Halloween

Halloween, or Hallowe'en (/ˌhæləˈwiːn, -oʊˈiːn, ˌhɑːl-/; a contraction of All Hallows’ Evening), also known as Allhalloween,All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

According to BBC Online, it is "widely believed" that many Halloween traditions originated from the ancient Celtic harvest festival Samhain, and that this Gaelic observance was Christianized by the early Church. Samhain and other such festivals may have also had pagan roots. Some, however, support the view that Halloween began independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.

Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising), attending Halloween costume parties, decorating, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing and divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories and watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain foods on this vigil day, including apples, colcannon, potato pancakes and soul cakes.

Home

A home is a dwelling-place used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for an individual, family, household or several families in a tribe. It is often a house, apartment, or other building, or alternatively a mobile home, houseboat, yurt or any other portable shelter. Homes typically provide areas and facilities for sleeping, preparing food, eating and hygiene. Larger groups may live in a nursing home, children's home, convent or any similar institution. A homestead also includes agricultural land and facilities for domesticated animals. Where more secure dwellings are not available, people may live in the informal and sometimes illegal shacks found in slums and shanty towns. More generally, "home" may be considered to be a geographic area, such as a town, village, suburb, city, or country.

Transitory accommodation in a treatment facility for a few weeks is not normally considered permanent enough to replace a more stable location as 'home'. In 2005, 100 million people worldwide were estimated to be homeless.

Michael Myers

Michael Myers (or Michael Meyers or Mike Myers or Mike Meyers) or variants may refer to:

See also

Haunted house

A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property. Parapsychologists attribute haunting to the spirits of the dead and the effect of violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide. More scientific explanations for the perception that a house is haunted include misinterpreting noises naturally present in structures, waking dreams, suggestibility, and the effect of toxic substances in environments that can cause hallucinations.

In a 2005, Gallup poll, 37 percent of Americans, 28 percent of Canadians, and 40 percent of Britons expressed the belief that houses could be "haunted".

Possible causes

According to science writer Terence Hines, cold spots, creaking sounds, and odd noises are typically present in any home, especially older ones, and "such noises can easily be mistaken for the sound of footsteps by those inclined to imagine the presence of a deceased tenant in their home."

Halloween Horror Nights

Halloween Horror Nights is an annual event that occurs at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore and Universal Studios Japan. Universal Studios remains operational during the day and transitions to Halloween Horror Nights at night. The event features haunted houses, "scare zones" and live entertainments; many of which utilize Universal's characters and other licenses.

History

Halloween Horror Nights began at Universal Studios Florida in 1991 under the title "Fright Nights", created by Julie Zimmerman and John Paul Geurts. The event was renamed "Halloween Horror Nights" in 1992 and advertised as the "Second Annual Halloween Horror Nights". It began as a three-night event, but has now been extended to 30 nights, spanning from Wednesday through Sunday night each week.

The first year, the admission price was only $19.00. "Scareactors", a term used by Julie Zimmerman to identify the performers during Halloween Horror Nights, had little experience with such a large event and were required to provide their own costumes and makeup. Julie Zimmerman orchestrated a scareactors camp called "Ghoul School," where the actors taught scaring techniques.