Halloween is an Irish feast of Celtic origin, which is celebrated mainly in Anglo-Saxon areas and came to America with immigrants, and from there it spread worldwide due to globalization. Its name means All Saints’ Eve. One of its ancestor is the Celtic Samhain, which name in Gaelic means the month of November, but that is also the name of the feast, which began at nightfall on October 31 and ended on November 1. This marked the end of the Celtic Old Year and the beginning of the New Year. According to the belief of the Celts, at this time the dead return and can move into the living, so you have to dress up in spooky costumes to scare them away. In addition to the characteristics of Samhain, Roman and Christian elements were also mixed into the celebration. Nowadays, however, only the experience of getting dressed remains from the previous practices. Other religious holidays are also associated with this time of year, such as the Catholic All Saints’ Day (November 1) and the subsequent Day of the Dead (November 2).
I was introduced to Halloween by foreign booktubers through scary, chilling books. I fell in love with them, of course, only if they weren’t too scary…
This year, I want to read these books in October:
In the first two volumes of Aveline Jones series by Phil Hickes, our protagonist gets involved in various strange and creepy adventures. I’ve heard excellent things about the books, so I’m looking forward to reading them. The third volume will be published at the end of this month.
I have already read Emma Steinkellner’s graphic novel in English, but I am also curious about it in Hungarian. In The Okay Witch, Moth, who has always been obsessed with witches, discovers that they are more real than she had imagined and that magic is much more dangerous than in the movies.
In Cinders and Sparrows, the orphan Zita discovers her inheritance, a seemingly abandoned castle that holds secrets. The little girl has to find out who she can trust and who she can’t. The author Stefan Bachman was born in Colorado, but spent his entire childhood in Switzerland.
Skye McKenna’s debut novel Hedgewitch is the first volume in a new series. Cassie Morgan escapes from the boarding school, where she waited in vain for her mother to return, and with the help of a talking cat and a flying broom, she reaches the enchanted village of Hedgely, where she joins the service of the local witch.
