The ancient Celts believed that the gates between worlds opened on Halloween, allowing demons to stalk the Earth. So it’s no wonder that demons and witches play such a part in modern celebrations. By the 20th century, the day became a time for children to dress up in costumes and go door to door begging for treats. UO folklorist Sharon Sherman remembers it as a time when costumes were home made and so were many of the treats. "We love to be frightened," Sherman says. "It was an opportunity to make our own costumes and become someone we were not." Now, she says, parents are worried about sexual predators, poisoned candy and tripping on costumes in the dark. "We don’t want children to go out into the street any more," Sherman says. "Adults have taken over the holiday and exchanged home-made fantasies for commercially produced costumes and home-made treats for neatly packaged candy bars." She laments the creeping commercialism that now marks Halloween. Instead, she says, Halloween is becoming a good time to merchandise and sanitize older spiritual connections to the darker side of human nature. CONTACT: Sharon Sherman, director, UO Folklore Program, (541) 346-3966; e-mail srs@oregon.uoregon.edu.

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