Halloween Styled Photo Shoot

Part II – In color

Thanks for all the great feedback on Part I of our Halloween styled shoot. We really did have a lot of fun and as “creepy amazing” as some of the images looked, we had lots of laughs and so many of the creative ideas came from the girls, so a huge thank you to them.

Did you know…..The American Halloween tradition of “trick-or-treating” probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives. The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter. 

When I was growing up in England dressing up for Halloween always centered on ghosts, witches and the more traditional side of Halloween. I don’t remember seeing jack-0-lanterns and the modern version of trick-or-treating and children dressing as princesses and super heroes seems to have been established in the US in the early 1950’s although I am pretty sure it is popular in lots of other countries now. One quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. is purchased for Halloween – how crazy is that!

A huge thank you to Harrybrooke Park and the Harden House for our amazing location and there is still time to visit the haunted trail on October 28 and 29, 2016.

Happy Halloween!

Janet xo