Gothic horror: the novels that taught readers to love fear
From Walpole's falling helmet to Anne Rice's sorrowful vampires, the BBC and the British Library trace Gothic horror. Eight books to start with.
tag archive
#halloween.
Every story tagged #halloween.
J-horror's long-haired ghosts are older than the videotape
From kabuki ghosts to cursed VHS tapes, how Japanese horror cinema reached the world, plus eight films a newcomer should watch first.
Why horror fell for found footage, and eight films to start
From a 1980 Amazon reel to Blair Witch and Backrooms, how fake recovered tapes became horror's favourite trick, plus eight films for Halloween.
The horror of the body, from The Fly to The Substance
Cronenberg made audiences fear their own flesh. Julia Ducournau and Coralie Fargeat took it to Cannes. Where body horror began, and 10 films to watch.
Before Halloween, a British flop wrote the slasher's rules
Peeping Tom and Psycho started the slasher in 1960. Follow it from Texas to Scream and beyond, then pick from eight films for Halloween night.
Gothic rock: how post-punk learned to love the dark
Bauhaus, the Cure and Siouxsie Sioux turned post-punk towards the dark. Where gothic rock came from, where it went, and eight records to hear first.
The Wicker Man still burns: where folk horror came from
Nobody called it folk horror until decades later. Here is how folk horror grew from three British films, and nine films to watch this Halloween.
Why Italy's giallo thrillers still haunt horror films
Mario Bava's black gloves and Dario Argento's blood-red colour taught the slasher its tricks. Here is where giallo came from, and eight films to start with.
Ireland's barmbrack hides a ring, a coin and a cloth
Irish bakers sell barmbrack each autumn. Whoever finds a charm in a slice reads it as an omen of marriage, money or lean times.
Bats and Halloween: what the myths get wrong
Only three bat species drink blood, and other bats forage for insects and fruit. The Natural History Museum and National Geographic sort fact from legend.
Irish immigrants swapped turnip lanterns for pumpkins in America
Irish immigrants carved turnips for Halloween. In America they found a bigger vegetable, and the old lantern lost out. Modern Farmer traces the switch.
Village girls bobbed for apples to find a future husband
Apple bobbing began as fortune-telling. The Guardian describes girls dunking for fruit marked with a suitor's initial, and a peel flung over a shoulder.
A Celtic fire festival and a Church feast made Halloween
Samhain marked summer's end in Celtic Ireland, and Church feasts on 1 and 2 November gave it the name Halloween. Here is what the sources can show.
Northern England still keeps Mischief Night alive
Mischief Night, a night of treacle and egg pranks, survives in northern England. The Guardian dates records to 1790. In Detroit it is Devil's Night.
Portland's scream park against Chicago's puppet peepholes
A Portland scream park plans year-round and avoids scaring guests too far. A Chicago puppet haunt gives each of six rooms to different artists.
Monster Mash hit number one in 1962, then the Top 10 in August
Bobby Pickett's 1962 hit cashed in on monster films and the Mashed Potato dance craze, then outlived both, says Billboard.
The Celtic origin of Halloween costumes rests on thin evidence
BBC Bitesize and Smithsonian Magazine say Celts wore disguises at Samhain, but the Guardian finds the evidence thin. Witch outfits came later.
Carpenter made Halloween for $300,000, and slashers followed
John Carpenter and Debra Hill made Halloween on a tiny budget. Carpenter says its low cost is why other producers copied it.
How did Halloween take over Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan?
Halloween in Shibuya grew from an expat subway party into crowds of tens of thousands, and in 2023 the local mayor asked visitors to stay away.
Fear of spiders may trace back to scorpions
Psychologists find that spider fear can run in families, that spiders alone rarely cause it, and that scorpions may help explain why it is so common.