Speaking Volumes | Learn more about Halloween at Manatee County libraries
Do you have a favorite Halloween memory? Halloween, a contraction of All Hallows’ Eve, means different things to different people. Considered a secular holiday, Halloween had its origins among the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland and reflects on issues of death and afterlife. Throughout the ages, the holiday has evolved to include numerous activities and rituals.
Manatee County Public Libraries has a wealth of information about this enchanting holiday. To learn more about the history of this festivity, check out the book “Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween” by David Skal. It examines the dark Celtic history behind the holiday and uses a mix of personal anecdote and social analysis to provide a deep cultural and historical analysis. Two books that would be of specific interest to children about the history of the holiday would be “Halloween Is…” by Gail Gibbons and “The Story of Halloween” by Carol Greene.
Are you looking for new ideas for costumes, games, food and decorations? What about new ways to celebrate the season in the time of pandemic? The library has you covered. A good place to start with is “Halloween: The Best of Martha Stewart Living.” The book is divided into 2 parts: “tricking” (pumpkin carving, costumes and makeup and decorations) and “treating” (recipes for providing a Halloween feast or haunted-house party). If you are particularly interested in pumpkin carving, check out “Realistic Pumpkin Carving: 24 Spooky, Scary and Spine-Chilling Designs” by Lundy Cupp. This book shows simple techniques with inexpensive tools to create all kinds of ghoulish faces with ready-to-use patterns. For deliciously creepy recipes, there is the “Betty Crocker Halloween Cookbook,” available as an eBook on Hoopla.
Just looking for some spooky reads and scary movies? My hands down favorite books to read are a children’s trilogy by Alvin Schwartz called “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.” In addition to the books, there is an e-Audiobook available on Hoopla complete with eerie sound effects. We also have a movie by this same title that came out just last year. It is quite chilling and adds new twists to some of the selected classics. For young children, check out “In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories” by the same author, available as an e-Book on Hoopla. For a dangerous frolic through a haunted forest with many thrills and chills, listen to “Haunted Forest Tour” by James A. Moore, an e-Audiobook on Hoopla. It is evocative of a “Jurassic Park” meets Stephen King type of terror. And of course, we have all your classic Halloween horror films including the newest version of “Halloween” by Michael Myers (also available as a movie on Hoopla), Tim Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas” and “American Horror Story” (seasons 1-5) on DVD.
There are endless resources and fun for Halloween at our libraries and the above recommendations are just the tip of the forbidden iceberg. Trick or treat!
Your library is online: www.mymanatee.org/library. Free masks are available at all library locations.
Speaking Volumes is written by staff members with the Manatee County Public LIbrary. Rachel Suntop is a librarian at the Central Library.