Synopses & Reviews
From that cheerful puff of smoke known as Casper to the hunkiest potter living or dead, Sam Wheat, there is probably no more iconic entity in supernatural history than the ghost. And these are just recent examples. From the earliest writings such as the
Epic of Gilgamesh to todayandrsquo;s ghost-hunting reality TV shows, ghosts have chilled the air of nearly every era and every culture in human history. In this book, Lisa Morton uses her scholarly prowessandmdash;more powerful than any proton packandmdash;to wrangle together historyandrsquo;s most enduring ghosts into an entertaining and comprehensive look at what otherwise seems to always evade our eyes.and#160;and#160;
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Tracing the ghostandrsquo;s constantly shifting contours, Morton asks the most direct questionandmdash;What exactly is a ghost?andmdash;and examines related entities such as poltergeists, wraiths, and revenants. She asks how a ghost is related to a soul, and she outlines all the different kinds of ghosts there are. To do so, she visits the spirits of the classical world, including the five-part Egyptian soul and the first haunted-house, conceived in the Roman playwright Plautusandrsquo;s comedy, Mostellaria. She confronts us with the frightening phantoms of the Middle Agesandmdash;who could incinerate priests and devour childrenandmdash;and reminds us of the nineteenth-century rise of Spiritualism, a religion essentially devoted to ghosts. She visits with the Indian bhuta and goes to the Hungry Ghost Festival in China, and of course she spends time in Mexico, where ghosts have a particularly strong grip on belief and culture. Along the way she gathers the ectoplasmic residues seeping from books and film reels, from the Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto to the 2007 blockbuster Paranormal Activity, from the stories of Ann Radcliffe to those of Stephen King.
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Wide-ranging, informative, and slicked with over fifty unearthly images, Ghosts is an entertaining read of a cultural phenomenon that will delight anyone, whether they believe in ghosts or not.and#160;
Review
“Lavishly illustrated, this solidly researched and concise work is fun to read and a great choice for readers who want to know why we seek out the scary each October.” Library Journal
Review
andldquo;Trick or Treat covers the history of Halloween from its ancient Celtic roots to its stunning growth in global popularity in the 21st century. Morton is an accomplished horror short story writer, and her ability to draw readers in quickly and keep them turning the pages shines through in her nonfiction as well. Lavishly illustrated, this solidly researched and concise work is fun to read and a great choice for readers who want to know why we seek out the scary each October.andrdquo;and#160;
Review
and#160;andldquo;If you want to know anything at all about the subject, you ought to find it in Trick or Treat. . . . Mortonandrsquo;s interesting account of Halloweandrsquo;en is at its best when it comes up to date and there are many entertaining illustrations.andrdquo;
Review
and#160;andldquo;Full of historical nuggets and strange folklore, Lisa Morton's Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween is the perfect bible for all devoted disciples of the holiday.andrdquo;
Review
and#160;andldquo;With Trick or Treat Lisa Morton gives us a charming, creepy, insightful and thoroughly fascinating history of Halloween. Itandrsquo;s a delicious blend of cultural history and pop-culture savvy that is a true delight to read!andrdquo;
Review
“This is an excellent survey of the Halloween scene, informative and accessible, far more treat than trick.” Jonathan Maberry, author of Flesh and Bone and Assassin's Code
Review
and#160;andldquo;In a modern world, increasingly filled with pop culture fads and gimmicks, Lisa Morton reveals much of the underbelly history and unknown facts regarding the biggest pop culture event in historyandmdash;Halloween. Her sheer delight and well-researched enthusiasm in tackling many of the unrecognized aspects of this monstrous topic makes one wonder what we don't know about everything else that should be as commonplace to our psyche as a bag of candy.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;[Morton] playfully sets the record straight on the origins of Halloween. . . . This book is an excellent example of the scholarship on holidays as a means of accessing many facets of history. Highly recommended.andrdquo;
Review
and#160;andldquo;This is an excellent survey of the Halloween scene, informative and accessible, far more treat than trick.andrdquo;
Review
and#8220;From an authority on Halloweand#8217;en lore comes all you need to know about this and#8216;misunderstoodand#8217; festival. . . . Well written and illustrated, informative and entertaining.and#8221;
Review
andldquo;In Ghosts, Morton brings her encyclopedic knowledge of folklore and the supernatural to bear on this vast, vital subject. For students of andlsquo;things that go bump in the nightandrsquo; the book is simply indispensable.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Ghosts is brilliant, insightful, and scary as hell. Morton proves that truth is definitely stranger than fiction.andrdquo;
Synopsis
Every year, children and adults alike take to the streets dressed as witches, demons, animals, celebrities, and more. They carve pumpkins and play pranks, and the braver ones watch scary movies and go on ghost tours. There are parades, fireworks displays, cornfield mazes, and haunted housesandmdash;and, most important, copious amounts of bite-sized candy. The popularity of Halloween has spread around the globe to places as diverse as Russia, China, and Japan, but its association with death and the supernatural and its inevitable commercialization has made it one of our most misunderstood holidays. How did it become what it is today?and#160;In Trick or Treat, Halloween aficionado Lisa Morton provides a thorough history of this spooky day. She begins by looking at how holidays like the Celtic Samhain, a Gaelic harvest festival, have blended with the British Guy Fawkes Day and the Catholic All Soulsandrsquo; Day to produce the modern Halloween, and she explains how the holiday was reborn in America, where costumes and trick-or-treat rituals have become new customs. Morton takes into account the influence of related but independent holidays, especially the Mexican Day of the Dead, as well as the explosion in popularity of haunted attractions and the impact of such events as 9/11 and the economic recession on the celebration today. Trick or Treat also examines the effect Halloween has had on popular culture through the literary works of Washington Irving and Ray Bradbury, films like Halloween and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Simpsons.and#160;Considering the holiday in the context of its worldwide popularity for the first time, this book will be a treat for any Halloween lover.
About the Author
Lisa Morton is an award-winning author and one of the worldandrsquo;s leading authorities on Halloween. Her work includes The Halloween Encyclopedia and A Halloweandrsquo;en Anthology: Literary and Historical Writings Over the Centuries.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Halloween: The Misunderstood Festival
2. Snap-apple Night and November Eve: Halloween in the British Isles
3. Trick or Treat in the New World
4. La Toussaint, Allerheiligen and Tutti i Santi: The Global Celebration
5. Dias de los Muertos
6. From Burns to Burton: Halloween and Popular Culture
References
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index