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The topic of yes or no is a very broad one, and it can be approached from different perspectives. For example, you could write about the logic and philosophy of yes-no questions, the psychology and sociology of yes-no answers, the linguistic and rhetorical features of yes-no constructions, or the ethical and political implications of yes-no decisions. In this essay, I will focus on the linguistic and rhetorical aspects of yes-no questions and answers. I will examine how yes-no questions are formed and used in English, how they can convey different meanings and intentions depending on the context and tone, and how they can be challenged or modified by the speaker or the listener. Yes-no questions are a type of interrogative sentence that expects an answer of either yes or no2. In English, there are three main types of yes-no questions: the inverted question, the inversion with an alternative, and the tag question2. For example: Are you going? (inverted question) Are you staying or going? (inversion with an alternative) You’re going, aren’t you? (tag question) In an inverted question, the subject and the first verb of the verb phrase are inverted when that verb is either a modal or an auxiliary verb or with the verb be and sometimes have2. For example: She is leaving on Wednesday. (statement) Is she leaving on Wednesday? (question) The question itself may be positive or negative. A positive question appears to be neutral with regard to the expected response—yes or no. A negative question seems to hold out the distinct possibility of a negative response, however, inflection is also a factor that can influence a yes-no response2. For example: Do you like chocolate? (positive question) Don’t you like chocolate? (negative question) Yes-no questions can have different functions and effects depending on the context and tone of the speaker. They can be used to seek information, confirmation, permission, agreement, disagreement, or emotion3. They can also express surprise, doubt, curiosity, sarcasm, irony, or criticism3. For example: Is it raining? (seeking information) Is that your final answer? (seeking confirmation) Can I borrow your pen? (seeking permission) Do you agree with me? (seeking agreement) Do you really think so? (seeking disagreement) Are you happy? (seeking emotion) Is this a joke? (expressing surprise) Are you serious? (expressing doubt) What are you doing? (expressing curiosity) Are you kidding me? (expressing sarcasm) Is that all you have to say? (expressing irony) Do you have any idea what you’re doing? (expressing criticism) Yes-no questions can also be challenged or modified by the speaker or the listener. The speaker can use rhetorical questions to make a point or persuade the listener without expecting a real answer4. The listener can use echo questions to repeat or clarify what the speaker said4. The speaker or the listener can also use alternative questions to offer or request more than two options4. For example: Do you really want to live in a world without chocolate? (rhetorical question) Did you say chocolate? (echo question) Do you want chocolate or vanilla? (alternative question) In conclusion, yes-no questions are a common and versatile type of interrogative sentence in English. They can convey different meanings and intentions depending on the context and tone of the speaker. They can also be challenged or modified by the speaker or the listener. Yes-no questions are not always simple or straightforward as they may seem. They can involve complex linguistic and rhetorical strategies that require careful analysis and interpretation. English determiners Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools This is a good article. Click here for more information. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For a list, see List of English determiners. Part of a series on English grammar Morphology Plurals Prefixes (in English) Suffixes (frequentative) Word types Acronyms Adjectives Adverbs (flat) Articles Coordinators Compounds Demonstratives Determiners (List here) Expletives Intensifier Interjections Interrogatives Nouns Portmanteaus Possessives Prepositions (List here) Pronouns (case · person) Subordinators Verbs Verbs Auxiliary verbs Mood (conditional · imperative · subjunctive) Aspect (continuous · habitual · perfect) -ing Irregular verbs Modal verbs Passive voice Phrasal verbs Verb usage Transitive and intransitive verbs Syntax Clauses (in English) Conditional sentences Copula Do-support Inversion Periphrasis Zero-marking Orthography Abbreviations Capitalization Comma Hyphen Variant usage African-American Vernacular English AmE and BrE grammatical differences Double negatives Grammar disputes Thou vte English determiners (also known as determinatives)[1]: 354 are words – such as the, a, each, some, which, this, and six – that are most commonly used with nouns to specify their referents. The determiners form a closed lexical category in English.[2] The syntactic role characteristically performed by determiners is known as the determinative function (see § Terminology).[3] A determinative combines with a noun (or, more formally, a nominal; see English nouns § Internal structure) to form a noun phrase (NP). This function typically comes before any modifiers in the NP (e.g., some very pretty wool sweaters, not *very pretty some wool sweaters[a]). The determinative function is typically obligatory in a singular, countable, common noun phrase (compare I have a new cat to *I have new cat). Semantically, determiners are usually definite or indefinite (e.g., the cat versus a cat),[4] and they often agree with the number of the head noun (e.g., a new cat but not *many new cat). Morphologically, they are usually simple and do not inflect. The most common of these are the definite and indefinite articles, the and a(n). Other determiners in English include the demonstratives this and that, and the quantifiers (e.g., all, many, and none) as well as the numerals.[1]: 373 Determiners also occasionally function as modifiers in noun phrases (e.g., the many changes), determiner phrases (e.g., many more) or in adjective or adverb phrases (e.g., not that big).[1]: 565 They may appear on their own without a noun, similar to pronouns (e.g., I'll have some), but they are distinct from pronouns.[1]: 412 Terminology Words and phrases can be categorized by both their syntactic category[b] and their syntactic function. In the clause the dog bit the man, for example, the dog belongs to the syntactic category of noun phrase and performs the syntactic function of subject. The distinction between category and function is at the heart of a terminological issue surrounding the word determiner: various grammars have used the word to describe a category, a function, or both. Some sources, such as A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, use determiner as a term for a category as defined above and determinative for the function that determiners and possessives typically perform in a noun phrase (see § Functions).[5]: 74 Others, such as The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL), make the opposite terminological choice.[1]: 354 And still others (e.g., The Grammar Book[6]) use determiner for both the category and the function. This article uses determiner for the category and determinative for the function in the noun phrase. The lexical category determiner is the class of words described in this article. They head determiner phrases, which can realize the functions determinative, predeterminative, and modifier: determiner phrases as determinatives: the box, this hill determiner phrases as predeterminatives: all the time, both those cars determiner phrases as modifiers: these two images, clear enough The syntactic function determinative is a function that specifies a noun phrase. That is, determinatives add abstract meanings to the noun phrase, such as definiteness, proximity, number, and the like.[7]: 115 While the determinative function is typically realized by determiner phrases, they may also be realized by noun phrases and prepositional phrases: noun phrases as determinatives: my question, this size room prepositional phrases as determinatives: over twenty belts, up to a hundred people This article is about determiners as a lexical category. History Traditional grammar has no concept to match determiners, which are instead classified as adjectives, articles, or pronouns.[5]: 70 The articles and demonstratives have sometimes been seen as forming their own category, but are often classified as adjectives. Linguist and historian Peter Matthews observes that the assumption that determiners are distinct from adjectives is relatively new, "an innovation of … the early 1960s."[5]: 70 In 1892, prior to the emergence of the determiner category in English grammars, Leon Kellner, and later Jespersen,[8] discussed the idea of "determination" of a noun: In Old English the possessive pronoun, or, as the French say, "pronominal adjective," expresses only the conception of belonging and possession; it is a real adjective, and does not convey, as at present, the idea of determination. If, therefore, Old English authors want to make nouns preceded by possessive pronouns determinative, they add the definite article.