The History of Halloween Podcast

392 episodes

From Queen Victoria’s Haunted Parlors to The Fly and the Babadook: Tracing Halloween’s Costume & Commerce Evolution
2026/10/28 | 15 mins.
Explore how Victorian parlor games sparked a culture of Halloween parties, how George Langelaan’s "The Fly" and David Cronenberg’s remake turned transformation into a horror icon, and how the Babadook reshaped modern costume and grief narratives—tracing the commercial, cultural, and technological forces that have shaped Halloween today.
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Mischief Night: How Halloween’s Dark Cousin Shaped Modern Celebrations
2026/10/28 | 16 mins.
Explore Mischief Night—an informal pre‑Halloween tradition that has evolved from rebellious teenage pranks to a global digital phenomenon. We trace its roots in 19th‑century America, its spread across North America and beyond, and how technology, commerce, and social media have reshaped the night of sanctioned disorder.
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Pinhead’s Legacy: From Hellbound Heart to Halloween Culture
2026/10/28 | 13 mins.
Tracing the journey of Clive Barker’s 1986 creation—Pinhead—from a novella character into an iconic Halloween figure, exploring its impact on costume design, fan culture, intellectual property debates, and cross‑media adaptations.
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From Guising to Candy: The Gradual Emergence of Trick‑or‑Treating
2026/10/28 | 14 mins.
Explore how trick‑or‑treating evolved from medieval Scottish and Irish guising customs into the modern candy‑filled tradition, tracing its migration across the Atlantic, wartime adaptations, and the rise of a nationwide commercial phenomenon.
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From Canvas to Fright: The Haunted Portrait Costume’s Journey
2026/10/28 | 16 mins.
Explore how the haunted portrait costume evolved from Renaissance portraiture and medieval folklore into AI‑generated spooky avatars, commercial kits, and global Halloween celebrations—tracing art, commerce, and technology across centuries.
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About The History of Halloween Podcast

Discover the strange, spooky, and surprisingly complex history behind one of the world’s most recognizable celebrations. The History of Halloween Podcast explores the ancient traditions, religious observances, folk beliefs, seasonal festivals, superstitions, legends, and cultural customs that gradually evolved into modern Halloween. Episodes trace everything from Samhain, All Hallows’ Eve, and medieval traditions to ghosts, witches, monsters, jack-o’-lanterns, trick-or-treating, costumes, haunted attractions, horror entertainment, candy traditions, and the commercialization of Halloween. The show also explores regional customs, famous scares, folklore, urban legends, paranormal beliefs, historical controversies, and the ways Halloween has changed across different countries and generations. Whether you love haunted houses, horror movies, folklore, costumes, or simply want to understand where Halloween traditions came from, the podcast tells the stories behind the holiday and the people, beliefs, and events that shaped it. The History of Halloween Podcast is hosted by Josh Linsk.

Podcast website

Documentary History Society & Culture