Ghosts, Ghouls and “Goodie Glover Day”: The Irish Origins of Halloween

Join us as we leave daylight behind and explore the darker side of our mythologies and histories this Halloween at EPIC!

Halloween is fast approaching and it’s time to delve back in the origins of Irish traditions and explore how Samhain became Halloween. Irish ghost stories and funerary traditions travelled with the Irish diaspora and often became entangled with local customs to form entirely new traditions over the centuries.

Highlights
Learn about The Dullahan (“dark man”) a malevolent harbinger of death who served as the inspiration for the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow. Discover how the local practice of burying corpses with a stake through the heart influenced the writings of Irish emigrant Bram Stoker, author of Dracula. Uncover the tragic story of ‘Goody Annie Glover’ the unfortunate Irish woman who became the last person hanged for witchcraft in Boston in 1688. Learn how the influx of Irish immigrants, who brought their traditions and folktales, helped shape the story of jack-o’-lanterns in America.

This ticket includes entry to EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum and a bespoke tour.