[9] By 1924, Harold Palmer had proposed a part of speech called "Pronouns and Determinatives", effectively "group[ing] with the pronouns all determinative adjectives (e.g., article-like, demonstratives, possessives, numerals, etc.), [and] shortening the term to determinatives (the "déterminatifs" of the French grammarians)."[10]: 24 Palmer separated this category from more prototypical adjectives (what he calls "qualificative adjectives") because, unlike prototypical adjectives, words in this category are not used predicatively, tend not to inflect for comparison, and tend not to be modified.[10]: 45 In 1933, Leonard Bloomfield introduced the term determiner used in this article, which appears to define a syntactic function performed by "limiting adjectives".[11] Our limiting adjectives fall into two sub-classes of determiners and numeratives … The determiners are defined by the fact that certain types of noun expressions (such as house or big house) are always accompanied by a determiner (as, this house, a big house).[12]: 203 Matthews argues that the next important contribution was by Ralph B. Long in 1961, though Matthews notes that Long's contribution is largely ignored in the bibliographies of later prominent grammars, including A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language and CGEL. Matthews illustrates Long's analysis with the noun phrase this boy: "this is no longer, in [Long's] account, an adjective. It is instead a pronoun, of a class he called ‘determinative’, and it has the function of a ‘determinative modifier’."[5]: 71 This analysis was developed in a 1962 grammar by Barbara M. H. Strang[5]: 73 and in 1972 by Randolph Quirk and colleagues.[5]: 74 In 1985, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language appears to have been the first work to explicitly conceive of determiner as a distinct lexical category.[5]: 74 Determiners as heads? Until the late 1980s, linguists assumed that, in a phrase like the red ball, the head was the noun ball and that the was a dependent. But a student at MIT named Paul Abney proposed, in his PhD dissertation about English noun phrases (NPs) in 1987, that the head was not the noun ball but the determiner the, so that the red ball is a determiner phrase (DP).[13] This has come to be known as the DP analysis or the DP hypothesis (see Determiner phrase), and as of 2008 it is the majority view in generative grammar,[14]: 93 though it is rejected in other perspectives.[15] A comparison of the structure of a box under the competing analyses An NP with a determinative DP and a head nominal. The DP is headed by a D "a", and the nominal is headed by an N "box" A tree diagram of the noun phrase a box with a DP in determinative function A DP with a head D "a" and a complement NP. The NP is headed by the N "box" A tree diagram of the determiner phrase a box under the DP analysis Determiners versus other lexical categories Adjectives The main similarity between adjectives and determiners is that they can both appear immediately before nouns (e.g., many/happy people). The key difference between adjectives and determiners in English is that adjectives cannot function as determinatives. The determinative function is an element in NPs that is obligatory in most singular countable NPs and typically occurs before any modifiers (see § Functions). For example, *I live in small house is ungrammatical because small house is a singular countable NP lacking a determinative. The adjective small is a modifier, not a determinative. In contrast, if the adjective is replaced or preceded by a possessive NP (I live in my house) or a determiner (I live in that house), then it becomes grammatical because possessive NPs and determiners function as determinatives.[1]: 538 There are a variety of other differences between the categories. Determiners appear in partitive constructions, while adjectives do not (e.g., some of the people but not *happy of the people).[1]: 356 Adjectives can function as a predicative complement in a verb phrase (e.g., that was lovely), but determiners typically cannot (e.g., *that was every).[1]: 253 Adjectives are not typically definite or indefinite, while determiners are.[1]: 54 Adjectives as modifiers in a noun phrase do not need to agree in number with a head noun (e.g., old book, old books) while determiners do (e.g., this book, these books).[1]: 56 Morphologically, adjectives often inflect for grade (e.g., big, bigger, biggest), while few determiners do.[1]: 356 Finally, adjectives can typically form adverbs by adding -ly (e.g., cheap → cheaply), while determiners cannot.[1]: 766 The boundary between determiner and adjective is not always clear, however. In the case of the word many, for example, the distinction between determiner and adjective is fuzzy, and different linguists and grammarians have placed this term into different categories. The CGEL categorizes many as a determiner because it can appear in partitive constructions, as in many of them.[1]: 539 Alternatively, Bas Aarts offers three reasons to support the analysis of many as an adjective. First, it can be modified by very (as in his very many sins), which is a characteristic typical of certain adjectives but not of determiners. Second, it can occur as a predicative complement: his sins are many. Third, many has a comparative and superlative form (more and most, respectively).[16]: 126 Pronouns Possessive pronouns such as my and your There is disagreement about whether possessive words such as my and your are determiners or not. For example, Collins COBUILD Grammar[17]: 61 classifies them as determiners while CGEL classify them as pronouns[1]: 357 and A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language has them dually classified as determiners[18]: 253 and as pronouns in determinative function.[18]: 361 The main reason for classifying these possessive words as determiners is that, like determiners, they usually function as determinative in an NP (e.g., my / the cat).[1]: 357 Reasons for calling them pronouns and not determiners include that the pronouns typically inflect (e.g., I, me, my, mine, myself),[1]: 455 while determiners typically allow no morphological change.[1]: 356 Determiners also appear in partitive constructions, while pronouns do not (e.g., some of the people but not *my of the people).[1]: 356 Also, some determiners can be modified by adverbs (e.g., very many), but this is not possible for pronouns.[1]: 57 We / us and you The words you and we share features commonly associated with both determiners and pronouns in constructions such as we teachers do not get paid enough. On the one hand, the phrase-initial position of these words is a characteristic they share with determiners (compare the teachers). Furthermore, they cannot combine with more prototypical determiners (*the we teachers), which suggests that they fill the same role.[16]: 125 These characteristics have led linguists and grammarians like Ray Jackendoff and Steven Paul Abney to categorize such uses of we and you as determiners.[19][13][1]: 374 On the other hand, these words can show case contrast (e.g., us teachers), a feature that, in Modern English, is typical of pronouns but not of determiners.[16]: 125 Thus, Evelyne Delorme and Ray C. Dougherty treat words like us as pronouns in apposition with the noun phrases that follow them, an analysis that Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage also follows.[20][21] Richard Hudson and Mariangela Spinillo also categorize these words as pronouns but without assuming an appositive relationship between the pronoun and the rest of the noun phrase.[22][23] Adverbs There is disagreement about whether that is a determiner or a degree adverb in clauses like it is not that unusual. For example, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language categorizes this use of that as an adverb. This analysis is supported by the fact that other pre-head modifiers of adjectives that "intensify" their meaning tend to be adverbs, such as awfully in awfully sorry and too in too bright.[18]: 445–447 On the other hand, Aarts categorizes this word as a determiner, a categorization also used in CGEL.[7]: 137 [1]: 549 This analysis can be supported by expanding the determiner phrase: it is not all that unusual. All can function as a premodifier of determiners (e.g., all that cake) but not adjectives (e.g., *all unusual), which leads Aarts to suggest that that is a determiner.[16]: 127 Various quantificational expressions Expressions with similar quantification meanings such as a lot of, lots of, plenty of, a great deal of, tons of, etc. are sometimes said to be determiners,[18]: 263 while other grammars argue that they are not words, or even phrases. The non-determiner analysis is that they consist of the first part of a noun phrase.