Trick or treat! You've arrived at the Online Halloween Encyclopedia, where you can learn about the history of Halloween, see a gallery of collectibles and Halloween photos, view the web's most complete bibliography of non-fiction Halloween books, and learn a little about Lisa Morton, Halloween expert and your hostess for this little excursion.

Lisa's books include the award-winning Trick or Treat?: A History of Halloween, The Halloween Encyclopedia (2nd edition), and A Hallowe'en Anthology: Literary and Historical Writings Over the Centuries. She's been featured in documentaries on The History Channel and the supplements to the Blu-ray edition of the movie Trick 'r Treat, and she's been interviewed for Halloween articles in places like The Wall Street Journal. She also recently served as Consultant to the first U.S. Postal Halloween stamps.

Are you curious about where Halloween comes from? Maybe you've heard it's based in part on an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, and you'd like to know more...or you've read some of the books and want to know if it really had a Roman origin. Did you know that the same Scottish poet who wrote the New Years' anthem "Auld Lang Syne" also wrote the most famous description of Halloween ever? Have you ever read any of the stories of Jack, the trickster who eventually became the most iconic figure of Halloween? Well, you've come to the right place! We've got Halloween history and trivia for you here, as well as lots of vintage images of Halloween.

Need a classic scary story to read on Halloween? Or maybe some help with an article on Halloween history? Like to read about the history of jack-o'-lanterns (from Trick or Treat?: A History of Halloween)? We've also got three complete entries from The Halloween Encyclopedia: Banshees, Nuts, and Urban Legends. Or browse through the blog and the rest of the site - you'll find some great free Halloween reading here!

There's a jack-o'-lantern full of Halloween illustrations and photos here. Would you like to see engravings showing how Halloween was once celebrated? Check out the "Engravings" gallery! Want something more colorful? We've got classic Halloween postcards. Are you interested in contemporary Halloween photographs? We've got some here from the best Halloween hauntings around the Southern California area. If you'd like to use any of these images, contact Lisa for information and/or higher resolution copies.

My delightful jack-o'-lantern with vine logo at the top of this page is by the very talented Greg Chapman (aka "Darkscrybe"). If you'd like to see more of Greg's fantastic art or order your own prints, check out his page here. He is also available to create custom, commissioned works (like my jack-o'-lantern!), and you can learn more about him at Darkscrybe.
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