Samhain ( /ˈsɑːwɪn/, /ˈsaʊ.ɪn/, or /ˈsaʊn/) is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer. The date of Samhain was associated with the Catholic All Saints' Day (and later All Souls' Day) from at least the 8th century, and both the secular Gaelic and the Catholic liturgical festival have influenced the secular customs now connected with Halloween.

The medieval Goidelic festival of Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half". It was celebrated over the course of several days and had some elements of a Festival of the Dead. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.

Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals. She has sold more than 14 million records worldwide.

McKennitt was born in Morden, Manitoba of Irish and Scottish descent to parents Jack (died 1992; a livestock dealer) and Irene McKennitt (1931-2011; a nurse). She moved to Stratford, Ontario in 1981, where she still resides.

When Loreena was young she wanted to become a veterinarian but she found that music chose her rather than she it. Developing a passion for Celtic music, she learned to play the Celtic harp and began busking at various places, including St. Lawrence Market in Toronto in order to earn money to record her first album.

McKennitt's first album, Elemental, was released in 1985, followed by To Drive the Cold Winter Away (1987), Parallel Dreams (1989), The Visit (1991), The Mask and Mirror (1994), A Winter Garden (1995), The Book of Secrets (1997), An Ancient Muse (2006), A Midwinter Night’s Dream (2008), and The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2010). All of her work is released under her own label, Quinlan Road.

Kristen Elise Lawrence, (born March 2, 1976), is an American organist, composer, and vocalist who writes, produces, records, and performs her music based on Halloween history. She coined the term Halloween Carols™ to describe her music compositions that celebrate the autumnal season.

Kristen Elise Lawrence was born in Orange County, California and fondly calls Disneyland's Haunted Mansion her second home. After studying piano for five years, she began her organ studies at age 12 from Pulitzer Prize-nominated composer/organist Dr. Robert Cummings. During her high school years she played at church services, arranged music for choral ensembles, and was the featured guest organist at a community Handel's Messiah Sing-along. In 1993 she won a Philharmonic Society of Orange County music competition.

She accepted a music scholarship to Brigham Young University, studying organ under Dr. Parley Belnap and Dr. Douglas Bush, where her experiences ranged from accompanying on the organ in front of audiences of 20,000 at televised live devotional broadcasts, to singing in the Early Music Ensemble, to performing as a can-can dancer in the university’s production of Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow. She graduated from BYU in 2001 with a Bachelor of Music in organ performance and pedagogy, and taught music in Salt Lake City, Utah and Orange County, California.