All Hallow’s Eve – a celebration that sends children into sugar filled frenzies, and their parents into the depths of despair.
What’s your betting though that we all secretly enjoy Halloween, that autumnal festival that sees communities coming together with the ritual ‘trick and treating’, with the excuse to dress up as outlandishly as possible.
From its original pagan roots, Halloween has become a multi billion dollar commercial entity, spawning businesses trading in merchandising, films, entertainment, tourism… No one can approach October 31st without being targeted by the full set of Paranormal films on the latest streaming channel, or without seeing the Michael Jackson Thriller dance being reproduced half a dozen times by flash mobs on social media platforms.
So in celebration of all places Halloween, we have picked out our top Halloween destinations based on scare value, scary film association and historical nasties.
LONDON CHILLS
Top of our list has to be London. This city of pea souper fogs and faceless serial killers disembowelling defenceless women down dark alleyways has fed the imagination of purveyors of scare for centuries. Any guided tour will take you through the Tower of London and the dungeons where traitors to the crown were put through the most excruciating of tortures in payment for crimes of thought.
Make sure that you check out the Grenadier Pub – a tiny pub which also has the accolade of being the most haunted pub in London. Emanating from a savage beating meted out to a young subaltern who had been caught cheating at cards, this tortured soul has had many sightings over the years.
TRANSYLVANIAN TERRORS
You can’t help feeling sorry for the people of Transylvania – they are forever destined to be linked to the story of Dracula and vampires in general. It is, however, a real money spinner for travel companies. Bram Stoker probably didn’t realise how he was spawning a multi billion dollar industry when he first penned his Gothic horror novel Dracula.
Tours to Romania will take you direct to Bran Castle – also known as Dracula’s Castle – Snagov Castle, where he is apparently buried, and attend a Ritual of Killing of the Living Dead.
SPOOKY SALEM
Salem in Massachusetts is famous for its 17th century witch hunts, and is now a centre built on witchcraft, the occult and all things creepy! Over Halloween, the town’s population is estimated to swell by up to a quarter of million people, all hoping to have the genuine paranormal experience that they watch on films.
It’s not all scary though. Local residents dress up in all sorts of different costumes – including their favourite Disney characters. Whether you believe it is a terrifying ordeal to bump into Pluto might not feel it is enough of a fright, util you meet him alone on a dark street!
MACABRE MEXICO
Finally Mexico’s three day Day of the Dead festival starts on 31st October, and culminates on 2nd November. The Dia de los Muertos festival – which has been recognised by Unesco as a protected part of the Mexican cultural heritage – celebrates the alleged returning of the dead to spend time with their families. Rather than being a terrifying time of ghosts, the festival is seen as a joyful celebration with lots of food, drink and partying.
Dia de los Muertos is steeped in millenia of tradition and history. Pre-hispanic cultures such as the Aztec, didn’t consider death as the end, but rather a continuum of life. Those who had passed over into the next life were still very much a part of the community that needed to be kept alive in spirit and memory.
