Halloween icons
August 29, 2008 2:14 AM   Subscribe

Characters and icons specific to Halloween?

I'm trying to come up with a list of characters, icons, and similar that are specifically relevent to Halloween (the holiday)... meaning not every popular movie monster would make the fit, no matter how "popular" they are around Halloween.

Clearly, The Great Pumpkin is at the top of the list. Jack Skellington, or some other Nightmare Before Christmas characters also work for obvious reasons.

The Headless Horseman fits because according to legend he only appear Halloween night. By the same token, Michael Myers fits... his bloody rampages coincide with Oct. 31st.

Ben Cooper might also fit... although it was the name of possibly the most famous Halloween costume company ever - cheap vinyl jumpsuits and a flimsy plastic mask. Loved em!

Any ideas?
posted by Unsomnambulist to Society & Culture (3 answers total)
 
In the UK Guy Fawkes is strongly associated with that time of year - his day is November 5th rather than Halloween but the celebrations tend to run together.

You might also want to read about Samhain - the celtic festival on which Halloween is based. This is associated with a number of folkloric characters - see the link for more details.
posted by rongorongo at 2:45 AM on August 29, 2008


I'd argue that pumpkins are actually pretty much all there is, in terms of the old school Hallowe'en. Obviously witches, ghosts, black cats, spiders and just about anything else from horror or the darker sides of mythology and superstition tend to fit the bill, but I can't think of a single one of these that is specifically linked to the festival.

Incidentally, as a child in the 70s I remember carving large turnips (or swedes) because, at least in my part of the UK, pumpkins were far from readily available; one rarely saw one outside a Scooby Doo cartoon.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 3:11 AM on August 29, 2008


Response by poster: Samhain character's would fit - thanks for the suggestion!

To clarify a bit: these don't have to be "classic" icons - they could be from newer legends, ads, or movies.
posted by Unsomnambulist at 12:15 PM on August 29, 2008


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