[1]: 349 For example, a lot of work is a noun phrases with lot as its head. It has a preposition phrase complement beginning with the preposition of. In this view, they could be considered lexicographical units, but they are not syntactic constituents. The syntax of determiners and determiner phrases For the sake of this section, Abney's DP hypothesis (see § History) is set aside. In other words, here a DP is taken to be a dependent in a noun phrase (NP) and not the other way around. Internal structure A determiner phrase (DP) is headed by a determiner and optionally takes dependents. DPs can take modifiers, which are usually adverb phrases (e.g., [almost no] people) or determiner phrases (e.g., [many more] people) .[1]: 431 Comparative determiners like fewer or more can take than prepositional phrase (PP) complements (e.g., it weighs [less than five] grams).[1]: 443 The following tree diagram in the style of CGEL shows the DP far fewer than twenty, with the adverb far as a modifier and the PP than twenty as a complement. A DP with a modifier AdvP "far" and a head DP. The DP has a head D "fewer" and a comp PP "than twenty" Functions Determinative As stated above, there is some terminological confusion about the terms "determiner" and "determinative". In this article, "determiner" is a lexical category while "determinative" is the function most typically performed by determiner phrases (in the same way that "adjective" denotes a category of words while "modifier" denotes the most typical function of adjective phrases). DPs are not the only phrases that can function as determinative, but they are the most common.[1]: 330 A determinative is a function only in noun phrases. It is usually the leftmost constituent in the phrase, appearing before any modifiers.[24] A noun phrase may have many modifiers, but only one determinative is possible.[1] In most cases, a singular, countable, common noun requires a determinative to form a noun phrase, plurals and uncountables do not.[1] The determinative is underlined in the following examples: the box not very many boxes even the very best workmanship my uncle's house (the determinative is an NP, not a DP) what size shoes (the determinative is an NP, not a DP) The most common function of a DP is determinative in an NP. This is shown in the following syntax tree in the style of CGEL. It features two determiner phrases, all in predeterminer modifier function (see § Predeterminative), and the in determinative function (labeled Det:DP). Predeterminative If noun phrases can only contain one determinative, the following noun phrases present challenges: all the time both those cars The determiner phrase the functions as the determinative in all the time, and those functions as the determinative in both those cars. But all and both also have specifying roles rather than modifying roles in the noun phrase, much like the determinatives do. To account for noun phrases like these, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language also recognizes the function of predeterminative (or predeterminer).[18]: 257 Some linguists and grammarians offer different accounts of these constructions. CGEL, for instance, classifies them as a kind of modifier in noun phrases.[1]: 433 Predeterminatives are typically realized by determiner phrases (e.g., all in all the time). However, they can also be realized by noun phrases (e.g., one-fifth the size) and adverb phrases (e.g., thrice the rate).[7]: 119–120 Modifier Determiner phrases can function as pre-head modifiers in noun phrases, adjective phrases, and adverb phrases. They can function as pre-head modifiers in noun phrases, such as the determiner phrase two in these two images. In this example, these functions as the determinative of the noun phrase, and two functions as a modifier of the head images.[7]: 126 Determiner phrases can also function as pre-head modifiers in adjective phrases—[AdjP [DP the] more], [AdjP [DP the] merrier]—and adverb phrases: [AdvP [DP the] longer] this dish cooks, [AdvP [DP the] better] it tastes).[1]: 549 [7]: 137, 162 Determiner phrases can also function as post-head modifiers in these phrases. For example, the determiners each, enough, less, and more can function as post-head modifiers of noun phrases, as in the determiner phrase each in two seats each.[7]: 132 Enough can fill the same role in adjective phrases (e.g., clear enough) and in adverb phrases (e.g., funnily enough).[1]: 549 [7]: 138, 163 DPs also function as modifiers in DPs (e.g., [not that many] people).[1]: 330 . Fusion of functions Determiners may bear two functions at one time. Usually this is a fusion of determinative and head in an NP where no head noun exists. In the clause many would disagree, the determiner many is the fused determinative-head in the NP that functions as the subject.[1]: 332 In many grammars, both traditional and modern, and in almost all dictionaries, such words are considered to be pronouns rather than determiners. Types of determiners Multiple words can belong to the same part of speech but still differ from each other to various extents, with similar words forming subclasses of the part of speech. For example, the articles a and the have more in common with each other than with the demonstratives this or that, but both belong to the class of determiner and, thus, share more characteristics with each other than with words from other parts of speech. Article and demonstrative, then, can be considered subclasses or types of determiners. Morphological types Compound determiners Most determiners are very basic in their morphology, but some are compounds.[1]: 391 A large group of these is formed with the words any, every, no, and some together with body, one, thing, or where (e.g., anybody, somewhere).[1]: 411 The morphological phenomenon started in Old English, when thing, was combined with some, any, and no. In Middle English, it would combine with every.[25]: 165 The cardinal numbers greater than 99 are also compound determiners.[1]: 356 This group also includes a few and a little,[1]: 391 and Payne, Huddleston, and Pullum argue that once, twice, and thrice also belong here, and not in the adverb category.[26] Gradable Although most determiners do not inflect, the following determiners participate in the system of grade.[1]: 393 The inflectional paradigms of degree determiners Plain Comparative Superlative few fewer fewest little less least many more most much Syntactic and semantic types The following types of determiners are organized, first, syntactically according to their typical position in a noun phrase in relation to each other and, then, according to their semantic contributions to the noun phrase. This first division, based on categorization from A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, includes three categories: Central determiners occur after any predeterminers and before any postdeterminers; they tend to function as determinatives regardless of the presence or absence of other determiners in the noun phrase. Predeterminers occur before any other determiner in the noun phrase and often function as a determinative when no other word is filling that role or as a predeterminative when the determinative role is already filled. Postdeterminers occur after all other determiners and often function as a determinative when no other word is filling that role or as a pre-head modifier of a noun phrase when the determinative role is filled. The secondary divisions are based on the semantic contributions of the determiner to a noun phrase. The subclasses are named according to the labels assigned in CGEL and the Oxford Modern English Grammar, which use essentially the same labels. Central determiners Articles According to CGEL, articles serve as "the most basic expression of definiteness and indefiniteness."[1]: 368 That is, while other determiners express definiteness and other kinds of meaning, articles serve primarily as markers of definiteness. The articles are generally considered to be:[27] the (definite) a(n) (indefinite) Other articles have been posited, including unstressed some, a zero article (indefinite with mass and plural) and a null article (definite with singular proper nouns).[28] Demonstrative determiners The two main demonstrative determiners are this and that. Their respective plural forms are these and those.[27] singular plural proximal this these distal that those The demonstrative determiners mark noun phrases as definite. They also add meaning related to spatial deixis; that is, they indicate where the thing referenced by the noun is in relation to the speaker. The proximal this signals that the thing is relatively close to the speaker while the distal that signals that the thing is relatively far.[1]: 373 CGEL classifies the archaic and dialectal yonder (as in the noun phrase yonder hills) as a marginal demonstrative determiner.[1]: 615 Yonder signals that the thing referenced by the noun is far from the speaker, typically farther than what that would signal. Thus, we would expect yonder hills to be farther from the speaker than those hills. Unlike the main demonstrative determiners, yonder does not inflect for number (compare yonder hill). Distributive determiners The following are the distributive determiners:[27] each every The distributive determiners mark noun phrases as indefinite.