Doug Van Dorn- Subverting Halloween

Podcast: Reformed Fringe · Doug Van Dorn

Opublikowano: 2026-10-25

Some have argued that Halloween is not a pagan hangover ritual to be avoided but a Christian day of mockery—All Hallows’ Eve, the night before the celebration of the saints’ victory, when the church ridicules a defeated enemy. I take that claim very seriously while testing it against the older Irish material: Samhain as summer’s end, the thin veil, the Fomorians’ tribute, and the Tuatha Dé Danann. The result is a clear distinction between subversion (emptying an old form and filling it with Christian meaning) and syncretism (keeping both meanings alive). Along the way we look at the histori...