Halloween was always my kids’ favourite holiday and truth be told, I enjoyed dressing up to take them trick or treating as much as they did. In honour of All Hallows’ Evening next Tuesday, we present a weekend’s worth of reads about the history of Halloween, scary movies, our fascination with monsters and, also, the most-read story in October produced by The Conversation Canada. I’ll let you decide if that one is a good fit with this weekend’s theme.
And if this isn't enough for you, we've got a few more great Halloween-themed articles coming early next week.
Have a frightful weekend and we’ll be back in your Inbox on Monday.
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David Eggers’ “The Witch” is a scary representation of Puritan life in the 17th century.
(The Witch, A24 Films, 2016)
Melissa J. Gismondi, University of Virginia
Robert Eggers’ indie film The Witch brilliantly chronicles Puritan life in the 1630s. Horror soon ensues as children disappear into the woods and one girl, Thomasina, is accused of witchcraft.
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Scary stuff from around the world
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Arash Javanbakht, Wayne State University; Linda Saab, Wayne State University
We may pretend that we do not like fear, but Halloween proves otherwise. Many of us enjoy being scared. But why?
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Sam George, University of Hertfordshire
How the vampire transitioned from folkloric peasant to Byronic Lord.
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Neil Dagnall, Manchester Metropolitan University; Ken Drinkwater, Manchester Metropolitan University
The truth is out there...or is it?
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Leo Braudy, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
All the popular monsters you'll see out trick-or-treating, from Frankenstein to Dracula, were born out of fear and anxiety about change and technology.
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Regina Hansen, Boston University
Everything you need to know about the history of Halloween.
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Henry Giroux, McMaster University
Donald Trump seems to have a passion for cruelty, often publicly celebrating his investment in violence as a source of pleasure. Those tendencies represent symptoms of a broader American sickness.
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