"Halloween is a heavily commercialised product exported by the United States to the rest of the world," Morton writes in her introduction.

"It also has the unenviable distinction of being the most demonised of days: Christian groups decry it as the devil's birthday, authorities fear its effect on public safety and nationalist leaders around the world denounced its importation for conflicting with their own native traditions".

Many people believe Halloween originated in America, but Morton documents its origins back to the Celtic Samhain, the ancient Gaelic harvest festival celebrated at the end of October. Samhain means "summer's end", and, Morton says, "as the boundary between two years, Samhain was a time for not only for paying off debts, but also for fortune-telling and visits by spirits, the sidhe of Celtic mythology".

Eventually, with the rise of Christianity, Pope Gregory I sought to align pagan and Christian holidays in Ireland, through "souling", asking for treats in exchange for prayers to dead loved ones. All Souls' Day on November 2 was a time for the living to pray for the souls of the dead. All Saints' Day on November 1, was also called All Hallows. That made October 31 All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.

The huge Irish migration to America after the devastating mid-19th century potato famine took Halloween to America, where it was celebrated with parties and bonfires. Colonists from Britain had experience of Guy Fawkes night on November 5, including the knocking on doors for a penny for the guy. Halloween in America also incorporated the Catholic All Souls' Day and to a lesser extent the influence of the Mexican "Dia de los Muertos".

Up to the early 20^th century, Halloween focused on a variety of activities, such as fortune-telling, when young women sought to identify their future husband, fun activities, including bobbing for apples, and harvest festival eating, especially Halloween cakes, which had small charms baked into them.

But then came "trick-or-treat", a term Morton believes was first used in Canada in the 1920s. Morton says it comes from "a number of different mumming practices, which involve begging food in exchange for a costumed performance . . . trick-or-treat may derive from a combination of Guy Fawkes Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and All Souls' Day tradition".

Trick-or-treat roving for sweets or candies became a staple of Halloween, children now roaming the streets as ghosts, zombies, witches, demons and animals, and households.

Houses were bedecked with jack-o'-lanterns in carved-out turnips, potatoes, beets, and even cucumbers, but now, following American practice, pumpkins are the staple.

Sugar rationing during World War II put American trick-or-treating on hold, but after the end of rationing it boomed as American suburbs sprawled and Halloween was an opportunity to meet your neighbours.

Candy companies began aggressively promoting candy as a Halloween must and the animated Walt Disney short Donald Duck: Trick or Treat (1952), accentuated the popularity.

Morton is particularly good on Halloween's impact on popular culture, such as books from Robert Burns, Washington Irving and Ray Bradbury, and TV shows featuring Halloween, such as It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

A decline of trick-or-treating began in the mid-'60s, as stories and movies highlighted the threats for children knocking, in the dark, on the doors of strangers. Newspaper stories of "stranger danger" proliferated, while John Carpenter's famous movie Halloween (1979) didn't help the Halloween image.

Now in America, adults have, according to Morton, reclaimed Halloween as a suburban party where parents can keep an eye on activities. Commercialisation now massively underpins the American holiday with the highest chocolate sales.

Halloween has become increasingly popular in Australia in recent years, although we have a long way to go to catch-up with the American fervour. Even so, Coles Australia estimated sales of over 270 tons of pumpkins in the lead up to October 31.

Numerous black and white illustrations, references, bibliography and an index supplement Lisa Morton's engaging and solidly researched text. A History of Halloween documents lots of historical tricks and is a wonderful treat for anyone looking beyond the commercial surface of Halloween.