There is one place in the world where Halloween isn’t just celebrated, it’s part of the heritage.
Welcome to Ireland, the true home of Halloween, where ancient Celtic traditions and gothic legends meet under autumn skies in a celebration unlike anywhere else on Earth.
Long before pumpkins glowed on porches or trick or treaters roamed the streets, Halloween began here more than 2,000 years ago as the Celtic festival of Samhain.
Marking the end of the harvest and the start of winter, Samhain was a time when the veil between worlds was believed to thin, letting spirits walk among the living. Bonfires burned against the dark, turnips were carved to ward off evil and people wore disguises to protect themselves from wandering souls.
“Samhain is really the marker of the end of a season,” says Kelly Fitzgerald of University College Dublin. “It is so closely linked to nature. Halloween is the end of the harvest and an indicator that we are moving into the dark half of the year.”
Ireland’s landscape still holds echoes of those ancient fires. In Meath, the prehistoric Hill of Ward was once the site of the Great Fire Festival, while nearby Loughcrew lights up with the rising sun at Samhain, illuminating a stone chamber carved thousands of years ago.
Hill of Tara
In Roscommon, the cave of Oweynagat was said to open each year as a gateway to the Otherworld. Today, these places are steeped in myth and magic – living reminders of where it all began.
The spirit of Samhain burns bright in modern Ireland, from Derry~Londonderry’s spectacular Halloween Festival to the firelit celebrations of the Púca Festival in Trim and Athboy, where giant puppets and processions honour the shapeshifting Púca of Irish legend.
Across the country, haunted nights at Bunratty Castle and ghostly trick or treating on Spike Island keep the old tales alive for a new generation.
But Ireland’s connection to the supernatural doesn’t end with ancient times.
One of the world’s most enduring monsters was also born here. Dublin gave the world Bram Stoker, creator of Count Dracula. Born in 1847 during the Great Famine, Stoker grew up surrounded by dark folklore and fireside ghost stories that would later inspire his masterpiece. His fascination with death, myth and mystery was shaped by his Irish upbringing and Dublin’s gothic architecture.
Every Halloween, the Bram Stoker Festival transforms the city into a playground for the macabre, with theatre, music, film and tours exploring Dublin’s dark side.
Highlights this year include Kaidan, a screening of Japanese ghost tales with live music, and Songs of the Spirits: East Meets West, blending Gregorian chant with Irish and Japanese choral traditions.
Those wishing to trace the shadows of Dracula can follow the Dark Dublin, Bram Stoker and Other Horrors tour, visiting gothic landmarks such as Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral and Marsh’s Library where Stoker once studied maps of Transylvania.
For extra chills, the Haunted Dublin and Ghost Bus tours reveal the capital’s haunted corners and sinister legends.
From ancient Samhain fires to gothic novels that changed the world, Ireland’s dark side runs deep. It’s a land where myths still breathe, where bonfires fight the night and where the world’s most famous vampire found his roots.
So as Halloween approaches, light a candle, slice the barmbrack and listen to the whispers of the past, for in Ireland, darkness has always had a story to tell.
