Antonia! My dear I am so thankful that you are here. Could you please tell me a little bit about this horrendous night that is coming up?

"Certainly Mr. Dorsey. It’s all quite simple really.

You see, the term Halloween has been around since the times of the ancient Celts. It was originally an end of year celebration to celebrate the summers’ harvest and mark the start of the winter. The end of the year in those days was at the end of October.

People in those days were very superstitious and thought that anything that went wrong was because the spirits of their dead ancestors were not happy.

Gifts were offered to the spirits on the night that marked the end of the year in the hope that this would keep them happy for the New Year.
The appeasement of spirits was something that has lasted through time and as the years went by, though some traditions and feast days changed, the act of keeping the spirits happy carried on.
This act developed through time and took on different customs from various races and people until it became the tradition we know today - Halloween.

This night of the 31st October is a way of meeting the spirit world half way and facing up to fears. As a reflection of the earliest offerings to spirits in days gone by, children now dress up as ghosties and otherworldly characters and travel from house to house asking for treats. If they are not given sweets or candies a trick is often played out to mimic the supposed mischief of spirits. Adults dress up too sometimes so that they don’t feel left out and that is where the broomsticks come in to it Mr.Dorsey. Some people dress up as witches and witches are supposed to be able to fly on broomsticks!

Witches, werewolves, vampires, scary clowns and other such characters have also become part of the Halloween tradition through the introduction of popular stories, books and movies that feature them and have placed them firmly in the psyche of the public as creatures as ominous as ghosts (if not more so).

Pumpkins are carved and illuminated by candles in order to scare away the spirits and monsters that lurk on Halloween night.

Party games are played and horrible food and drinks served just for fun!
Spooky stories are told and scary movies watched because some people find it good to be scared!

In conclusion Mr.Dorsey, it seems that what started off as a serious celebration has become another excuse to have fun and get dressed up! Of course, other cultures still do take these spiritual things seriously and have their own keep the spirits away and happy traditions.

But you really have nothing to be scared about Mr.Dorsey, because here in Sunset Cove we will just have a fun time. And we have the Silver Lining to make sure that nothing bad ever happens to us."

"Oh Antonia, thank you, thank you! I am so relieved that everything will be okay and that some evil bloodsucker will not attack me.

And so my family you see that I will be alright. I will try to enjoy this strange earth celebration and look forward to the day that I can tell you about my experience scale to scale.
And now I might try to find out a bit about a fat man in a red suit who flies around in the snow with some animals that have big antlers… "