Halloween is a yearly holiday observed around the world in October. According to some scholars, All Hallows' Eve initially incorporated traditions from pagan harvest festivals and festivals honoring the dead, particularly the Celtic Samhain;other scholars maintain that the feast originated entirely independently of Samhain.

Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating attending costume parties, carving jack-o'- lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films, as well as the religious observances of praying, fasting and attending vigils or church services.

The word Halloween was first used in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows'-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Hallows' Day.