[29] They also add distributive meaning; that is, "they pick out the members of a set singly, rather than considering them in mass."[18]: 382 Because they signal this distributive meaning, these determiners select singular noun heads when functioning as determinatives in noun phrases (e.g., each student).[1]: 378 Existential determiners The following are the existential determiners:[27] any some Existential determiners mark a noun phrase as indefinite. They also convey existential quantification, meaning that they assert the existence of a thing in a quantity greater than zero.[1]: 380 Disjunctive determiners The following are the disjunctive determiners:[27] either neither Disjunctive determiners mark a noun phrase as definite. They also imply a single selection from a set of exactly two.[1]: 387 Because they signal a single selection, disjunctive determiners select singular nouns when functioning as determinatives in noun phrases (e.g., either side). A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language does not recognize this category and instead label either an "assertive determiner" and neither a "negative determiner."[18]: 257 Negative determiner The negative determiner is no with its independent form none.[27] Distinct dependent and independent forms are otherwise found only in possessive pronouns, where the dependent is only found with a subsequent noun and the independent without (e.g., my way and no way are dependent, while mine and none are independent). No signifies that not one member of a set or sub-quantity of a quantity under consideration has a particular property. Neither also conveys this kind of meaning but is only used when selecting from a set of exactly two, which is why neither is typically classified as disjunctive rather than negative.[1]: 389–390 Additive determiner The additive determiner is another.[27] Another was formed from the compounding of the indefinite article an and the adjective other; thus, it marks a noun phrase as indefinite. It also conveys additive meaning. For example, another banana signals an additional banana in addition to some first banana. Another can also mark an alternative. For example, another banana can also signal a different banana, perhaps one that is riper. Because it can also convey this alternative meaning, another is sometimes labeled an alternative-additive determiner.[1]: 391 Sufficiency determiners The following are the sufficiency determiners:[27] enough sufficient These determiners convey inexact quantification that is framed in terms of some minimum quantity needed. For instance, enough money for a taxi implies that a minimum amount of money is necessary to pay for a taxi and that the amount of money in question is sufficient for the purpose. When functioning as determinatives in a noun phrase, sufficiency determiners select plural count nouns (e.g., sufficient reasons) or non-count nouns (e.g., enough money).[1]: 396 Interrogative determiners The following are the interrogative determiners:[27] what which These determiners can also be followed by -ever and -soever. Interrogative determiners are typically used in the formation of questions, as in what/which conductor do you like best? Using what marks a noun phrase as indefinite while using which marks the noun phrase as definite, being used when the context implies a limited number of choices.[18]: 369 Relative determiners The following are the relative determiners:[27] what which These determiners can also be followed by -ever. Relative determiners typically function as determiners in noun phrases that introduce relative clauses, as in we can use whatever/whichever edition you want.[1]: 398 Predeterminers Personal determiners In grammars that consider them determiners rather than pronouns (see § Determiners versus other lexical categories), the personal determiners are the following:[27] we you Though these words are normally pronouns, in phrases like we teachers and you guys, they are sometimes classified as personal determiners. Personal determiners mark a noun phrase as definite. They also add meaning related to personal deixis; that is, they indicate whether the thing referenced by the noun includes the speaker (we/us) or at least one addressee and not the speaker (you).[1]: 374 In some dialects such as the Ozark dialect, this usage extends to them as in them folks.[30] Universal determiners The following are the universal determiners:[27] all both Universal determiners convey universal quantification, meaning that they assert that no subset of a thing exists that lacks the property that is described. For example, saying "all the vegetables are ripe" is the same as saying "no vegetables are not ripe."[1]: 359 The primary difference between all and both is that both applies only to sets with exactly two members while all lacks this limitation. But CGEL notes that because of the possibility of using both instead, all "generally strongly implicates 'more than two.'"[1]: 374 Postdeterminers Cardinal numerals Cardinal numerals (zero, one, two, thirty-four, etc.) can represent any number. Therefore, the members of this subclass of determiner are infinite in quantity and cannot be listed in full. Cardinal numerals are typically thought to express the exact number of the things represented by the noun, but this exactness is through implicature rather than necessity. In the clause five people complained, for example, the number of people complaining is usually thought to be exactly five. But technically, the proposition would still be true if additional people were complaining as well: if seven people were complaining, then it is also necessarily true that five people were complaining. General norms of cooperative conversation, however, make it such that cardinal numerals typically express the exact number (e.g., five = no more and no less than five) unless otherwise modified (e.g., at least five or at most five).[1]: 385–386 Positive paucal determiners The following are the positive paucal determiners:[27] a few a little certain several various The positive paucal determiners convey a small, imprecise quantity—generally characterized as greater than two but smaller than whatever quantity is considered large. When functioning as determinatives in a noun phrase, most paucal determiners select plural count nouns (e.g., a few mistakes), but a little selects non-count nouns (e.g., a little money).[1]: 391–392 Degree determiners In grammars that consider them determiners rather than adjectives (see § Determiners versus other lexical categories), the degree determiners are the following:[27] few little many much Degree determiners mark a noun phrase as indefinite. They also convey imprecise quantification, with many and much expressing a large quantity and few and little expressing a small quantity. Degree determiners are unusual in that they inflect for grade, a feature typical of adjectives and adverbs but not determiners. The comparative forms of few, little, many, and much are fewer, less, more, and more respectively. The superlative forms are fewest, least, most, and most respectively.[1]: 393 The plain forms can be modified with adverbs, especially very, too and so (and not can also be added). Note that unmodified much is quite rarely used in affirmative statements in colloquial English. Semantics The main semantic contributions of determiners are quantification and definiteness. Quantification Many determiners express quantification.[31][1]: 358 Most obviously, cardinal numbers (zero, one, two, etc.) express quantification. The degree determiners much/many, little/few, and their comparative and superlative forms more, most, less/fewer, least/fewest all express quantification. Where two forms are given, the first is used with non-count nouns and the second with count nouns (although in colloquial English less and least are frequently also used with count nouns). The positive paucal determiners also express quantification. These are a few/a little, several, a couple of, a bit of, a number of etc. Finally, determiners expressing maximum, sufficient or zero quantity all express quantification. These are all, both, enough, sufficient, no. Definiteness From a semantic point of view, a definite NP is one that is identifiable and activated in the minds of the first person and the addressee. From a grammatical point of view in English, definiteness is typically marked by definite determiners, such as the, that, and this, all, every, both, etc. Linguists find it useful to make a distinction between the grammatical feature of definiteness and the cognitive feature of identifiability.[32]: 84 This accounts for cases of form-meaning mismatch, where a definite determiner results in an indefinite NP, such as the example I met this guy from Heidelberg on the train, where the underlined NP is grammatically definite but semantically indefinite.