Customer Reviews

Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is just what its title suggests, a very good accounting of the history of Halloween in America. It lists the various immigrants who came to America and the folk customs and beliefs they brought that shaped the holiday. A history of each region of the country also shows how Halloween developed independently before a "national holiday " was formed. Well written and intruiging!

My only negative comment of the book would be that some of the pre-American history of the book - that of the ancient Druid's Samhain is inaccurate. No other scholarly writing has ever substantiated that the Celts had a God of the dead known as "Samhain" or that they worshipped a Phoenician deity known as Baal. Belenos is a Celtic God name, but not a relation of Baal! Still, these are small glitches in an otherwise stellar book. I do recommend it to any folk historian or lover of the holiday!

This is a great book to get if you want to know more about Halloween. Not just the typical stuff, although that's there too, but where it came from and how poeple have been celebrating it for years. It's fun to read and has great information in it. I'm going to use it with my class so they know more about why we celebrate Halloween.

Bannatyne's book on Halloween is the best. Well-researched, absolutely packed with information and nuggets of fascinating lore on every page, yet the author eschews dry academic prose - it's like listening to an erudite friend explain his/her area of expertise. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about such an interesting holiday. You really couldn't find a better, more comprehensive Halloween resource.

This history is the best around for telling the story of Halloween in America in a fun (e.g., not academic) way. The distant Celtic past is not really the focus of the book, and its treatment here looks like a summary of sources available at the time this book was published (1990--Newer editions correct some common misunderstandings, I notice) The strengths of this book have to do with the folklore of Halloween, both in the colonies and throughout young America, and with the holiday's Victorian celebration. A Halloween History surveys life in the colonies and the sorts of beliefs that existed there to make an American celebration of Halloween possible, like ghost lore, traditions of some ethnic groups (Scots, Germans, etc.), religious backgrounds (All Saints and All Souls celebrations) and evidence of certain kinds of superstition: of magical black cat bones, listening at the crossroads to hear the future whispered in the wind, of wandering jack-o-lantern lights that can lead you astray, etc. Moving on through the 18th and 19th centuries, Halloween symbols are described in terms of folklore recorded both in the old world and the new so we can see the parallels--which was really fascinating for me. The Victorian chapter examines 19th-century mass media to translate what Halloween looked like and meant at the time when it emerged as a full-fledged American holiday. The book finishes with a decade-by-decade coverage of 20th-century celebration (up through the 80s, and publication). A treasure for Halloween fans in my opinion!

I was extremely pleased with this book. Not only does it chronologically relate the history of Halloween, but it also describes the cultural contexts of its evolution. This book is not only well researched, but offers a very readable and entertaining look at the folklore associated with Halloween. My only criticism is the poor editing by the publisher or reviewers. Unfortunately, this book is replete with "typos," and I found one entire paragraph repeated on consecutive pages. This becomes annoying after awhile. However, the content and writing style are so good, don't let the editing stop you from buying it. Actually, I wish it were available hardcopy.

Although Bannatyne's history of Halloween contains useful material, especially covering the recent past, her work is marred by serious errors, mostly the result, I suspect, of an uncritical reading of her sources. She suggests, for example, that there was an actual cult of witches in the middle ages, a cult somehow linked to the druids, which is simply not true. A glance through her inadequate notes reveals good modern sources for folklore set side by side with works now hopelessly out of date. Bannatyne also consistently makes connections between Halloween and other folk traditions that are in no way supported by the evidence she presents. This may be, as a spokesman for the history channel suggests, "the best book on the history of halloween available today," but readers should be warned not to put too much stock in this endorsement.

this is an awesome book if you are looking for the whole history behind halloween and how it became an american holiday.This book is not for someone who is looking for a holiday read,but rather for someone who really wants to know the history behind this greatest of all holidays.I learned things about halloween that i never knew before,and being a real halloween nut, I thought i knew alot.You will learn the whole history behind halloween with this book,I enjoyed it greatly.

As someone who has always loved Halloween, this book is a must have. After seeing, "The Haunted History of Halloween" on the History Channel, I went out and bought this book. It is by far the best book I have found that tells the whole history behind the holiday that we celebrate every October 31. From the ancient festivities of Samhain to the parties thrown by Victorians to parades in the 30's and 40's, this book explores the significance behind this holiday. Why do we trick or treat and dress up? Why are ghosts, witches, black cats, and devils associated with this holiday. This book answers these questions and a lot more.

The book was on display at a local mall and it looked interesting so I bought it. I didn't think of it as a children's book, but my 8 year old bookworm daughter picked it up in the car on the way home and began reading! She was spouting an interesting fact by the minute and was fascinated with the history and lore of Halloween that she was discovering. We haven't gotten to finish the book yet, but are reading some together each night and discussing it and how we do our Halloween! Its a great collection of interesting info; I particularly like it for broadening my child's perspective, beyond our own culture and our own hybrid candy celebration.

Two pages into the 1990 printing, the book speaks of Samhain, the Celtic Lord of the Dead. There was no such character in any Celtic pantheon; the word Samhain (pronounced roughly "sah-wen") actually means "summer's end." This old chestnut has been reputed extensively, something the author would do well to note as it is precisely this misinformation that has been used by many so zealots to condemn modern Halloween.

With this egregious of an error in the opening pages, I have no faith that the rest of the book would hold up to scrutiny. Take a pass on this one and find a book that actually verifies its sources. Sure, the most recent edition has corrected this error, but I have little faith in the accuracy of the rest.