A review by bodagirl
Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween by David J. Skal

3.0

An interesting, if unfocused, look at a uniquely American holiday. Chapter one is the best part of the book as it explores the history of Halloween from routes in pagan and Christian religious holidays to the mischievous vandalism of the early twentieth century to the modern candy-collecting spree. The other chapters seem to ramble through a series of topics that are interesting, but span such a broad realm of Halloween lore and tradition that the book doesn't mesh well. The afterword about the effects of 9/11 on Halloween 2001 seems gratuitous and tacked on because of when the book was published.