[32]: 82 The majority of determiners, however, are indefinite. These include the indefinite article a, but also most quantifiers, including the cardinal numerals. Pragmatics Choosing the definite article over no article in a pair like the Americans and Americans can have the pragmatic effect of depicting "the group as a monolith of which the speaker is not a part."[33] Relatedly, the choice between this and that may have an evaluative purpose, where this suggest a closeness, and therefore a more positive evaluation.[34] List of English determiners on Wiktionary vte Determiners of the world's languages PhonologiesOrthographiesGrammars AdjectivesDeterminersNounsPrepositionsPronounsVerbs English articlesFrenchSpanish Categories: English grammarDeterminers by language Halloween Article Talk Read View source View history Tools Page semi-protected From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "All Hallows' Eve" redirects here. For other uses, see All Hallows' Eve (disambiguation) and Halloween (disambiguation). Halloween Carving a jack-o'-lantern is a common Halloween tradition Also called Hallowe'en All Hallowe'en All Hallows' Eve All Saints' Eve Observed by Western Christians and many non-Christians around the world[1] Type Christian Significance First day of Allhallowtide Celebrations Trick-or-treating, costume parties, making jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, divination, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions. Observances Church services,[2] prayer,[3] fasting,[1] and vigil[4] Date 31 October Related to Samhain, Hop-tu-Naa, Calan Gaeaf, Allantide, Day of the Dead, Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, Mischief Night (cf. vigil) Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween,[5] All Hallows' Eve,[6] or All Saints' Eve)[7] is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide,[8] the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.[9][10][11][12] One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which are believed to have pagan roots.[13][14][15][16] Some go further and suggest that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallow's Day, along with its eve, by the early Church.[17] Other academics believe Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, being the vigil of All Hallow's Day.[18][19][20][21] Celebrated in Ireland and Scotland for centuries, Irish and Scottish immigrants took many Halloween customs to North America in the 19th century,[22][23] and then through American influence various Halloween customs spread to other countries by the late 20th and early 21st century.[24][25] Popular Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins or turnips into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, and watching horror or Halloween-themed films.[26] Some people practice the Christian observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead,[27][28][29] although it is a secular celebration for others.[30][31][32] Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.[33][34][35][36] Etymology "Halloween" (1785) by Scottish poet Robert Burns, recounts various legends of the holiday. The word Halloween or Hallowe'en ("Saints' evening"[37]) is of Christian origin;[38][39] a term equivalent to "All Hallows Eve" is attested in Old English.[40] The word hallowe[']en comes from the Scottish form of All Hallows' Eve (the evening before All Hallows' Day):[41] even is the Scots term for "eve" or "evening",[42] and is contracted to e'en or een;[43] (All) Hallow(s) E(v)en became Hallowe'en. History Christian origins and historic customs Halloween is thought to have influences from Christian beliefs and practices.[44][45] The English word 'Halloween' comes from "All Hallows' Eve", being the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows' Day (All Saints' Day) on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November.[46] Since the time of the early Church,[47] major feasts in Christianity (such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost) had vigils that began the night before, as did the feast of All Hallows'.[48][44] These three days are collectively called Allhallowtide and are a time when Western Christians honour all saints and pray for recently departed souls who have yet to reach Heaven. Commemorations of all saints and martyrs were held by several churches on various dates, mostly in springtime.[49] In 4th-century Roman Edessa it was held on 13 May, and on 13 May 609, Pope Boniface IV re-dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to "St Mary and all martyrs".[50] This was the date of Lemuria, an ancient Roman festival of the dead.[51] In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III (731–741) founded an oratory in St Peter's for the relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors".[44][52] Some sources say it was dedicated on 1 November,[53] while others say it was on Palm Sunday in April 732.[54][55] By 800, there is evidence that churches in Ireland[56] and Northumbria were holding a feast commemorating all saints on 1 November.[57] Alcuin of Northumbria, a member of Charlemagne's court, may then have introduced this 1 November date in the Frankish Empire.[58] In 835, it became the official date in the Frankish Empire.[57] Some suggest this was due to Celtic influence, while others suggest it was a Germanic idea,[57] although it is claimed that both Germanic and Celtic-speaking peoples commemorated the dead at the beginning of winter.[59] They may have seen it as the most fitting time to do so, as it is a time of 'dying' in nature.[57][59] It is also suggested the change was made on the "practical grounds that Rome in summer could not accommodate the great number of pilgrims who flocked to it", and perhaps because of public health concerns over Roman Fever, which claimed a number of lives during Rome's sultry summers.[60][44] On All Hallows' Eve, Christians in some parts of the world visit cemeteries to pray and place flowers and candles on the graves of their loved ones.[61] Top: Christians in Bangladesh lighting candles on the headstone of a relative. Bottom: Lutheran Christians praying and lighting candles in front of the central crucifix of a graveyard. By the end of the 12th century, the celebration had become known as the holy days of obligation in Western Christianity and involved such traditions as ringing church bells for souls in purgatory. It was also "customary for criers dressed in black to parade the streets, ringing a bell of mournful sound and calling on all good Christians to remember the poor souls".[62] The Allhallowtide custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for all christened souls,[63] has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating.[64] The custom dates back at least as far as the 15th century[65] and was found in parts of England, Wales, Flanders, Bavaria and Austria.[66] Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door during Allhallowtide, collecting soul cakes, in exchange for praying for the dead, especially the souls of the givers' friends and relatives. This was called "souling".[65][67][68] Soul cakes were also offered for the souls themselves to eat,[66] or the 'soulers' would act as their representatives.[69] As with the Lenten tradition of hot cross buns, soul cakes were often marked with a cross, indicating they were baked as alms.[70] Shakespeare mentions souling in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593).[71] While souling, Christians would carry "lanterns made of hollowed-out turnips", which could have originally represented souls of the dead;[72][73] jack-o'-lanterns were used to ward off evil spirits.[74][75] On All Saints' and All Souls' Day during the 19th century, candles were lit in homes in Ireland,[76] Flanders, Bavaria, and in Tyrol, where they were called "soul lights",[77] that served "to guide the souls back to visit their earthly homes".[78] In many of these places, candles were also lit at graves on All Souls' Day.[77] In Brittany, libations of milk were poured on the graves of kinfolk,[66] or food would be left overnight on the dinner table for the returning souls;[77] a custom also found in Tyrol and parts of Italy.[79][77] Christian minister Prince Sorie Conteh linked the wearing of costumes to the belief in vengeful ghosts: "It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints' Day, and All Hallows' Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognized by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes".[80] In the Middle Ages, churches in Europe that were too poor to display relics of martyred saints at Allhallowtide let parishioners dress up as saints instead.[81][82] Some Christians observe this custom at Halloween today.[83] Lesley Bannatyne believes this could have been a Christianization of an earlier pagan custom.[84] Many Christians in mainland Europe, especially in France, believed "that once a year, on Hallowe'en, the dead of the churchyards rose for one wild, hideous carnival" known as the danse macabre, which was often depicted in church decoration.[85] Christopher Allmand and Rosamond McKitterick write in The New Cambridge Medieval History that the danse macabre urged Christians "not to forget the end of all earthly things".