A ghost, a witch and someone dressed as a banana arrive at the same party.
Halloween makes this perfectly reasonable. But the familiar explanation—that costumes began as a way of fooling ancient spirits—is less securely documented than it sounds.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Halloween dressing-up developed through several overlapping traditions: seasonal disguise, house-visiting, supernatural folklore, fancy-dress parties and commercial costumes.
Scottish and Irish guising provides a clear historical connection. Disguised visitors entertained households and received food or money.
The claim that ancient Celts invented Halloween costumes specifically to hide from returning ghosts is a popular explanation, rather than an established account of the custom’s beginnings.
WHAT WE KNOW
Disguised seasonal visitors appear in records long before modern Halloween.
A London proclamation of December 1334 prohibited Christmas visitors wearing masks or disguises from entering houses to play dice. Sixteenth-century Scottish records likewise mention masked guisers visiting homes.
These examples concern winter festivities, especially Christmas. They are not evidence of medieval Halloween trick-or-treating.
That distinction matters: dressing up belonged to a wider festive world before becoming so closely identified with 31 October.
For Irish Halloween, the National Museum of Ireland documents ghostly masks used to frighten neighbours and disguised groups going visiting and entertaining.
The costume could conceal its wearer, encourage mischief and turn a familiar neighbour into an unsettling visitor.
HOW IT BECAME A HABIT
In Scottish Halloween guising, children traditionally earned their reward with a song, joke or other performance. Apples, nuts and coins preceded today’s plentiful sweets.
National Records of Scotland reproduces a 1929 newspaper case concerning whether guising counted as begging. The charge against the parents was dismissed.
By then, the custom was established enough to generate arguments about what it was—and how much of it neighbours should tolerate.
Christian observances supplied another part of Halloween’s setting. Its name means the evening before All Saints’ Day; All Souls’ Day follows on 2 November. Souling involved requesting food in exchange for prayers for the dead.
But prayers, masks and house-visiting do not automatically form one uninterrupted historical sequence.
American Halloween also developed amid other dressing-up customs. Library of Congress photographs show children masking and seeking handouts at Thanksgiving around 1910.
The modern Halloween costume emerged within this crowded landscape of seasonal visiting, parties and disguise.
THE STORY EVERYONE TELLS
The familiar version begins at Samhain, the Gaelic festival marking the beginning of winter.
Spirits supposedly walked among the living. People disguised themselves as ghosts so that dangerous visitors would mistake them for fellow spirits and leave them alone.
It is an excellent explanation for a frightening mask.
It is less successful at explaining how we know exactly what ancient people wore, or why.
WHAT THE EVIDENCE ACTUALLY SAYS
The evidence label is WELL SUPPORTED for later costume traditions, with an uncertain ancient origin.
Supernatural beliefs genuinely belonged to Halloween folklore. The National Museum of Ireland describes expectations that dead relatives might return and harmful spirits might be active.
National Records of Scotland presents disguising for protection as a traditional explanation.
However, a recorded explanation of a custom is not necessarily proof of its original purpose.
Research published in the International Journal of Scottish Theatre and Screen highlights guising’s changing dates and meanings. Early disguises could prioritise anonymity rather than representing a particular creature.
We can document masked visitors. We cannot turn every mask into evidence of an ancient attempt to deceive ghosts.
WHY IT STUCK
A disguise offers permission to behave differently.
It makes an ordinary street theatrical, gives strangers something to talk about and lets people play with fear without having to believe in monsters.
Manufacturers made participation easier. Ben Cooper, founded in Brooklyn in 1937, became a major supplier of Halloween costumes through large retailers.
Once dressing up was an expected part of the evening, the choice could expand far beyond spirits.
The ghost remained.
The banana was welcome too.
RELATED CURIOSITIES
Why Do Children Say “Trick or Treat”?
Why Are Black Cats Considered Unlucky?
Why Did People Cover Mirrors After a Death?
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
International Journal of Scottish Theatre and Screen — “Scottish Guising: Medieval and Modern Theatre Games”; historical records, seasonal timing and changing meanings of disguise.
https://ijosts.glasgow.ac.uk/volume-2/scottish-guising-medieval-and-modern-theatre-games/
National Museum of Ireland — “Traditions and customs of Halloween / Samhain”; masks, visiting and supernatural beliefs.
National Records of Scotland — “Out Guising”; Scottish performance customs and the 1929 newspaper case.
https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2020/10/31/out-guising/
Library of Congress, Folklife Today — “Masking and Mumming for the Holidays, Thanksgiving Style!”; archival photographs and the difficulties of assigning one origin to modern customs.
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2020/11/masking-and-mumming-for-the-holidays-thanksgiving-style/
Smithsonian, National Museum of American History — “Halloween highlights arise from the museum vaults”; commercial costumes and Ben Cooper.
https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/halloween-highlights-arise-museum-vaults
The Old Farmer’s Almanac — “The Real Origins of Halloween Traditions”; a popular overview, useful for comparing familiar origin explanations with the documentary record.