Halloween

Alice Cooper - SECC: Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, Mon 31 Oct

2 Nov 2011

Could there be a more perfect date for Alice Cooper to play Glasgow? And the Halloween freakshow starts early with protopunks New York Dolls still pouting after all these years. A muted response from the crowd in this vast arena lessens the impact but…

Alice Cooper tried to 'destroy' audiences

Music Gossip

28 Oct 2011

Alice Cooper used to try and "destroy" his audience. The 'School's Out' hitmaker said his self-titled band didn't understand hippy culture when they first moved to California in 1967, they would purposefully go out of their way to antagonise their…

Mr Scruff's Halloween playlist

Featuring Fela Kuti, Le Noiz, Giuliano Sorgini and Whodini

28 Oct 2011

Fela Kuti ‘Zombie’ A 12-and-a-half minute afro-funk groove from the father of Afrobeat. The lyrics are about the Nigerian army, but it works perfectly well in a spooky situation. bit.ly/kutizombie Al Kooper & Stephen Stills ‘Season Of The…

Patrick Wolf's history of Samhain

How the origins of Hallowe'en lie in the Gaelic festival of Samhain

21 Oct 2011

Long before the commercialisation of 31 October, the date that we have come to know now as Hallowe’en, there was a Gaelic festival called Samhain that marked the beginning of the ‘darker half’ of the year: the end of the hopeful days of spring and the…

King Creosote - Why I love Hallowe’en

The Mercury Prize nominee on how Hallowe'en has become a fixture in the Fence calendar

21 Oct 2011

In order to become a proper record label, the three of us working out of Fence HQ in the early days of the new millennium – Gummi Al, Johnny Pictish and myself, KC – decided we ought to adopt a few standard office practices. The first was to rent a PO…

Paranormal Activity 3

Surprisingly effective third instalment of found footage suburban ghost story

21 Oct 2011

(15) 84min Now Saw has relinquished it’s stranglehold on the multiplex each and every Halloween, Paranormal Activity has stepped up to fill the void. And it’s impressive that they’ve managed to mine this much back-story from the simplicity of the…

Alice Cooper praises guitarist Depp

Music Gossip

28 Jun 2011

Alice Cooper thinks Johnny Depp is as good a guitarist as Slash. The 63-year-old rocker was delighted when the actor agreed to perform with him at London's 100 Club on Sunday (26.06.11), and was so impressed by his musical abilities, the 'Tourist…

Make your own Hallowe'en party essentials

How to make Hallowe’en Party Bunting, Meringue Ghosts, Chocolate Spider Cupcakes and Pumpkin Lantern

29 Oct 2010

Having a Hallowe'en party? Then heed some of these top tips from craft masters Made in the Shade

Hallowe'en costumes from a theatre costume cupboard

We raid the The Royal Lyceum Theatre costume store for inspiration

29 Oct 2010

We take a trip to the costume store of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh to get some outfit inspiration

The best Hallowe'en events and film screenings in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Zombie Walks, screenings of Saw 3D, Halloween and Evil Dead II

29 Oct 2010

The first feature-length version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella was a 1920 adaptation starring John Barrymore in the dual role as the misguided scientist and his maniacal alter-ego. For Hallowe’en the Usher Hall is bringing this silent classic to…

The best Hallowe'en music and club events in Edinburgh and Glasgow

29 Oct 2010

HALLOWEEN CLUBS There’s blood on the dancefloor as Hallowe’en takes over clubland. First up, Hung Up! host the annual Optimo (Espookio) as Glasgow’s weirdest Hallowe’en party rises from the grave (The Sub Club, Sun 31 Oct). And if there’s dressing up…

The best Kids Hallowe'en events in Edinburgh and Glasgow

29 Oct 2010

Sometimes, the scariest thing about giving your kids a Hallowe’en treat can be the price. So once you’ve exhausted your wallet buying witch costumes and ghoul masks, here are a few free events to take your spookily-dressed offspring to. The Family Scary…

