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.

A wide-ranging, illustrated look at the history of Halloween illuminates the holiday from ancient Celtic ritual to billion-dollar industry. 32 halftones & line illustrations.

Why does it fall on October 31st? Through these pages you will experience Halloween celebrations of the past and take a look at Halloween today. For collectors, this is one of the largest collections of Halloween memorabilia.

Original, entertaining mix of personal anecdotes and social analysis examines America's perplexingly popular holiday, tracing the tradition's evolution from its dark Celtic history to its emergence as a mammoth marketing event.

Witches of America follows Mar on her immersive five-year trip into the occult, charting modern Paganism from its roots in 1950s England to its current American mecca in the San Francisco Bay Area; from a gathering of more than a thousand ...

However, the essays in this volume also suggest that there is something ironic and unsettling about the immense popularity of a holiday whose main images are of death, evil, and the grotesque.

Using a mix of personal anecdotes and perceptive social analysis, acclaimed cultural critic David J. Skal examines the amazing phenomenon of Halloween, exploring its dark Celtic history and illuminating why it has evolved-in the course of a ...

The collection of essays and interviews explores the pop culture phenomenon that is Halloween, and why we celebrate it the way we do today. "After reading this book, I've added about thirty things to this year's 'Halloween to-do list'!

In these meditations on the lesser feasts and fasts of the church calendar Sam Portaro asks the question, “What do these saints and commemorations have to say to Christians today?” His answers are often surprising and always thought ...