Halloween (eBook)

The History of America's Darkest Holiday

David J. Skal (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2016 | 1., First Edition, First
272 Seiten
Dover Publications (Verlag)
978-0-486-81282-3 (ISBN)

Infos

Original, entertaining mix of personal anecdotes and social analysis examines America's perplexingly popular holiday, tracing the tradition's evolution from its dark Celtic history to its emergence as a mammoth marketing event.

---

"Wonderfully well-written, outrageous, and provocative." — Booklist Acclaimed cultural critic David J. Skal explores one of America's most perplexingly popular holidays in this original mix of personal anecdotes and social analysis. Skal traces Halloween's evolution from its dark Celtic history and quaint, small-scale celebrations to its emergence as mammoth seasonal marketing event. Skal takes readers on a cross-country survey that covers remarkably divergent perspectives, from the merchants who welcome a money-making opportunity that's second only to Christmas to fundamentalists who decry Halloween a form of blasphemy and practicing witches who embrace it as a holy day. He also profiles individuals who revel in this once-a-year occasion to participate in elaborate fantasies. Their narratives, combined with the author's cultural analysis, offer a revealing look at an intriguing aspect of our national psyche. "Entertaining … and scholarly … Like a bag of Halloween candy, the book is a lot of fun." — Boston Globe "Fans of cultural history will devour each chapter … like a toothsome treat." — Christian Science Monitor

Autor

David J. Skal is the author of Hollywood Gothic and The Monster Show and co-editor of the Norton Critical Edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula. A longtime New Yorker, he now lives in Los Angeles.

Inhalt

ForewordIntroduction: The Candy Man's Tale1. The Halloween Machine2. The Witch's Teat3. Home is Where the Hearse is o, How to Haunt a House4. The Devil on Castro Street and Other Skirmished in the Culture War5. Halloween on ScreenEpilogue: September 11 and October 31AfterwordNotesAcknowledgmentsIndex 

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 16.5.2016
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 150 x 150 mm
• Gewicht: 408 g
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie ► Volkskunde
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• Schlagworte: acclaimed cultural criticism • American Cultural History • american holidays • biographical, • candy mans tale • celebrating fantasies • Cultural analysis • cultural critic david j. skal • Cultural-studies • Cultural Studies • dark celtic history • devil on castro street • elaborate fantasies • engaging • halloween candy • halloween machine • halloween on screen • halloween's evolution • halloweens evolution • history of halloween • Holidays • how to haunt a house • Myths • Non-fiction • Nonfiction • personal anecdotes • Retrospective • Social Analysis • wiccan holy day • witches teat
• ISBN-10: 0-486-81282-0 / 0486812820
• ISBN-13: 978-0-486-81282-3 / 9780486812823