Why do we let children dress as tiny monsters, knock on strangers’ doors and demand chocolate under threat of mild vandalism?

This spooky season, we’re unwrapping the history of trick-or-treating,from soul cakes and prayers for the dead to masked mischief-makers and the great suburban scramble for Freddo Frogs. There are disguises, doorstep performances and a bargain that’s simple, slightly extortionate and very hard to resist.

Grab something sweet and join us. It may be spring here in Australia, but the ghosts haven’t checked the forecast.

References & further reading

• National Museum of Ireland - “Traditions and customs of Halloween / Samhain”. Irish Halloween beliefs and customs, including returning spirits, ghostly masks and disguised visitors entertaining their neighbours.
• English Heritage - “What are soul cakes and what’s their link with Halloween?”. Soul cakes, prayers for the dead and John Mirk’s account of bread distributed for Christian souls around the year 1400.
• Dúchas / National Folklore Collection - “Halloween”. An overview of Irish Halloween traditions, including guising and house visits requesting fruit, sweets or money.
• Dúchas, The Schools’ Collection - “Hallow Eve Tricks,” Lucan, County Dublin. An original collected folklore account describing children dressing up, playing music and dancing at houses in exchange for money, nuts or apples. Volume 0794, page 217.
• Library of Congress, Folklife Today - “Masking and Mumming for the Holidays, Thanksgiving Style!”. A valuable discussion of masked visiting traditions and the difficulties of establishing a direct historical link between older customs and modern trick-or-treating.
• Library of Congress, Headlines & Heroes - “The Origins of Halloween Traditions”. Historical newspaper material and competing explanations for familiar Halloween customs.

Books for deeper reading

• Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press, 1996. Scholarly background on Britain’s seasonal celebrations, including Halloween.
• Morton, Lisa. Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween. Reaktion Books, 2012. A book-length history covering Halloween in Britain and Ireland, its development in North America, and its place in popular culture.

Hex & Muse is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I pay my deepest respects to their Elders past and present - and to all First Nations people, whose stories and spirits continue to shape this land.

Follow along for more folklore, magic, and mythic musings:
Instagram: @hexandmuse
Website: www.hexandmuse.com

Hex & Muse is a spellbound journal of folklore, magic, art, and the sacred feminine - told through cinematic storytelling and whispered histories.
From my altar to yours… thank you for listening.

For the first ever Hex + Muse Book Club, we’re stepping inside The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, a world of ancient prophecies, secret passages, and spectacularly bad decisions.

First published in 1764 and widely regarded as the first Gothic novel, this short but dramatic tale begins with a doomed wedding and a giant helmet falling from the sky. What follows is a tangle of dangerous ambition, family secrets, and supernatural happenings, as the castle’s ruler fights to preserve his dynasty at any cost.

Join us as we explore the book that helped launch Gothic fiction, where the past refuses to stay buried and family drama reaches haunting new heights.

Where to read the book for free

Want to read along with Hex + Muse Book Club? The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole is available free through Project Gutenberg. Read it online or download an ebook, no purchase or subscription needed.

📖 Read or download The Castle of Otranto for free

Hex & Muse is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I pay my deepest respects to their Elders past and present - and to all First Nations people, whose stories and spirits continue to shape this land.

Follow along for more folklore, magic, and mythic musings:
Instagram: @hexandmuse
Website: www.hexandmuse.com

Hex & Muse is a spellbound journal of folklore, magic, art, and the sacred feminine - told through cinematic storytelling and whispered histories.
From my altar to yours… thank you for listening.

In this episode, we explore the spring equinox below the equator - from longer evenings and flowering wattle to nesting birds and unpredictable weather. We look at the difference between the equinox and Ostara, how to build a seasonal practice around what’s actually happening where you live, and why balance doesn’t have to mean giving everything equal time.

The episode finishes with a simple equinox ritual. You’ll reflect on what winter gave you, choose something you’d like to nurture this spring, and set one manageable action to take before the next full moon.

For the ritual: Bring two small objects - one dark and one light and something to write with.

If you’d like to explore a little further:

• Embracing the Equinox - NASA
  An easy-to-follow look at what happens during an equinox and why day and night aren’t exactly equal.
  https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/night-sky-network/embracing-the-equinox/
• Solstices, equinoxes and the seasons- Bureau of Meteorology
  A useful guide to how seasons work here in Australia.
  https://www.bom.gov.au/news-and-media/solstices-equinoxes-and-the-seasons
• Indigenous seasonal calendars - Bureau of Meteorology
  Explore some of the seasonal calendars that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have chosen to share publicly.
  https://www.bom.gov.au/resources/indigenous-weather-knowledge/indigenous-seasonal-calendars
• Indigenous seasonal calendars - CSIRO
  More about seasonal knowledge connected to particular Countries, along with guidance on respecting the communities who hold it.
  https://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/indigenous-knowledge/calendars
• Phenology by Theresa M. Crimmins
  A lovely introduction to noticing seasonal changes in the plants and animals around us.
  https://www.penguin.com.au/books/phenology-9780262551052
• The Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton
  For anyone interested in taking a deeper dive into the history of seasonal festivals and the ritual year.
  https://academic.oup.com/book/1390

Hex & Muse is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I pay my deepest respects to their Elders past and present - and to all First Nations people, whose stories and spirits continue to shape this land.

Follow along for more folklore, magic, and mythic musings:
Instagram: @hexandmuse
Website: www.hexandmuse.com

Hex & Muse is a spellbound journal of folklore, magic, art, and the sacred feminine - told through cinematic storytelling and whispered histories.
From my altar to yours… thank you for listening.