The Book of Hallowe'en is about what you'd expect--or at least, it was exactly what I expected. It's basically a bunch of traditions from over Europe briefly explained, and a few from the USA, too. There's not a whole lot of depth, but there is a very long references section which can probably provide that depth. It seems to have been factual for it's time (around 1919), though the ways we view facts and history and primary sources have all changed, so I don't know how well it holds up nowadays as a factual document.
My complaints are few, but I'll mention them; first the lack of depth that I mentioned, which sometimes made me feel as though I was just reading a long list of anecdotes. Second, I'm not sure how to consider some of their sources. There were plenty of quotes from tradition songs, and then there were quotes from fiction like Peter Pan, and I couldn't tell if the author was analyzing the newer stuff to portray new depth, or if they were using fiction as a primary source, or what.
If you enjoy books like this, either in style or in topic, I also recommend
Folk Lore Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within This Century
.
Customer reviews
I agree, not an easy read at all. I feel like itโs a tongue twister. The words just do not roll off the tongue. Very boring and not at all was I hoping for. :( I bought this to read to my sons for homeschool, I thought it would be fun to read the history of Halloween but itโs just a drag.
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Amazon Customer
Halloween Superstitions
Reviewed in the United States ๐บ๐ธ on October 5, 2013
@theCryptKicker
Not quite what I had hoped, but still worth the low cost
Reviewed in the United States ๐บ๐ธ on March 31, 2008
S. L. Small
A great intro to the holiday, dated references to POC
Reviewed in the United States ๐บ๐ธ on October 30, 2020Amazon Customer
Good read.
Reviewed in the United States ๐บ๐ธ on September 16, 2020
Amazon Customer
Crazy old fashioned fun.
Reviewed in the United States ๐บ๐ธ on September 30, 2016
Ophelia
I wanted to like this more...
Reviewed in the United States ๐บ๐ธ on November 4, 2014Curriculum Vitae
An Interesting Historical Work
Reviewed in the United States ๐บ๐ธ on January 13, 2020Elizabeth Berggren
Wonderful information on Halloween
Reviewed in the United States ๐บ๐ธ on October 26, 2017Top reviews from other countries
karen smith
Disappointing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom ๐ฌ๐ง on January 14, 2019Kate
Interesting & historic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom ๐ฌ๐ง on December 1, 2014