By Erin Walker, A&E Editor
Whether you see them while you’re out and about on Halloween or watch them through films, figures such as ghosts, zombies and skeletons are sure to haunt your commercialized Halloween experience.
The celebration of Halloween, taking place on Oct. 31, derives from the Celtic festival of Samhain. According to History.com, people would build bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. The tradition of going door-to-door to beg for food evolved into modern day trick-or-treating.
The commercialization of Halloween started after these traditions hit the United States, with the expansion of Halloween parties, trick-or-treating and the culture of dressing up. The first Halloween costumes consisted of animal furs, horns and black paints but later evolved into homemade ghosts and skeleton masks. However, the presence of horror in the media started in 1896 and reached America in 1908.
Many Halloween characters originated from dark medieval legends before they became Halloween icons.
The skeleton, one of the first Halloween costumes, originated in the late 19th century. According to History.com, Many medieval Catholic manuscripts featured gruesome depictions of bones to scare people into living a more pious life. Skeletal bones became a sign of death, decay, the grave and our ultimate morality. French filmmaker, Georges Méliès, released “Le Manoir du Diable (The House of the Devil)” in 1896, as the first horror film solidifying skeletons’ pop culture status.
Present-day skeletons first waltzed into the entertainment world in 1929 with Walt Disney’s cartoon “The Skeleton Dance.” They were then further popularized with Mexican Dia de los Muertos traditions. Today popular media such as “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Corpse Bride” and “Coco” embrace the skeleton as a form of lighter entertainment.
Ghosts have had a long media presence of being featured as terrifying restless spirits to friendly translucent figures. Ghost-like costumes have existed in All-Hallow’s Eve tradition for over 2,000 years.
Ghosts can be traced throughout ancient literature in forms of spirits. In the 16th and 17th centuries ghosts appeared in theaters starting with the play “Hamlet.” Ghosts and spirits became even more popularized with the accidental invention of ghost photography in the 1860s when photographers realized they could use certain tricks to create a ghost-like illusion in their portraits.
Ghosts reached movies with the first horror film, “Le Manoir du Diable,” as well. Since then, they have been featured as comedic figures both good “Casper the Friendly Ghost,” and evil, “Ghostbusters.” In the 21st century paranormal investigation has been on the rise creating reality TV shows such as “Ghost Adventures” and “The Dead Files.”
The zombie, another chilling Halloween figure, had a different rise to fame, not originating from European gothic literature. The first documented civilization that may have feared a reawakened dead body, or zombie, were the Ancient Greeks, who would lay heavy objects such as rocks over graves to secure them shut. Later in history, there have been reports of individuals being assumed dead but then later reawakening and returning from their graves.
Zombies arrived in Hollywood in 1932 with the release of “White Zombie.” Since then, zombies have acquired their own fanbase not always associated with Halloween. They are featured in popular shows such as “The Walking Dead” and video games like “The Last of Us.”
The popular Zombie costume, however, didn’t come to fame until later in 1968 with the film “Night of the Living Dead” by George A. Romero.
These frightening legends may have a new less horrifying presence in media today, but their terrifying origins will continue to torment Halloween parties, trick-or-treating or maybe even you on All-Hallow’s Eve.