The Halloween Encyclopedia, 2d ed. - Softcover

"a well-written resource"--Library Journal; "generously illustrated and indexed...a worthy addition"--Booklist; ""a valuable addition...recommended"--ARBA; "will fit the bill for any college-level academic collection any many a public library reference shelf"--Midwest Book Review; "chock full of interesting facts...first encyclopedia reference on the subject. Adroitly written and impressively researched, the encyclopedia draws on a myriad of works"--Brutarian Quarterly; "not only the first encyclopedia devoted to Halloween, it is also the most complete and useful of its kind"--Reference Reviews; "capture[s] the 'spirit' of the 'hallowed' holiday...cover[s] every angle (cultural, pop-cultural, historical, spiritual, and traditional)...read this book to become an expert on the topic of Halloween...well worthwhile"--Scary Monsters Magazine; "well written...well-researched and well-developed work...recommended"--Emerald Reference Reviews.

A first edition of The Halloween Encyclopedia was published by McFarland in 2003 (Booklist "a worthy addition to public and school libraries as well as the reference shelves of journalists and leaders of community events"); it was the first encyclopedic reference book on the cultural phenomenon (which also deals with such related holidays as Britain's Guy Fawkes Day, Mexico's Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, and the Celtic celebration Samhain). Now updated to 2010, this second edition includes more than 50 new entries, covering subjects ranging from Folk Art to African American legends. Many existing entries have been expanded and revised, with new entries ("Chronology of Halloween" and "Halloween in Literature and the Arts") in both appendices. Also featured are more than a dozen new illustrations, and an expanded bibliography.