Gather 'round, all you ghouls and goblins, for the time of year is upon us once more when the veil between the living and the supernatural grows tantalisingly thin.
That's right, the most wonderful time of the “fear” has crept back into our lives—Halloween!
Read on, if you dare, to learn more about the history behind the haunting holiday and 5 ways to savour the sweet and scary sensation of the spooky season this year.
When is Halloween in 2024?
Halloween is celebrated on October 31st every year. This year, in 2024, Halloween falls on a Thursday.
However, do you know why this doomed date was deemed Halloween?
It turns out that the haunting holiday has historical roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a celebration that marked the end of the fruitful, harvest season and the impending arrival of the dark and cold winter that was often associated with human death.
On this night, it was believed that the boundary between the living and the dead was blurred and that the ghosts of the dead would return to earth.
Beyond disruptions to daily life and agricultural destruction, the Celts further believed that the presence of supernatural entities assisted the Druids—or the Celtic priests—in making prophecies about forthcoming events.
In response to the dead's return and the emerging of clearer visions of the future, the Celts would light large bonfires, sacrificially burn crops and animals, attempt to read each other's fortunes around the fire, and don costumes generally consisting of animal skins and heads to ward off spirits.
Over time, this original Celtic tradition evolved into what we now know as Halloween, a holiday where people dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, and engage in various spooky and festive, fall activities.
Carve out Some Time for Halloween Fun This Year with These Festive Activities
1. Show Your Spirit with Your Creepiest and Most Creative Halloween Costumes
If you really want to show off your “die-hard” Halloween spirit, one of the best ways to do so is to dress up, donning your creepiest and most creative Halloween costumes.
Whether you want to go for a sinister style that will make them scream, a cute costume that’s sweet as candy, or a giggle-worthy get-up that will make them die of laughter, there are a variety of fun options out there to fit everyone’s taste.
Losing your head over what you’re going to be for Halloween this year?
Click here for more complicated costume ideas and here for quick, last-minute costumes you can easily throw together.
2. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth—Stock Up on Tons of Temptuous “Trick or Treating” Candy
What would Halloween be without the tradition of “trick or treating” or the end-of-the-night crash into a crushing candy coma?
Hit up your local grocery stores and stock up on mountains of mouth-watering sweets—Enough to satiate all of the kiddos and all of the candy hoarders and hustlers hiding out in your own home. Try to get a wide variety of candy that many kids with and without allergies can enjoy, from a mix of several types of chocolates to an assortment of sweet and sour flavored gummies.
Set out your candy bowl on your front porch or wait for the kids to line up at your door if you want to get a good look at all of the cute kids in costumes.
Don’t forget to leave your porch light on so trick-or-treaters know that you’re home, and most importantly, make sure that you “clean up” all of the extra candy!
3. Darken Up the Place with Your Deadliest and Most Dreadful Halloween Decorations
It’s time to clean out the skeletons in your closet...literally.
Halloween is the perfect time to darken and dinge up your place with all of the festive, fall decorations that have been dying to come out of storage all year.
Whether you want to welcome your guests in with warm, inviting pumpkins, scents of cinnamon, and colourful changing leaves or scare them away with rotting zombies tearing out of the dirt, the evil cackle of a witch’s laugh, and doors splattered with fresh, bloody handprints, the choice is all up to you.
4. Snatch Some Monster Munchies for a Spooky Season, Fall Film Festival
If you’re looking for a more chill, laid-back evening lounging around the couch in your comfy sweatpants or wrapped up as tight as a mummy in a soft, fleece blanket, look no further.
Snatch your favorite snacks from their shelves and get ready for a spooky season, fall film festival—a night filled with all of your favorite films that scream Halloween.
Whether you’re more into horror and gore or the fun, nostalgic flicks from your youth that won’t make you shiver and quiver, there is a diverse range of films that you can watch to get into the Halloween spirit.
If you want to lift your Halloween spirit to a whole other realm, you can even conjure up some Halloween-themed snacks to munch on such as mummies in a blanket, monster munch, or graveyard dirt cake that will brew a mood with only that much more spook!
5. Bring the Life of the Party Back from the Dead—G“Host” Your Own Halloween Gathering
If you’re feeling more like a grim, grinning ghost who comes out to socialise, now is the perfect time to gather all of your closest gremlins, goblins, and ghouls and bring the life of the Halloween party back from the dead.
Plan to play exciting, interactive games with your guests like Halloween-themed trivia, bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving contests, and pin the wart on the witch.
Lay out a spooky spread of fearsome, thematic foods and bubbling witch’s potion that your guests can feast and sip on throughout the night.
Turn up the tunes and do the dances of the dead—Thriller and the Monster Mash.
Halloween is the perfect opportunity to get imaginative, to guiltlessly indulge in sweets, and most importantly, to have some frightening fun!
No Tricks This Halloween—Treat Yourself to a Sweet New Stairlift
As we savour the spine-tingling chill in the air and sip on the spiced pumpkin lattes that come with the arrival of the spooky season, remember that there are some things in life that we should never have to be scared of.
The safety of you and your loved ones is one of them. That menacing, winding staircase that can be a source of fear or danger should not be the main attraction of your haunted house this Halloween, so don’t leave it up to chance.
No need to fear because there are no tricks here at Acorn Stairlifts. You can treat you and your loved ones to a sweet, new stairlift that will make mobility a breeze and help keep the “fall” outside, rather than inside.
Scare Away Your Stress with an Acorn Stairlift
Whether you or a loved one has mobility concerns that make going up and down the stairs a frightening experience, an Acorn Stairlift is always there to ease your fears.
Allowing you to easily navigate through tricky spots in the house, an Acorn Stairlift provides safety and support with safety belts and controls that allow your mind to rest in peace.
Acorn’s stairlift installation is stress and mess-free. This is because Acorn stairlifts are attached directly to the staircase and never the wall so you will never have to disturb your hallowed home with messy modifications such as drilling or plastering.
Acorn’s customer service always rises to the occasion for our customers so that you can continue to rise above the obstacles that once held you back. With a 24/7 support team that provides you with the constant care you and your loved ones deserve.
Claim Your Free, No-Obligation Stairlift Quote Today
To start reclaiming your independence and mobility or help your loved ones live their lives to the fullest, look for an Acorn Stairlifts near you and contact us today. Acorn offers each person even considering investing in a life-changing lift a free, no-obligation quote and home survey in which an Acorn representative will provide you with personal stairlift advice and your stairlift price.
This year, as you watch your favorite Halloween specials and carve spooky faces into your pumpkins, remember that while it may be fun to be scared sometimes, you should never have to be scared about the safety of the people you love and care for the most. Acorn Stairlifts will always support you and help swap your fears with security and confidence.