Halloween
Trick or treat
Halloween is October 31st, the evening before All Saints' Day, celebrated with costumes, trick-or-treating, jack-o'-lanterns, and themes of death and the supernatural.
Children dress as ghosts, witches, or monsters and go door to door collecting candy.
Adults attend costume parties.
The holiday has become increasingly commercialized: Halloween decorations go up earlier every year.
Identity-concealing alteration
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- outfitSet of clothes worn together
- cosplayDressing as media characters
- maskFace-worn concealment
makeup · witch · vampire · zombie · ghost · skeleton · mummy · werewolf
Disturbingly strange
- creepyDisturbingly strange
- macabreDisturbing, death-obsessed
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- ghoulishFascinated by death grotesquely
ominous · shadowy · mysterious · frightening · chilling · terrifying · cobwebs · bats
Halloween candy solicitation
- sweetsSugary food items
- chocolateSweet from cacao seeds
- caramelsChewy butter-sugar candy
- lollipopsHard candy on sticks
gummies · candy corn · caramel apples · toffee · licorice · taffy · snickers · skittles
Post-summer cooling period
- pumpkinsLarge orange autumn gourds
- gourdsHard-rinded fleshy fruits
- jack-o-lanternCarved pumpkin with candle
- carvingShaping by cutting away
cornstalks · hayrides · apple bobbing · cider · scarecrow · fall leaves · orange · black
Spirits of the deceased
- spiritsLiquor or apparitions
- hauntedOccupied by ghosts
- poltergeistDisruptive supernatural entity
- specterGhostly threatening presence
apparition · phantom · wraith · banshee · possessed · séance · paranormal · undead
Celtic harvest-end observance
- CelticOf Irish-Welsh descent
- All Hallows EveEve of saints' feast
- All Saints DayFeast honoring all saints
- paganNon-mainstream religion follower
ancient · tradition · festival · harvest festival · Día de los Muertos · veil · spirits · ancestors
Gothic novel's mad scientist
- DraculaLegendary Transylvanian vampire
- werewolfShapeshifting wolf-person
- mummyEmbalmed, wrapped ancient body
- creatureLiving, sentient entity
beast · demon · ogre · cryptid · headless horseman · boogeyman · witch · warlock
Playful mischievous acts
- mischiefPlayful troublesome behavior
- toilet-paperingPrank with bathroom tissue
- eggingThrowing shells as vandalism
- practical jokesTricks meant to amuse
shenanigans · tomfoolery · tricks · spooking · scaring · startling · jumping out · haunted house
disguise
Identity-concealing alteration
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- outfitSet of clothes worn together
- cosplayDressing as media characters
mask · makeup · witch · vampire · zombie · ghost · skeleton · mummy · werewolf · pirate
eerie
Disturbingly strange
ghoulish · ominous · shadowy · mysterious · frightening · chilling · terrifying · cobwebs · bats · ravens
trick-or-treat
Halloween candy solicitation
lollipops · gummies · candy corn · caramel apples · toffee · licorice · taffy · snickers · skittles · m&ms
autumn
Post-summer cooling period
- pumpkinsLarge orange autumn gourds
- gourdsHard-rinded fleshy fruits
- jack-o-lanternCarved pumpkin with candle
carving · cornstalks · hayrides · apple bobbing · cider · scarecrow · fall leaves · orange · black · harvest moon
ghosts
Spirits of the deceased
- spiritsLiquor or apparitions
- hauntedOccupied by ghosts
- poltergeistDisruptive supernatural entity
specter · apparition · phantom · wraith · banshee · possessed · séance · paranormal · undead · afterlife
Samhain
Celtic harvest-end observance
- CelticOf Irish-Welsh descent
- All Hallows EveEve of saints' feast
- All Saints DayFeast honoring all saints
pagan · ancient · tradition · festival · harvest festival · Día de los Muertos · veil · spirits · ancestors · ritual
Frankenstein
Gothic novel's mad scientist
- DraculaLegendary Transylvanian vampire
- werewolfShapeshifting wolf-person
- mummyEmbalmed, wrapped ancient body
creature · beast · demon · ogre · cryptid · headless horseman · boogeyman · witch · warlock · ghoul
pranks
Playful mischievous acts
- mischiefPlayful troublesome behavior
- toilet-paperingPrank with bathroom tissue
- eggingThrowing shells as vandalism
practical jokes · shenanigans · tomfoolery · tricks · spooking · scaring · startling · jumping out · haunted house
- celebrationsgraduation, festival, party, wedding, fireworks
- eventsevent, events, party, parties, wedding
- traditionstradition, custom, customs, cultural practices, rituals
- Holiday StuffChristmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, New Year, Valentine's Day
- holiday traditionsChristmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, New Year, Hanukkah
- holidaysChristmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, New Year's Day
HalloweenGood Friday
Crucifixion memorial day
Memorial Day · Yom Kippur · Remembrance Day · Ash Wednesday · funeral
HalloweenEaster
Resurrection commemoration day
May Day · Beltane · Spring Festival · Holi · Midsummer
HalloweenMemorial Day
Holiday honoring military dead
All Souls' Day · Día de los Muertos · funeral · wake · Day of the Dead
- Halloween costumeOctober 31st disguise
- Halloween partyFestive October costume gathering
- halloween candy
- Halloween maskFace covering for costumes
- Halloween paradeFestive autumn costume procession
- Halloween specialsFestive October television programming