Halloween offers return to basic roots
Kevin Short / Special to The Daily Yomiuri
Halloween has always been my favorite time of year. In the Appalachian Mountains of the northeastern United States where I grew up, the festival comes in late autumn, when the falling oak and maple leaves are whipped about by cold, crisp winds. Swirling leaves and shaking branches, silhouetted against a huge autumn full moon, make a perfect setting for the various supernatural creatures that roam the woods and fields on Halloween night.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20021029wo71.htm

BOOOOOOO
Horrors, it's that time again.
So scare up some spooktacular fun.
Why do we do that?
Ghosts and goblins demystified
By Emilie Ostrander. Special to the Tribune. Marcia Borucki and Sherry Chaffee. Dan Leahy. Special to the Tribune. Donald Liebenson. Special to the Tribune
Published October 29, 2002
Harry Potter, Miss Piggy and a giant cow are standing on your front porch, demanding candy. No, this isn't a weird dream. It's Halloween. But why do we dress up every year, carve pumpkins and try to scare each other? Halloween actually is a combination of several ancient holidays. The first Halloween celebrations were pagan festivals called "Samhain," practiced by the early Celts. During Samhain (pronounced "Sow-en"), people celebrated the lives of dead ancestors and marked the end of the harvest season.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/kids/chi-0210290094oct29,0,1071355.story?coll=chi%2Dleisurekidnews%2Dhed

`Death' observes life of Halloween
By Randolph E. Schmid - The Associated Press
In his later years, actor Boris Karloff - famed for his portrayals of movie monsters - referred to the approach of Halloween as "the busy season" because of the increase in personal appearances.
Frightening film parts such as Mr. Karloff's Mummy and Frankenstein have been part of moviemaking since the days of silent flicks.
Yet not until 1978 was Halloween chosen as the title of a feature film, reports David J. Skal in Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween.
http://enquirer.com/editions/2002/10/29/tem_books29hallow.html

Posted 10/9/02 8:37 PM:
Pagans celebrate harvest at festival
Members also meet monthly to worship Earth-based religion
By Associated Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- It wasn't long ago that most pagans preferred to keep their beliefs secret, afraid that others mistakenly would believe they were devil worshipers.
"That is so far from the truth," said Jennifer Suttorp, director of Sanctuary of the Winds, a Grand Rapids group that meets each month to worship and teach the basics of Earth-based religions.
http://www.detnews.com/2002/religion/0210/09/c08d-589912.htm

Pagans gather in S. Carolina
Associated Press
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — In the very conservative, very Christian upstate section of South Carolina, a group of pagans met to welcome the autumnal equinox, celebrate the harvest and study the tenets of their various faiths.
The event was held recently at Croft State Park.
Pagan is a broad term to define a person who is not a Christian, Jew or Muslim. It also can incorporate nature or earth worship. Under this umbrella also fall mystic practices, such as Wicca or witchcraft.