Halloween

Halloween II

Rob Zombie's sequel to his remake

5 Oct 2009

Rob Zombie makes his own sequel to his own remake of the horror classic where he puts putrid flesh on the bones (and gives him a mother. What?) of that ultimate senseless killing machine Michael Myers. A potentially pointless exercise in some ways…

Ghost Hunting in Loch Lomond

Who needs Derek Acorah when you have Colin Sykes?

10 Sep 2009

Greetings dear reader, and welcome to another grim tale of mystery, madness and trouser-filling terror. This being our Halloween issue, I thought I would go all out and investigate a genuine haunted castle or an authentic creepy mouldering ruin, so I…

Samhain

Investigating the inspiration for Halloween

10 Sep 2009

Halloween is about more than just pumpkin lanterns, apple dooking and dubious fancy dress. The true meaning of All Hallow's Eve harks back to the ancient fire festival of Samhain, the celebration of the final harvest and the beginning of the Celtic New…

Horror DVD round-up

24 Oct 2008

It’s Halloween, so lets fire up the DVD for some seasonal scares. We start with a trio from the Masters of Cinema series (all bundled up with substantial booklets and extras). The very roots of modern horror can be seen in silent masterpiece Nosferatu…

Halloween Special - Events

16 Oct 2008

Halloween events highlights - Our Ladies of Sorrow, Cheesecake – Night of the Living Tease, Ghostly Goings On, National Tell a Story Day: Halloween Tales, Halloween Myth and Magic, Supernatural History Tours, City of the Dead Hallowe’en Festival, Samhuinn

Halloween Special - Mary Rose

16 Oct 2008

It’s often seen as an ill omen if a play of some antiquity is seldom revived. Yet, in the case of JM Barrie’s seldom seen play Mary Rose, this suspicion might not be justified. Certainly, in the year of its release, the play was well received…

Halloween Special - Halloween Origins

16 Oct 2008

The war waged by Halloween on its Celtic relative, Samhuinn, has virtually erased the ancient festival from the public consciousness. In the United States, where All Hallows Eve has become a $2.5 billion industry, the most prominent pop cultural…

Halloween Special - Horror Movies

16 Oct 2008

It’s Halloween, so it must be time for the latest instalment in the most extreme survival horror series out there: Saw V. More than a simple gorefest, there’s a cruel intelligence at play with its villain, Jigsaw, the latest in a long line of horror…

Halloween Special - Halloween clubbing

16 Oct 2008

First up, annual Optimo (Espookio), one of Glasgow’s most enduring terror-filled dress-up nights, which is appearing on both coasts this month, commandeering Cabaret Voltaire for its first Edinburgh fright fest (Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 25 Oct…

Halloween Special - Fancy Dress

16 Oct 2008

Across in the capital, you cannot go wrong with a jaunt to Armstrongs (0131 220 5557). Lurking in the shadows of Edinburgh Castle, and in an area known for its public hanging and body snatching in days gone by, this vintage clothing emporium has the…

Halloween Special - Parties

16 Oct 2008

In the background, Jamie Lee Curtis is having trouble with some guy called Michael, toffee apples litter the floor, and the smell of rotting pumpkin fills the air. All hail Halloween, the one night of the year when it is acceptable to dress as a walking…

Samhain: The Real Halloween

1 Oct 2008

It’s that time of year again when kids dress up as ghosts and ghouls, some girls dress up in next to nothing and the rest of us, who’ve left it a little late, poke three holes through a white sheet and pretend we’re ghosts. That’s right, it’s Halloween…

Spooky Scotland

1 Oct 2008

Glamis Castle Reported to be one of the most haunted castles in Scotland, Glamis is the original seat of the Bowes and Lyons family. The castle is the setting of many a good ghostly yarn, including Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It’s also rumoured to…

Pumpkins out: Neeps in - it’s a Very Scottish Halloween

26 Oct 2007

Pumpkins have been banned from a Halloween festival at Scone Palace, as organisers shun ‘American big business and rampant consumerism’. The Very Scottish Halloween event this weekend (27-28 October) will instead involve a neepie lantern competition…

Shop - Tam Shepherd’s Trick Shop

18 Oct 2007

I’ve picked the worst possible time of the year to interview Julia Walton. It’s 12.30 on a Sunday afternoon, just before Hallowe’en, and the door of Tam Shepherd’s Trick Shop is constantly jingling. ‘Yes, it’s definitely our busiest time,’ she says…

Hallowe’en clubbing

18 Oct 2007

Maybe it’s something about the Pagan origins of Hallowe’en, but even the best clubs can’t resist hitching their night onto the celebrations. Of course, mainstream party venues will latch onto any occasion for which a greetings card has ever been…

Halloween

18 Oct 2007

HORROR (18) 109min Halloween is the latest entry in the current goldrush to remake the 70s horror cannon. And if anyone can do justice to Carpenter’s slasher classic you’d think it would be Rob Zombie. Surely the most flamboyant and passionate…

Halloween remake takes top box office slot

3 Sep 2007

A remake of the 70s horror film Halloween has topped the US box office for Labor Day weekend, and is expected to rake in £15 million over the four days. The eighth film in the series, directed by Rob Zombie, features the childhood of masked psycho…