For some time I have been sharing the bathroom with a magnificent set of green and grey dreadlocks belonging to Medusa.  Down in the kitchen, the bench played host to a huge bloodied red hand – an attribute of Hellboy, I am told. Enough time and passion went into this year’s Halloween costumes  to start a small war.
For this particular group of young people, Halloween is the festive high point of the year. Christmas?  What’s a Santa hat when you can dress up as a Mummy  with your navel painted gold.
Many good Christian people object strenuously to Halloween as currently celebrated – with its glorification of evil and the dark side. They wish to return the feast to its Christian roots  - its name meaning  “the evening before the Feast of All Hallows”.  All Saints' Day (November 1st) is the day  when Christians remember all the saints (or hallows) who don’t have their own feast  day.
However, historically, this is a bit dubious, because the festival of the dark side predates Christianity and is yet another example of the Church of appropriating a pagan festival for its own uses.   It’s the mediaeval equivalent of the Church taking to Facebook and Twitter to get the Word out.
Halloween has returned to its pagan roots, but that doesn’t diminish or impact the quiet, powerful church services which were held in all over the country on the Sunday  after Halloween – celebrating All Souls’ Day which falls on November 2nd.   Here, thousands of people light candles and quietly remember their dead before God. No tricks or treats no tomato sauce, simply silent prayer and a silent hope that the dead are indeed with us  - but in the hands of God.