Lauren McMenemy, a south London-based writer of gothic-influenced folk horror and an editor of Trembling With Fear, HorrorTree.com’s weekly zine full of dark fiction stories, told Bored Panda that just like for many other horror aficionados, Halloween is her favorite time of year, “if only because I get to indulge all of my spookiness.” Lauren is also a creative coach with more than 20 years’ experience in journalism and marketing, and she is a host with the London Writers Salon’s daily virtual writers' hour sessions.

When it comes to celebrating Halloween, Lauren enjoys the creativity in a lot of house decorations you see at this time. “It’s not as prevalent where I live, but I do appreciate the efforts I see online. Did you see the family who had a floating Max from Stranger Things in their driveway?! That was awesome,” she said.

“Jack o’ lanterns are also a creative highlight - the efforts some go to with them are just incredible. Even trick-or-treating can encourage a community feeling. But there are also some of the really innocent party games that are fun, like bobbing for apples,” Lauren told Bored Panda and added that her husband grew up in the Middle East in the 1980s where “bobbing for apples at home was really the only Halloween tradition he could indulge in; he has very fond memories of it.”

On the other hand, there are many Halloween skeptics who see the celebration as just another opportunity for excess consumerism and waste. Lauren argues that inevitably, when something becomes commercial, it can easily become overdone, tacky, or even ridiculous.

“There is quite a bit of this in Halloween these days - heck, I was on public transport on Saturday night with a lot of very drunk people in costumes! It is increasingly seen as a time to dress up and party.”

However, Lauren said she would ask critics of Halloween to look deeper than scratching the surface and look for the origins of the celebrations. Like many things, there is folklore and ancient traditions behind the scenes.”

In fact, “Halloween gets its beginnings in the ancient Celtic celebration of Samhain, where people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. This is, after all, the time when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest, and our ancestors had their own ways to try to ward off evil spirits looking to wreak havoc on their livelihoods,” Lauren explained.

And for those who still think that Halloween is a modern invention, let us tell you that even trick-or-treating is centuries old. “It comes from the Scottish and Irish tradition of guising, where people would go from house to house and put on a small performance to be rewarded with food or treats. It’s definitely not as overblown as, say, Christmas!” Lauren concluded.