Trick Or Treat! North End Is Ready For Halloween

It's Halloween.

And, despite some of us worrying that Hurricane Sandy might wreck plans, the annual celebration is on for the entire day.

So dress us and have some fun.

Old North Church on Salem Street offers a spooky event just for Halloween from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. During an hour-long tour, you’ll see the crypt where more than 1,000 are buried and then see Copp’s Hill Burying Ground right up the street. Cost is $8 for adults and $7 for students and senior citizens. Wear your costume. Call 617-523-4848 for additional information.

After that, head over to the North End Library on Parmenter Street and watch a scary movie. At 6:00 p.m., the branch will be showing “Bird With Crystal Plumage” from 1970. Originally titled "L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo," this film tells the story of an American writer who witnesses a murder attempt in Rome. The targeted victim is the wife of an art gallery owner. We won’t give away too many details but it’s thrilling when the writer takes on an investigation of his own.

History lesson

Do you know the roots of Halloween and why we wear costumes?

A contraction of All Hallows’ Evening, Halloween was originally influenced by western European harvest festivals. Some scholars say the yearly celebration takes its roots from festivals of the dead.

The tradition of wearing a costume apparently developed from Christian customs created in Western Europe around the 15th century. Masqueraders were recorded in 1895 in Scotland. They carried lanterns made from turnips and went to visit homes where the received cake, fruit and money. Guising, as it was called, was first reported in North America in 1911. A newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, reported children “guising” in the neighborhood.