Decorative carved pumpkins are synonymous with Halloween. They are also known as ‘jack-o’-lanterns’, especially in America. This name is thought to originate from an Irish folktale about a man called Stingy Jack, who tricked the devil and wasn’t allowed into heaven or hell, so wandered the earth carrying a lantern. The jack-o’-lantern would originally be carved from turnips or potatoes, but as the tradition grew in popularity in America, pumpkins became the preferred choice as they were so readily available.
Trick-or-treating has also been around since medieval times in Scotland and Ireland, where it was known as ‘guising’. Children would dress up in costumes and ask for food or money in exchange for songs, poems or other tricks. And black cats? In the Middle Ages, people believed that witches could turn themselves into black cats to hide themselves, so they (rather unfairly) became associated with bad luck.
The contemporary Halloween is perhaps spooky in a different way: the spending associated with it. In America, Halloween is second only to Christmas in terms of money spent (which is estimated to be approximately $8 billion in 2020, according to the National Research Federation). Nearly half of those surveyed said they would dress up in costumes for Halloween, with the most popular costumes being princesses and superheroes. And dressing up isn’t just for the humans anymore. Spending on pet costumes was estimated at $490 million in 2019, with the most popular choices being pumpkin and hot dog. In the UK, 10 to 15 million pumpkins are grown each year, with 25% of the British public saying they tend to buy a pumpkin for Halloween. This amounts to £29.7 million spent on pumpkins alone!