on the surface. I think many of us feel the need to see life as somehow "enchanted."

I apologize. I should've mentioned Grimm. It's a great show.

[Murfreesboro]

And here it is, the summer solstice. I plan to enjoy my summer, but from this point on, the year is declining toward the fall.

[TheHallow1]

And here it is, the summer solstice. I plan to enjoy my summer, but from this point on, the year is declining toward the fall.

I am counting the days...

[Kolchak]

Halloween, Christmas, Football, Hunting and my birthday is in January, so me likes that season!

[ScarecrowJack]

I agree, there is a definite Halloween sub-culture and I'm very pleased to have found it. I think Halloween and Christmas are actually somewhat similar holidays. Both, at their most basic, are about the interplay of light and darkness and how they interact with us. A friend of mine also observed Halloween is when we honor the dead and Christmas is when we honor the living. They both have very obvious supernatural overtones. More-so then any other holiday season.

A friend of mine asked why I didn't really celebrate Thanksgiving. I said I did, and that ritually pausing to give thanks and be grateful for the good things we've received in this life is incredibly important. But that Thanksgiving will never be as much fun because there are no ghost stories for Thanksgiving. And for me that sense of enchantment is very important.

I think that's part of the reason Halloween as survived. That sense of anything being possible is almost palpable. The idea of dressing up is appealing. I hope it survives long after me.

[TheHallow1]

You couldn't be more right, my friend.
I too hope that Halloween will live on long after I'm gone.
It is one of our oldest and (to me) most sacred of holidays.
I cannot fathom a world without it.

[Murfreesboro]

You know, Christmas can feel somewhat haunted, too. Dickens' Christmas Carol (IMO the best secular Christmas story) is a ghost story. And anyone who has lived long enough will spend part of the Christmas season remembering loved ones who are no longer here to celebrate it with him/her.

[Kolchak]

You know, Christmas can feel somewhat haunted, too. Dickens' Christmas Carol (IMO the best secular Christmas story) is a ghost story. And anyone who has lived long enough will spend part of the Christmas season remembering loved ones who are no longer here to celebrate it with him/her.

Yes ma'am and the older I get the longer that list gets.

[Boogeyman]

Yes it does Kolchak. Another name just got added to the list for me a month ago.

[Andybev01]

Yes it does Kolchak. Another name just got added to the list for me a month ago.

My condolences.

[NeverMore]

I'm with you there Boogyman.

A couple weeks ago a close friend of mine died of apparent natural causes. At first they thought heart attack but that's been ruled out. We're still waiting for toxicology reports. We do know that he'd been working long hours and drinking lots of energy drinks to keep up.

I've lost quite a few people to violence, accident, old age, even suicide, but this is the first time I've had someone my age pass that way so unexpectedly. So I guess I'm now with you too Kolchak.

[ScarecrowJack]

Boogeyman I'm sorry for your loss. It's always difficult to lose friends and loved ones, the world feels emptier without them. I hope your doing all right, or at least as well as can be expected.