Halloween Nation

America's leading authority on Halloween presents interviews with spooky rock groups, amateur vampires, haunted house creators, champion pumpkin carvers, and more, all in the quest of explaining the nation's unique love affair with this holiday. The collection of essays and interviews explores the pop culture phenomenon that is Halloween, and why we celebrate it the way we do today.

HALLOWEEN MACHINE MAGAZINE! Biggest issue yet! Season Wrap-up Issue Five is loaded with all kinds of tricks and treats for the Halloween obsessed. From home haunters and industry pros! This one features an interview with Halloween author Lesley Pratt Bannatyne! PLUS: Halloween Store Sightings, The Art of Steve Jencks, John Carpenter's "Halloween", Michael Jackson's "Thriller", Charles T. Cochran, Kurtis Primm, Flint Horror Con, and a lot more!

Arising out of the context of the re-configuration of Europe, new perspectives are applied by the authors of this volume to the process of nation-building in the United States. By focusing on a variety of public celebrations and festivities from the Revolution to the early twentieth century, the formative period of American national identity, the authors reveal the complex interrelationships between collective identities on the local, regional, and national level which, over time, shaped the peculiar character of American nationalism. This volume combines vivid descriptions of various public celebrations with a sophisticated methodological and theoretical approach.

The 10th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2003, is held in Crete, Greece, 22-27 June 2003, jointly with the Symposium on Human Interface (Japan) 2003, the 5th International Conference on Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics, and the 2nd International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. A total of 2986 individuals from industry, academia, research institutes, and governmental agencies from 59 countries submitted their work for presentation, and only those submittals that were judged to be of high scientific quality were included in the program. These papers address the latest research and development efforts and highlight the human aspects of design and use of computing systems. The papers accepted for presentation thoroughly cover the entire field of humancomputer interaction, including the cognitive, social, ergonomic, and health aspects of work with computers. These papers also address major advances in knowledge and effective use of computers in a variety of diversified application areas, including offices, financial institutions, manufacturing, electronic publishing, construction, health care, disabled and elderly people, etc.

Boasting a rich, complex history rooted in Celtic and Christian ritual, Halloween has evolved from ethnic celebration to a blend of street festival, fright night, and vast commercial enterprise. In this colorful history, Nicholas Rogers takes a lively, entertaining look at the cultural origins and development of one of the most popular holidays of the year. Drawing on a fascinating array of sources, from classical history to Hollywood films, Rogers traces Halloween as it emerged from the Celtic festival of Samhain (summer's end), picked up elements of the Christian Hallowtide (All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day), arrived in North America as an Irish and Scottish festival, and evolved into an unofficial but large-scale holiday by the early 20th century. He examines the 1970s and '80s phenomena of Halloween sadism (razor blades in apples) and inner-city violence (arson in Detroit), as well as the immense influence of the horror film genre on the reinvention of Halloween as a terror-fest. Throughout his vivid account, Rogers shows how Halloween remains, at its core, a night of inversion, when social norms are turned upside down, and a temporary freedom of expression reigns supreme. He examines how this very license has prompted censure by the religious Right, occasional outrage from law enforcement officials, and appropriation by Left-leaning political groups. Engagingly written and based on extensive research, Halloween is the definitive history of the most bewitching day of the year, illuminating the intricate history and shifting cultural forces behind this enduring trick-or-treat holiday.