Halloween Tips, Tricks, and Treats

As Halloween quickly approaches, we are in the height of spooky season. With many excited for costumes, parties, and of course Trick-or-Treating, it’s a great time to remember why we love Halloween and it’s meaning to many communities.

• A History of Halloween

• Spotify Playlist

• UNO Theatre Halloween Makeup Tutorials

A History of Halloween

We asked three UNO faculty to provide their insights into why Halloween continues to haunt us every year. Here's what they said:

• Lisabeth Buchelt, Ph.D., Professor of English

• Adam Tyma, Ph.D., Professor of Communication

• Kristin Girten, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activity

Did you know? Modern Halloween is based on an ancient Celtic festival, called Samhain, which celebrates the new year. It has been around since at least the second century AD.

"Traditionally, the veil which normally separates the human world from the Otherworld of spirits, mischievous sprites, fairies, and more dangerous supernatural beings during the rest of the year is non-existent during Samhain, so many protective measures and traditions have developed over the years.

In Irish folk practice, people would carve turnips or other root vegetables and place candles inside to help ward off supernatural beings; leave small gifts of food or whiskey for the fairy folk; leave gates and doors open so as not to impede the spirits’ progress as they wander through the land; and dress up in disguises possibly to protect yourself should one encounter a supernatural being or to go to your neighbors’ houses to collect small gifts of food or money, thus symbolically representing the spirits who provided the fruitful harvest and are now asking for us to recognize their favor.

As Irish people immigrated to the United States from early in its foundation, they brought these many folk practices and traditions with them: thus, the connection with all things frightening, supernatural, and that go bump in the night; our carving of jack-o-lanterns to protect us from the release of the spirits among us, dressing up in costumes, and trick-or-treating." - Lisabeth Buchelt

Since it was brought to the United States and evolved, the holiday has become incredibly popular for a variety of reasons.

"I think there’s always some sense of play that goes with Halloween. The idea of dressing up to celebrate is an age-old phenomenon, and Halloween is by no means the only one. It taps into a lot of those escapist moments and those play moments. It becomes a reason for people to cut loose for a bit... That’s why you see adults still doing costumes for good or for ill, but adults like to dress up, and kids love to dress up. There is this sense of play that I think is nostalgic. I think for some folks it’s very important, it’s part of their identity."

"Halloween may also tap into [the idea] that we're going to go out as a community and we're going to exist in this space, which is taboo, right? We're going to dress up as the things that either scare us or make us laugh; that’s also taboo, and we're going to have this one evening, where we can do all this. Neighborhoods will rally around the idea of either creating a space where kids can go door to door or instead doing a designated space thing, but there’s always a community bonding." - Adam Tyma

For centuries, along with Halloween, horror has been widely enjoyed for its exploration of the human condition.

"In general, horror movies typically are an opportunity to dive into the human condition and kind of asked what's right what's wrong... So, horror movies are a spectacle, but also are about critiquing the human condition." - Adam Tyma

"One reason people enjoy horror is related to a category of experience called t he sublime... The sublime is that feeling of awe, but also fear or pleasure that you might get, for instance, standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, or standing at the edge of a stormy ocean. It’s a feeling of exhilaration or pleasure but also fear... It reveals to us what makes us uniquely human." - Kristin Girten

Overall, UNO faculty say the spooky season is a great time for many to celebrate and reflect.

"Halloween has always been about a combination of exploration and entertainment. Dressing up as different things is just to have a good time, to play and be weird and let down whatever we are... but also entertainment. If I can, I put something together for Halloween. I love it. It’s a blast for me." - Adam Tyma

"To me, Halloween is fun because it’s an excuse to dress up, and I’ve always loved clothes and costumes. I also treat it as a New Year celebration; a time to lose things or habits that I don’t want anymore and to reflect on the things or habits that should be retained. In Irish folk tradition whatever you gain on Samhain is yours forever and whatever you lose is lost forever; so be careful what you wish for! It’s also the first in our cultural series of fall/winter holidays that celebrate the importance of family and community both past and present (the overlaps with Día de los Muertos celebration are evident, of course), and so it’s good time to think about ways in which we can come together as a community to celebrate all members of the human family." - Lisabeth Buchelt

"I love this time of year when the leaves are turning. It’s a melancholic time. And I think it’s too bad that often gets lost with our Halloween celebrations now. It tends to be so much about jump scares and that sort of thing, but there’s something really moving and powerful about the combination of fear and melancholy." - Kristin Girten

UNO's Spooktacular Spotify Playlist

To help you get into the "Maverick Spirit" of Halloween, we had several UNO students help curate this hauntingly good playlist.

If you want to see more curated Spotify playlists, follow us on Spotify or visit our Spotify playlist page.

UNO Theatre Halloween Makeup Tutorials

Enjoy these Halloween makeup tutorials from UNO senior theatre major Emily Bradshaw.

Fairy

Skeleton

Vampire