[86] The danse macabre was sometimes enacted in European village pageants and court masques, with people "dressing up as corpses from various strata of society", and this may be the origin of Halloween costume parties.[87][88][89][72] In Britain, these customs came under attack during the Reformation, as Protestants berated purgatory as a "popish" doctrine incompatible with the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. State-sanctioned ceremonies associated with the intercession of saints and prayer for souls in purgatory were abolished during the Elizabethan reform, though All Hallow's Day remained in the English liturgical calendar to "commemorate saints as godly human beings".[90] For some Nonconformist Protestants, the theology of All Hallows' Eve was redefined; "souls cannot be journeying from Purgatory on their way to Heaven, as Catholics frequently believe and assert. Instead, the so-called ghosts are thought to be in actuality evil spirits".[91] Other Protestants believed in an intermediate state known as Hades (Bosom of Abraham).[92] In some localities, Catholics and Protestants continued souling, candlelit processions, or ringing church bells for the dead;[46][93] the Anglican church eventually suppressed this bell-ringing.[94] Mark Donnelly, a professor of medieval archaeology, and historian Daniel Diehl write that "barns and homes were blessed to protect people and livestock from the effect of witches, who were believed to accompany the malignant spirits as they traveled the earth".[95] After 1605, Hallowtide was eclipsed in England by Guy Fawkes Night (5 November), which appropriated some of its customs.[96] In England, the ending of official ceremonies related to the intercession of saints led to the development of new, unofficial Hallowtide customs. In 18th–19th century rural Lancashire, Catholic families gathered on hills on the night of All Hallows' Eve. One held a bunch of burning straw on a pitchfork while the rest knelt around him, praying for the souls of relatives and friends until the flames went out. This was known as teen'lay.[97] There was a similar custom in Hertfordshire, and the lighting of 'tindle' fires in Derbyshire.[98] Some suggested these 'tindles' were originally lit to "guide the poor souls back to earth".[99] In Scotland and Ireland, old Allhallowtide customs that were at odds with Reformed teaching were not suppressed as they "were important to the life cycle and rites of passage of local communities" and curbing them would have been difficult.[22] In parts of Italy until the 15th century, families left a meal out for the ghosts of relatives, before leaving for church services.[79] In 19th-century Italy, churches staged "theatrical re-enactments of scenes from the lives of the saints" on All Hallow's Day, with "participants represented by realistic wax figures".[79] In 1823, the graveyard of Holy Spirit Hospital in Rome presented a scene in which bodies of those who recently died were arrayed around a wax statue of an angel who pointed upward towards heaven.[79] In the same country, "parish priests went house-to-house, asking for small gifts of food which they shared among themselves throughout that night".[79] In Spain, they continue to bake special pastries called "bones of the holy" (Spanish: Huesos de Santo) and set them on graves.[100] At cemeteries in Spain and France, as well as in Latin America, priests lead Christian processions and services during Allhallowtide, after which people keep an all night vigil.[101] In 19th-century San Sebastián, there was a procession to the city cemetery at Allhallowtide, an event that drew beggars who "appeal[ed] to the tender recollectons of one's deceased relations and friends" for sympathy.[102] Gaelic folk influence An early 20th-century Irish Halloween mask displayed at the Museum of Country Life Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which are believed to have pagan roots.[103] Jack Santino, a folklorist, writes that "there was throughout Ireland an uneasy truce existing between customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated with religions that were Irish before Christianity arrived".[104] The origins of Halloween customs are typically linked to the Gaelic festival Samhain.[105] Samhain is one of the quarter days in the medieval Gaelic calendar and has been celebrated on 31 October – 1 November[106] in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.[107][108] A kindred festival has been held by the Brittonic Celts, called Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Kalan Gwav in Cornwall and Kalan Goañv in Brittany; a name meaning "first day of winter". For the Celts, the day ended and began at sunset; thus the festival begins the evening before 1 November by modern reckoning.[109] Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature. The names have been used by historians to refer to Celtic Halloween customs up until the 19th century,[110] and are still the Gaelic and Welsh names for Halloween. Snap-Apple Night, painted by Daniel Maclise in 1833, shows people feasting and playing divination games on Halloween in Ireland.[111] Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year.[112][113] It was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld thinned. This meant the Aos Sí, the 'spirits' or 'fairies', could more easily come into this world and were particularly active.[114][115] Most scholars see them as "degraded versions of ancient gods [...] whose power remained active in the people's minds even after they had been officially replaced by later religious beliefs".[116] They were both respected and feared, with individuals often invoking the protection of God when approaching their dwellings.[117][118] At Samhain, the Aos Sí were appeased to ensure the people and livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink, or portions of the crops, were left outside for them.[119][120][121] The souls of the dead were also said to revisit their homes seeking hospitality.[122] Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to welcome them.[123] The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night of the year and must be appeased seems to have ancient origins and is found in many cultures.[66] In 19th century Ireland, "candles would be lit and prayers formally offered for the souls of the dead. After this the eating, drinking, and games would begin".[124] Throughout Ireland and Britain, especially in the Celtic-speaking regions, the household festivities included divination rituals and games intended to foretell one's future, especially regarding death and marriage.[125] Apples and nuts were often used, and customs included apple bobbing, nut roasting, scrying or mirror-gazing, pouring molten lead or egg whites into water, dream interpretation, and others.[126] Special bonfires were lit and there were rituals involving them. Their flames, smoke, and ashes were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers.[112] In some places, torches lit from the bonfire were carried sunwise around homes and fields to protect them.[110] It is suggested the fires were a kind of imitative or sympathetic magic – they mimicked the Sun and held back the decay and darkness of winter.[123][127][128] They were also used for divination and to ward off evil spirits.[74] In Scotland, these bonfires and divination games were banned by the church elders in some parishes.[129] In Wales, bonfires were also lit to "prevent the souls of the dead from falling to earth".[130] Later, these bonfires "kept away the devil".[131] photograph A plaster cast of a traditional Irish Halloween turnip (rutabaga) lantern on display in the Museum of Country Life, Ireland[132] From at least the 16th century,[133] the festival included mumming and guising in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Wales.[134] This involved people going house-to-house in costume (or in disguise), usually reciting verses or songs in exchange for food. It may have originally been a tradition whereby people impersonated the Aos Sí, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf, similar to 'souling'. Impersonating these beings, or wearing a disguise, was also believed to protect oneself from them.[135] In parts of southern Ireland, the guisers included a hobby horse. A man dressed as a Láir Bhán (white mare) led youths house-to-house reciting verses – some of which had pagan overtones – in exchange for food. If the household donated food it could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune.[136] In Scotland, youths went house-to-house with masked, painted or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.[134] F. Marian McNeill suggests the ancient festival included people in costume representing the spirits, and that faces were marked or blackened with ashes from the sacred bonfire.[133] In parts of Wales, men went about dressed as fearsome beings called gwrachod.[134] In the late 19th and early 20th century, young people in Glamorgan and Orkney cross-dressed.