Places
7 really great places to celebrate Halloween
Halloween has been celebrated for over 2,000 years and is said to have its origins in the Gaelic harvest festival, Samhain. This was celebrated at the end of summer, which was the time it was popularly believed that the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead could more easily be crossed. The festivities reached the new world when Celts brought their traditions to the US. Today, Halloween is one of the biggest festival occasions there, celebrated by 175 million Americans each year.
However, Halloween is a popular event in many other parts of the world, too. In Mexico, people celebrate the Day of the Dead instead by going to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing their favorite foods and drinks. In other places, people carve pumpkins, children go trick-or-treating, while in Japan it’s all about wearing the most spectacular costume.
Here, we’ve listed 7 perfect places to celebrate Halloween:
Samhuinn Fire Festival 2019 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the place to be around Halloween. Here, they don’t stint on ensuring everyone has a good time - proof of which is the upcoming Samhuinn Fire Festival 2019. During the festival, the Celtic new year is celebrated with fire, acrobatics and theater. This is also the time when summer shifts to winter. In addition to joining in these Celtic celebrations, Edinburgh is also a city where you can enjoy genuinely spine chilling experiences. Wherever you go, you’ll find a big choice of ghostly attractions.
Edinburgh
När: 31 oktober
Bram Stoker Festival in Dublin
What could be more authentic than celebrating at one of the places where it all started. The Irish know how to celebrate and the entire city is transformed into a scary place. The Bram Stoker Festival is one of the biggest Halloween festivals in Dublin and is expected to attract 70,000 visitors to celebrate the occasion. The festival embraces the supernatural and is combined with celebrating the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain. The event has an amusement park, entertainment and everything else you would expect from a genuine Halloween festival.
Dublin
När: 25 – 28 oktober
Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery in Chicago
If you want to really feel your blood run cold, a visit to Bachelor’s Grove, an allegedly haunted cemetery in Chicago is a must. Expect to feel your hair stand on end here at Halloween. During the 1960s, the cemetery fell into disrepair and the graves started to be vandalized. Around this time, word started to spread about this heinous location with ghostly apparitions. People spoke of a house that can disappear, a man with a horse and carriage, a mysterious woman and occult activities with real animal sacrifices.
Bachelor's Grove Cemetery
5900 W Midlothian Turnpike, Midlothian
Photo: Shutterstock
Highgate Cemetery in London
London is said to be one of the world’s most haunted cities, not least thanks to all the stories about the notorious cemetery in Highgate, north London. Mysterious phenomena are said to have been witnessed here. Such as a levitating nun and a gray vampire that culminated in a vampire hunt in 1970. Many famous people are buried in Highgate Cemetery. The expression gravestone tourism has become a popular phenomenon worldwide as fans visit the graves of their idols. So why not see the last resting place of Douglas Adams, Karl Marx, George Michael and many other celebrities during a visit this year?
Highgate kyrkogård
Swain's Ln, Highgate, London
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Photo: Shutterstock
Amsterdam Dungeon
As a rule, Halloween isn’t such a big deal in The Netherlands, apart from in Amsterdam. The Dutch capital is famous for being a creative and liberated city, which is even more pronounced at Halloween. Especially at Amsterdam Dungeon, a nerve jangling experience that offers a mix of excitement and thrills intermingled with horror. You can also take a journey back in time here through some gruesome episodes in the history of The Netherlands. Not only will your blood run cold, all your senses will be challenged with smells, chills, sounds and entertaining characters brought to live right in front of your very eyes.
Amsterdam Dungeon
The Amsterdam Dungeon, Rokin 78, 1012 KW Amsterdam
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City Festival in Shibuya, Tokyo
Halloween has now become one of the biggest annual events celebrated in Tokyo. The dial is turned up to the max in the city ward of Shibuya that attracts over a million visitors every year. The Shibuya area is transformed into a ghost like street party with people dressed in costumes everywhere. The focus is on masquerade outfits which means traditions such as trick-or-treat and experiences that make your blood run cold are somewhat overshadowed.
Tokyo, Shibuya
Photo: Shutterstock
The Village in New York
The US is famous for pulling out all the stops during festivals and all the fright mongering of Halloween is no exception. Spending Halloween in New York is a special experience and one of the high points is The Village – an evening parade that extends through Manhattan. The festival has been held for 45 years and with a different theme each year. In 2019, the parade theme is Wild Thing, where the intention is to recreate our wild past. With over 60,000 people in fancy dress and two million spectators lining the route, it's an epic sight, to say the least.
New York's Village Halloween Parade
När: 31 Oktober
Amelia Larsson
Published: October 14, 2019
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