It’s that spooky time of the year again… when skeletons, witches, zombies, ghouls and other creepy creatures ‘come alive’.

Halloween celebrations have steadily seeped into Maltese culture, particularly over the last decade. Shop windows are replete with Halloween decorations, schools organise Halloween activities, including themed crafts and parties, and families adorn their houses with Jack-o-lanterns and other wordly ornaments.

Tonight, many localities will be hosting trick or treat events, including Naxxar, Żurrieq, Paola, Pembroke and Luqa. Children, the youngest of whom are usually accompanied by parents, will dress up as their favourite scary monster­, such as Dracula, Frankenstein or the Corpse Bride, and go on knocking at people’s houses asking for sweets.

Youths and adults may also join in the ‘gory’ fun as various venues across the islands are hosting Halloween parties.

The festivity is observed in many countries on the eve of the Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day, a time in the liturgical calendar dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs and the faithful departed.

But it all began as a Celtic celebration. At the end of summer, the Celts thought the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits got really thin and weird creatures with strange powers could wander about on earth.

So, the Celts organised a big party to scare away the ghosts and spirits.

Many localities will be hosting trick or treat events tonight

Irish immigrants to the US raised the popularity of Hallo-ween in the 19th century and that’s where the festivity really took off.

They also exported the tradition of pumpkin carving. Jack-o-lanterns, with their glowing faces, were supposed to scare away evil spirits. Originally they were carved out of turnips but as the Irish did not find the veg in the US, they turned to pumpkins.

Halloween enthusiasts carve figures in pumpkins ‘to scare away evil spirits’ according to tradition dating back to the 19th century.

These customs are thought to have pagan roots and, in fact, Halloween has been scorned by the Catholic Church which sees the celebrations as a modern version of ancient satanic traditions.

Marsascala parish church is taking heed and will be holding a kind of ‘anti-Halloween’ party titled ‘Party tal-Qaddisin’.

Children in the locality are urged to dress up as their favourite saint for the occasion.

The Kerygma Movement is organising a similar activity tomorrow at St Dominic’s Priory in Rabat. The ‘All Saints Party 2018’ is being promoted as an event of prayer and friendship and is also inviting children to wear saintly costumes.