Samhain is the ancient name for Halloween and historians have traced its origins back to Celtic times.
This spooky holiday festival was designed so that people could get together and actually celebrate the dead who could then interact with the living. After this, the dead would move on to the afterlife as their souls were set free.
This was a time to celebrate as the dead could finally move on.
During Samhain, people would eat fruit and drink alcohol, maybe lighting bonfires and sacrificing animals. Eventually, Christians began to have a problem with this and they tried to change the Celtic mindset. Gradually, the notion of Halloween or All Hallows Eve) emerged. This is still celebrated on the night of October 31st which is the day before All Saint’s Day. Over time, this led to the veneration of Saints rather than being concerned with the dead and ghostly spirits.
However, we still enjoy dressing up on Samhain and a Halloween ghost costume is in keeping with the spirit of this atmospheric time of the year.
Ghost costumes seem to be the other in thing this year. Besides Vampire costumes, ghost costumes seem to be the next best thing out there! From the classic gent costume through to the melting face ghost from the Scream! trilogy what ever sort of ghost costume you are looking for there is bound to be one that is ideal for you. Take a look at some of the halloween ghost costumes on offer. Of course if being a ghost, (or vampire come to that) is not your sort of thing, you can find a wide range of other costumes with a little bit of a search
If you want a more unusual scary costume this year, why not go to your event in a Headless Horseman Costume. This has to be one of the most gruesome and unusual costumes. There’s a superb costume called the Headless Man where you actually look as if you are carrying your own head. Why not wear it when you answer the door to “trick or treaters”. It would definitely give the kids a surprise!
The Headless Horseman originates from the 1999 Sleepy Hollow movie which was based on a short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. The Horseman is actually the ghost of a soldier who was beheaded by a cannonball.
