Trick or treat, it’s Hallowe’en! Mark Nicholls looks at how Americans in the region will be marking the most ghoulish night of the year.

As darkness falls on the eve of October
31, all sorts of weird, wonderful and wacky events lie just around the corner. Ghouls are roused, witches roam the streets and the knock on the door at some stage in the evening is hardly likely to be the neighbour popping round to borrow a bag of sugar.

No, it’s Hallowe’en and a growing band of kids turns into “trick or treaters” for the night. Disguised in garish costumes, wigs,
theatrical make-up, and carrying jack-o-lanterns, it’s all good-natured fun but in
recent years there have been concerns that some knocks on the door have taken an unnecessarily sinister turn.

The crooked finger of blame all too easily points across the Atlantic with claims that the Americans’ infatuation, or near obsession, with Hallowe’en has made it to the UK’s shores. It may give you a little fright to discover that across the pond Hallowe’en is the second biggest holiday in terms of commercial spend, other than Christmas, with US citizens splashing out seven billion dollars on festivities linked to October 31.

Yes, Americans love Hallowe’en, but US ex-pats in the UK are keen to stress it’s all about fun, dressing up, partying and a friendly, good-neighbourly approach to trick or treating.

You can bet that two places where witches, warlocks and ghosts will be out in force in the east of the country will be on the two major US air bases in the region, Lakenheath and Mildenhall.

So just what is it about Hallowe’en that turns these American enclaves into such ghost towns for the night? As technical sergeant Cindy Dorfner, from RAF Mildenhall, comments: “It’s a fun event for kids. They look forward to it for a whole year – the dressing up and going out and
getting loads of candy. It’s fun also for the adults to see the kids dressed up.”

And, while Americans do admit to spending scary amounts of cash on Hallowe’en, Cindy points out that you don’t have to invest on a grand scale to ensure you have a good time on October 31. “You definitely don’t have to spend a lot of money to enjoy Hallowe’en,” she says. “People can make their own costumes, and a lot of people really enjoy the creative aspect of that.”

As kids on the base go out trick or treating, their way signposted by the eerie-faces on their lanterns carved out of pumpkins, you can expect they have a few tricks up their sleeve. But as mostly happens, the mere hint of “mischief” is sufficient to extract sweets and biscuits – sorry candy and cookies – from the householders concerned.

And with such effort going into the occasion, with an array of spooky outfits, wigs and some vary scary wails, who could resist paying this ghostly protection demand?

Hallowe’en events are already well planned for Mildenhall and Lakenheath. As they would at home in the States, the children will dress up in all kinds of costumes: as witches, scary monsters, and pumpkins. But there will be characters from the television and movies too.

While Cindy suspects a lot of families will spend hours of pleasure and fun making their own ghoulish get-ups, others will buy them at the base exchange (that’s the British military equivalent of the NAAFI) or wherever else they can find something spooky to wear.

But with safety always a paramount issue, trick or treating and fun on the streets is closely monitored. It’s a haunting thought, but in America, children are four times more likely to suffer pedestrian-related fatalities on Hallowe’en than on any other night of the year. American authorities issue advice to help keep kids safe on Hallowe’en and more recently British organisations, such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), and the Metropolitan Police have followed suit.

“There are tips about how to stay safe while enjoying the night out. The base usually hosts a night of ‘trick or treating’ in the housing areas,” says Cindy. “Volunteers from the base patrol to make sure everyone is safe. Additionally, the chapel staff typically hosts a “Hallowe’en alternative” where children can dress up in non-scary outfits and enjoy a night of social gathering with games and treats.”

Last year, there were “Haunted Houses” on the base, sponsored by several of the squadrons. People could pay a small entrance fee to go through the house of haunts. Money raised usually goes right back to the community through funds donated to charity. “People on the bases celebrate Hallowe’en much the same as we do in the United States,”
explains Cindy. “There are parties, haunted houses, trick or treating, carving and displaying pumpkins.”

The historical roots of Hallowe’en may seem like distant legend amid the fun and pranks of modern day October 31 festivities. But Hallowe’en dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts celebrated new year on November 1, a day marking the end of summer and the start of winter, a night when the boundary between life and death was similarly blurred.

October 31 was the day they believed ghosts returned to earth. People who left their homes on that night feared they would encounter ghosts. To avoid being recognised by such spirits, the ancients wore masks, a tradition still very much in evidence on Hallowe’en today.

In the ninth century Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 as All Saints Day to honour saints and martyrs – a move interpreted since as attempting to replace a Celtic festival with a church-sanctioned holiday.

Much of this may be lost on those celebrating Hallowe’en in 2004 with black cats, pumpkins, bats and witches the symbols of the contemporary festivities.

On the US bases, many people will be attending parties in the most amazing and original costumes. Despite the creeping razzmatazz of October 31 US-style, there are still lots of great traditions. Apple bobbing remains a party favourite with popcorn balls, candy and caramel or candied apples consumed in serious quantities.

“It’s a fun night out where you get to dress up, or see kids dressed up, and get loads and loads of candy,” says Cindy.

But for ex-pat Americans in the UK who may feel left out of the Hallowe’en celebrations, perhaps because they don’t live on a base or don’t know too many fellow citizens in this country, help is at hand.

Website www.americanexpats.co.uk has some homely advice. It says: “Even though Hallowe’en has its roots in the Celtic cultures of Britain and Western Europe, Hallowe’en isn’t as widely celebrated in the UK as it is in
the States. That doesn’t mean that one can’t have a ‘spooktacular’ Hallowe’en in the UK … you just have to seek out the haunts yourself.”

The site has several links to websites about the UK’s most haunted or mysterious places, and ghost clubs to ensure that US citizens in Britain on Hallowe’en can celebrate almost as they would at home.