[134] Elsewhere in Europe, mumming was part of other festivals, but in the Celtic-speaking regions, it was "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers".[134] From at least the 18th century, "imitating malignant spirits" led to playing pranks in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. Wearing costumes and playing pranks at Halloween did not spread to England until the 20th century.[134] Pranksters used hollowed-out turnips or mangel wurzels as lanterns, often carved with grotesque faces.[134] By those who made them, the lanterns were variously said to represent the spirits,[134] or used to ward off evil spirits.[137][138] They were common in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in the 19th century,[134] as well as in Somerset (see Punkie Night). In the 20th century they spread to other parts of Britain and became generally known as jack-o'-lanterns.[134] Spread to North America "Halloween Days", article from American newspaper, The Sunday Oregonian, 1916 Lesley Bannatyne and Cindy Ott write that Anglican colonists in the southern United States and Catholic colonists in Maryland "recognized All Hallow's Eve in their church calendars",[139][140] although the Puritans of New England strongly opposed the holiday, along with other traditional celebrations of the established Church, including Christmas.[141] Almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was widely celebrated in North America.[22] It was not until after mass Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century that Halloween became a major holiday in America.[22] Most American Halloween traditions were inherited from the Irish and Scots,[23][142] though "In Cajun areas, a nocturnal Mass was said in cemeteries on Halloween night. Candles that had been blessed were placed on graves, and families sometimes spent the entire night at the graveside".[143] Originally confined to these immigrant communities, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and was celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial, and religious backgrounds by the early 20th century.[144] Then, through American influence, these Halloween traditions spread to many other countries by the late 20th and early 21st century, including to mainland Europe and some parts of the Far East.[24][25][145] Symbols At Halloween, yards, public spaces, and some houses may be decorated with traditionally macabre symbols including skeletons, ghosts, cobwebs, headstones, and scary looking witches. Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. Jack-o'-lanterns are traditionally carried by guisers on All Hallows' Eve in order to frighten evil spirits.[73][146] There is a popular Irish Christian folktale associated with the jack-o'-lantern,[147] which in folklore is said to represent a "soul who has been denied entry into both heaven and hell":[148] On route home after a night's drinking, Jack encounters the Devil and tricks him into climbing a tree. A quick-thinking Jack etches the sign of the cross into the bark, thus trapping the Devil. Jack strikes a bargain that Satan can never claim his soul. After a life of sin, drink, and mendacity, Jack is refused entry to heaven when he dies. Keeping his promise, the Devil refuses to let Jack into hell and throws a live coal straight from the fires of hell at him. It was a cold night, so Jack places the coal in a hollowed out turnip to stop it from going out, since which time Jack and his lantern have been roaming looking for a place to rest.[149] In Ireland and Scotland, the turnip has traditionally been carved during Halloween,[150][151] but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which is both much softer and much larger, making it easier to carve than a turnip.[150] The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837[152] and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.[153] Decorated house in Weatherly, Pennsylvania The modern imagery of Halloween comes from many sources, including Christian eschatology, national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature (such as the novels Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus and Dracula) and classic horror films such as Frankenstein (1931) and The Mummy (1932).[154][155] Imagery of the skull, a reference to Golgotha in the Christian tradition, serves as "a reminder of death and the transitory quality of human life" and is consequently found in memento mori and vanitas compositions;[156] skulls have therefore been commonplace in Halloween, which touches on this theme.[157] Traditionally, the back walls of churches are "decorated with a depiction of the Last Judgment, complete with graves opening and the dead rising, with a heaven filled with angels and a hell filled with devils", a motif that has permeated the observance of this triduum.[158] One of the earliest works on the subject of Halloween is from Scottish poet John Mayne, who, in 1780, made note of pranks at Halloween; "What fearfu' pranks ensue!", as well as the supernatural associated with the night, "bogles" (ghosts),[159] influencing Robert Burns' "Halloween" (1785).[160] Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn husks, and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween. Halloween imagery includes themes of death, evil, and mythical monsters.[161] Black cats, which have been long associated with witches, are also a common symbol of Halloween. Black, orange, and sometimes purple are Halloween's traditional colors.[162] Trick-or-treating and guising Main article: Trick-or-treating Trick-or-treaters in Sweden Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" implies a "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.[64] The practice is said to have roots in the medieval practice of mumming, which is closely related to souling.[163] John Pymm wrote that "many of the feast days associated with the presentation of mumming plays were celebrated by the Christian Church."[164] These feast days included All Hallows' Eve, Christmas, Twelfth Night and Shrove Tuesday.[165][166] Mumming practiced in Germany, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe,[167] involved masked persons in fancy dress who "paraded the streets and entered houses to dance or play dice in silence".[168] Girl in a Halloween costume in 1928, Ontario, Canada, the same province where the Scottish Halloween custom of guising was first recorded in North America In England, from the medieval period,[169] up until the 1930s,[170] people practiced the Christian custom of souling on Halloween, which involved groups of soulers, both Protestant and Catholic,[93] going from parish to parish, begging the rich for soul cakes, in exchange for praying for the souls of the givers and their friends.[67] In the Philippines, the practice of souling is called Pangangaluluwa and is practiced on All Hallow's Eve among children in rural areas.[26] People drape themselves in white cloths to represent souls and then visit houses, where they sing in return for prayers and sweets.[26] In Scotland and Ireland, guising – children disguised in costume going from door to door for food or coins – is a traditional Halloween custom.[171] It is recorded in Scotland at Halloween in 1895 where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money.[151][172] In Ireland, the most popular phrase for kids to shout (until the 2000s) was "Help the Halloween Party".[171] The practice of guising at Halloween in North America was first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood.[173] American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book-length history of Halloween in the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America".[174] In her book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Halloween customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries".[175] While the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.[176] The earliest known use in print of the term "trick or treat" appears in 1927, in the Blackie Herald, of Alberta, Canada.[177] An automobile trunk at a trunk-or-treat event at St. John Lutheran Church and Early Learning Center in Darien, Illinois The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the turn of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but not trick-or-treating.[178] Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a widespread practice in North America until the 1930s, with the first US appearances of the term in 1934,[179] and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.[180] A popular variant of trick-or-treating, known as trunk-or-treating (or Halloween tailgating), occurs when "children are offered treats from the trunks of cars parked in a church parking lot", or sometimes, a school parking lot.[100][181] In a trunk-or-treat event, the trunk (boot) of each automobile is decorated with a certain theme,[182] such as those of children's literature, movies, scripture, and job roles.[183] Trunk-or-treating has grown in popularity due to its perception as being more safe than going door to door, a point that resonates well with parents, as well as the fact that it "solves the rural conundrum in which homes [are] built a half-mile apart".