It’s Time For Halloween!

When?

The time has finally come – a season of spooks, looks and goodies. Come 31st October, our streets will be trolling with monsters, fantastical characters, witches and ghouls of different variants. No stops will be left unpulled on this day. Dating its origins all the way back to Celtic Ireland, Halloween is a festival that signified the last day of the year that souls of the departed would be able to return to their former homes, thus releasing potentially evil spirits from the Otherworld.

Today, Halloween is largely viewed as a fun time of the year where both adults and children alike are able to dress up in their spookiest costumes and carry out traditional activities such as trick-or-treating, eating candy apples and carving jack-o’-lanterns. Even here in Singapore, the tradition of celebrating Halloween has become more and more pronounced over the years.

How?

When October rolls around each year, costume shops start seeing an increase in sales and rental figures. People are frantically snapping up their favourite Star Trek outfit, their Flintstones get up or even their Power Rangers full suits from costume shops in Singapore such as No. 1 Costume Costume. For the more prudent, a large black towel may pass off as a vampire’s cape or alternatively, a plain night-gown could transform you into a young female spirit from the 1970s. Halloween makeup necessities such as face paint, face glitter and other craft goods may be found at either Art Friend or Spotlight.

Surveys were conducted by The National Retail Federation (NRF) and BIGresearch, yielding results of the top ten adults’ costumes in 2009 (in ascending order): police officer, sports figure, scary costume/mask (generic), devil, cat, wench/tart/vixen, clown, pirate, vampire and the most popular adults’ choice of costume, the witch. There are so many different ways that you can play dress up! Have you decided on your costume de la nuit?

Where?

Every year, events are organised in the name of Halloween. Ghost trails, haunted escapades, spooky mansion tours, even a wild night of partying – horror-style! This year, there will be two major Halloween-themed events. One of the two, Sentosa Spooktacular, will be held in Sentosa and features six haunted trails around Imbiah Zone. The other, Halloween Horror Nights, has been carried over from both Universal Studio parks in the United States. Touted the most exciting and horrifying event for years to come, Halloween Horror Nights will be held within Universal Studios Singapore.

For those seeking a more interactive and social experience, you might be pleased to know that most haunts (pun intended) in the Clarke Quay and Boat Quay area have announced Halloween-themed events. Some of these places include Beer Market, The Butter Factory, Home Club, KU DE TA, St James Power Station, Zirca and Zouk. Simply stroll, or troll, around to bask in the colourful Halloween atmostphere and exhilarating kaleidoscope of events smack in the middle of Singapore’s hottest nightlife spot.

A night of endless horror and immeasurable fun, this is possibly the only perfectly legal chance you will get in an entire year to dress up as a spooky, man-eating ghoul and terrorise the peaceful streets of Singapore!