Professional costume designer's one-hour witch costume

29 Oct 2010

Not everyone has access to a warehouse full of theatrical costumes. So, to give some good advice to those of us battling with bin bags and plastic bottles to make our outfits we’ve enlisted Denis Boyar from the Russian Cultural Centre at Glasgow’s…

Quick and easy Hallowe'en witch costume

29 Oct 2010

Let’s be honest, there’s a good chance you’ll be stuck, 20 minutes before your Hallowe’en party, without a costume. We challenged Denis to come up with a speedy outfit made from household items You'll need: Two big sheets of paper; scissors…

Edinburgh Samhuinn marks events from pagan calendar

Beltane Fire Society bring fire and drums to Capital's Royal Mile

27 Oct 2010

As a nation with some deeply pagan roots, we love any excuse to set fire to things while bashing away at drums. Thank goodness, then, for the Beltane Fire Society, which not only shares these passions, but manages to foreground them twice a year. This…

Death Weekend set for Roxy Art House

Edinburgh venue marks Hallowe'en with themed weekend

27 Oct 2010

The Roxy Art House get right into the spooky swing of things with this subtly-named collection of morbid events celebrating Hallowe’en. There’s a literary reading from satirical sci-fi guy Steve Aylett; experimental art from Alex Hetherington; live…

Spotify playlist: Hallowe'en 2010

20 Oct 2010

Halloween doesn’t have to be all about doing the ‘Monster Mash’ or voluntarily listening to the theme from Ghostbusters. There’s a wide range of supernatural-themed music on offer for this occasion. Here’s a Spotify playlist of ghoulish alternatives.

Zombie Zombie perform the music of John Carpenter

23 Feb 2010

Forming part of the Glasgow Film Festival’s Music and Film strand, the influence of one of American cinema’s most widely-respected cult auteurs hung over this event, so we shouldn’t be too picky that the band scrapped the idea of performing in front of…

Pere Ubu, Mogwai, Thomas Truax and Zombie Zombie set for The Glasgow Music and Film Festival

17 Feb 2010

The Music and Film Festival is a strange beast, full of contradictions and tangents that threaten to pull apart its coherence, but ultimately make it the most exciting strand of this year’s Glasgow Film Festival. Co-curated by the Arches, and featuring…

Halloween Guide: M - S

Yet more spooky goings-on

16 Oct 2009

M is for Movies Perhaps only rivalled by the upsurge in the plastic horn industry around 31 Oct, the annual economic boost for the horror film industry ensures that, every Halloween, there is a fresh crop of dismembered corpse-filled flicks to satisfy…

Halloween Guide: G - L

The next step in our Halloween runthrough

16 Oct 2009

G is for Ghost Vigil Ghost hunting is a serious business – Derek Acorah has proved that. If you fancy busting some ghosts, then this all night Ghost Vigil aboard the Tall Ship in Glasgow is a good place to hone your skills. Conducted by experienced…

Halloween Guide: A - F

All you need to know about October's most haunted evening

16 Oct 2009

A is for Arachnids Eight-legged creatures are making another notorious appearance this Halloween, with Glasgow Science Centre including them as part of the many horrid things in their children’s Halloween event on Fri 30 Oct. The truth is kids love…

Halloween Guide: T - Z

Our final tricks and treats

16 Oct 2009

T is for Tours It’s the eve of Halloween and you’re feeling a bit like an overgrown trick or treater – excited, but not sure what a sophisticated adult like yourself should be doing to celebrate. Chapping on strangers’ doors and singing for sugar…

Tam Shepherd's Trick Shop

Hunting for the perfect Halloween costume in the Glasgow institution

16 Oct 2009

Halloween costumes have not always been my forte, but I vowed this year not to have a re-run of 2002’s ‘bin bag suit’ or 2006’s ill-advised ‘shadow man’ (head-to-toe black body paint is most assuredly not a good idea). This year I needed professional…

Glasgow Zombie Walk

Colin Armstrong explains the big idea behind his day out for the undead

16 Oct 2009

Colin Armstrong is a man with a dream, a dream to see a large group of mindless, dribbling corpses slowly wandering through Glasgow’s West End. Not everyone’s cup of tea perhaps, but for zombie movie fans this special Halloween crossover from B-movie to…

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…