Charlotte Cowell writes: Whilst Christmas has always been the most important trading occasion for retailers, autumn trading has another key event in the form of Halloween, which has been growing in popularity, year-on-year, for quite some time now.
With this, the UK has picked up a series of cultural cues from our cousins across the Atlantic in North America, where ‘Fall’ is a very special time for all sorts of reasons, not least of all Thanksgiving, or ‘happy traitor’s day’ as some like to call it in England!
The name, Halloween, has a more spiritual root than many people realise, deriving from ‘All Hallows Eve’, which is the day before All Saint’s Day, a major holy day for Christians which falls on 1st November. The all hallows tradition originated in Europe in the 19th century and was shipped to America by immigrants from our side of the pond.
The tradition tells us that the spirits of the dead would grow restless the night before All Saint’s Day and were liable to harm people and crops unless they had their night of fun before the Saints came marching in. The result is a fun occasion enjoyed by people of all ages, from young trick or treaters in witches costumes to the uber-elites of London who enjoy increasingly lavish parties to celebrate the ghost hunting season.
Witches and Quakers
The British Isles have had a powerful folkloric and fairytale tradition for centuries or even millennia, especially in the Celtic heartlands and certain locations in the north of England which are famous for their witchcraft heritage. Lancashire, in particular, is locally known as ‘witching country’, with the mysterious Pendle Hill and is multi-layered historical legends dominating the spectacular landscape.
The 1612 trials of the Pendle witches are probably the most famous in England, with many historical records surviving from that period and a rich tradition which helps support tourism across the region. The twelve accused women who lived in the area of Pendle Hill were accused with murdering ten people by the use of witchcraft, with all but two of them tried on 18-19 August 1612 at the Lancaster Assizes at Lancaster Castle.
Clerk to the Court, Thomas Potts, published the proceedings in his book, The Wonderful Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster. The ten deaths by hanging at Lancaster and an eleventh at York was an unusually high number.
Three Salmesbury witches – Jane Southworth, Jennet Bierley and Ellen Bierley – stood trial at the same time, escaped the fate of their Pendle sisters when 14 year old Grace Sowerbutts, the chief prosecution witness, was exposed by the judge as “the perjuring tool of a Catholic priest.”
Whilst the Pendle region of 1612 was considered wild, lawless and licentious, by 1652 it would inspire a very different sentiment, when Christian pilgrim George Fox arrived at the summit of the hill in 1652, saying: “As we travelled we came near a very great hill, called Pendle Hill, and I was moved of the Lord to go up… When I was come to the top, I saw the sea bordering upon Lancashire. From the top of this hill the Lord let me see in what places he had a great people to be gathered.’ His vision inspired the birth of the Quaker movement in England, which spread swiftly during the English Civil War. Pendle Hill is a pilgrimage site for Quakers worldwide to this day.
Fun fact: The last witch in England was thought to have been a man called William Chew who died in the 19th century and was buried in the cemetary of Darwen, Lancashire, beneath a yew tree, just outside the consecrated ground.
The Frida Effect and Beetlejuice
Halloween was given another boost a few years ago when the Mexican Day of the Dead was taken up by trend spotters and turned into a veritable fest of skulls and roses on everything from greetings cards to cushions. This was likely catalysed by the existing interest in legendary Mexican artist and feminist icon, Frida Kahlo, who became the focus of a major cross-category licensing programme.
Frida suffered from very poor health and was thought to walk the line between life and death, making her the perfect symbol of this important Mexican occasion. Britain duly embraced both Frida and the Day of the Dead alike and this gradually been morphing into a Halloween craze.
This year’s Halloween has been given even more of an uplift thanks to the Gothic core trend that’s been building all year and has seen the second instalment of classic 80’s movie, Beetlejuice, which was released last month in cinemas. As with Barbie last year, Beetlejuice has the potential to spawn a craze which will translate to merchandise sales and lifestyle trends.
All this adds up to a great occasion for all sorts of retailers, from high street gift and home stores to destination garden centres. There are some fantastic Halloween themed products that make for amazing merchandise displays that nicely plugs the gap between back-to-school and the Christmas rush. With a market that’s set to make £1bn in sales in the UK this year, you’re missing a trick AND a treat if you haven’t jumped on your broomstick and brought those pumpkins instore this season.
Featured images from the top: Bee Felten, Pendle Hill above mist, Tim Mossholder, Gale Astley.