[184][185] Costumes Main article: Halloween costume Halloween shop in Derry, Northern Ireland, selling masks Halloween costumes were traditionally modeled after figures such as vampires, ghosts, skeletons, scary looking witches, and devils.[64] Over time, the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, and generic archetypes such as ninjas and princesses. Dressing up in costumes and going "guising" was prevalent in Scotland and Ireland at Halloween by the late 19th century.[151] A Scottish term, the tradition is called "guising" because of the disguises or costumes worn by the children.[172] In Ireland and Scotland, the masks are known as 'false faces',[38][186] a term recorded in Ayr, Scotland in 1890 by a Scot describing guisers: "I had mind it was Halloween . . . the wee callans (boys) were at it already, rinning aboot wi’ their fause-faces (false faces) on and their bits o’ turnip lanthrons (lanterns) in their haun (hand)".[38] Costuming became popular for Halloween parties in the US in the early 20th century, as often for adults as for children, and when trick-or-treating was becoming popular in Canada and the US in the 1920s and 1930s.[177][187] Eddie J. Smith, in his book Halloween, Hallowed is Thy Name, offers a religious perspective to the wearing of costumes on All Hallows' Eve, suggesting that by dressing up as creatures "who at one time caused us to fear and tremble", people are able to poke fun at Satan "whose kingdom has been plundered by our Saviour". Images of skeletons and the dead are traditional decorations used as memento mori.[188][189] The annual New York Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, is the world's largest Halloween parade, with millions of spectators annually, and has its roots in New York's queer community.[190] "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" is a fundraising program to support UNICEF,[64] a United Nations Programme that provides humanitarian aid to children in developing countries. Started as a local event in a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood in 1950 and expanded nationally in 1952, the program involves the distribution of small boxes by schools (or in modern times, corporate sponsors like Hallmark, at their licensed stores) to trick-or-treaters, in which they can solicit small-change donations from the houses they visit. It is estimated that children have collected more than $118 million for UNICEF since its inception. In Canada, in 2006, UNICEF decided to discontinue their Halloween collection boxes, citing safety and administrative concerns; after consultation with schools, they instead redesigned the program.[191][192] The yearly New York's Village Halloween Parade was begun in 1974; it is the world's largest Halloween parade and America's only major nighttime parade, attracting more than 60,000 costumed participants, two million spectators, and a worldwide television audience.[193] Since the late 2010s, ethnic stereotypes as costumes have increasingly come under scrutiny in the United States.[194] Such and other potentially offensive costumes have been met with increasing public disapproval.[195][196] Pet costumes According to a 2018 report from the National Retail Federation, 30 million Americans will spend an estimated $480 million on Halloween costumes for their pets in 2018. This is up from an estimated $200 million in 2010. The most popular costumes for pets are the pumpkin, followed by the hot dog, and the bumblebee in third place.[197] Games and other activities In this 1904 Halloween greeting card, divination is depicted: the young woman looking into a mirror in a darkened room hopes to catch a glimpse of her future husband. There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween. Some of these games originated as divination rituals or ways of foretelling one's future, especially regarding death, marriage and children. During the Middle Ages, these rituals were done by a "rare few" in rural communities as they were considered to be "deadly serious" practices.[198] In recent centuries, these divination games have been "a common feature of the household festivities" in Ireland and Britain.[125] They often involve apples and hazelnuts. In Celtic mythology, apples were strongly associated with the Otherworld and immortality, while hazelnuts were associated with divine wisdom.[199] Some also suggest that they derive from Roman practices in celebration of Pomona.[64] Children bobbing for apples at Hallowe'en The following activities were a common feature of Halloween in Ireland and Britain during the 17th–20th centuries. Some have become more widespread and continue to be popular today. One common game is apple bobbing or dunking (which may be called "dooking" in Scotland)[200] in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use only their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. A variant of dunking involves kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and trying to drive the fork into an apple. Another common game involves hanging up treacle or syrup-coated scones by strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, an activity that inevitably leads to a sticky face. Another once-popular game involves hanging a small wooden rod from the ceiling at head height, with a lit candle on one end and an apple hanging from the other. The rod is spun round and everyone takes turns to try to catch the apple with their teeth.[201] Image from the Book of Hallowe'en (1919) showing several Halloween activities, such as nut roasting Several of the traditional activities from Ireland and Britain involve foretelling one's future partner or spouse. An apple would be peeled in one long strip, then the peel tossed over the shoulder. The peel is believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's name.[202][203] Two hazelnuts would be roasted near a fire; one named for the person roasting them and the other for the person they desire. If the nuts jump away from the heat, it is a bad sign, but if the nuts roast quietly it foretells a good match.[204][205] A salty oatmeal bannock would be baked; the person would eat it in three bites and then go to bed in silence without anything to drink. This is said to result in a dream in which their future spouse offers them a drink to quench their thirst.[206] Unmarried women were told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror.[207] The custom was widespread enough to be commemorated on greeting cards[208] from the late 19th century and early 20th century. Another popular Irish game was known as púicíní ("blindfolds"); a person would be blindfolded and then would choose between several saucers. The item in the saucer would provide a hint as to their future: a ring would mean that they would marry soon; clay, that they would die soon, perhaps within the year; water, that they would emigrate; rosary beads, that they would take Holy Orders (become a nun, priest, monk, etc.); a coin, that they would become rich; a bean, that they would be poor.[209][210][211][212] The game features prominently in the James Joyce short story "Clay" (1914).[213][214][215] In Ireland and Scotland, items would be hidden in food – usually a cake, barmbrack, cranachan, champ or colcannon – and portions of it served out at random. A person's future would be foretold by the item they happened to find; for example, a ring meant marriage and a coin meant wealth.[216] Up until the 19th century, the Halloween bonfires were also used for divination in parts of Scotland, Wales and Brittany. When the fire died down, a ring of stones would be laid in the ashes, one for each person. In the morning, if any stone was mislaid it was said that the person it represented would not live out the year.[110] Telling ghost stories, listening to Halloween-themed songs and watching horror films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Episodes of television series and Halloween-themed specials (with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly aired on or before Halloween, while new horror films are often released before Halloween to take advantage of the holiday. Haunted attractions Main article: Haunted attraction (simulated) Humorous tombstones in front of a house in California Humorous display window in Historic 25th Street, Ogden, Utah Haunted attractions are entertainment venues designed to thrill and scare patrons. Most attractions are seasonal Halloween businesses that may include haunted houses, corn mazes, and hayrides,[217] and the level of sophistication of the effects has risen as the industry has grown. The first recorded purpose-built haunted attraction was the Orton and Spooner Ghost House, which opened in 1915 in Liphook, England. This attraction actually most closely resembles a carnival fun house, powered by steam.[218][219] The House still exists, in the Hollycombe Steam Collection. It was during the 1930s, about the same time as trick-or-treating, that Halloween-themed haunted houses first began to appear in America. It was in the late 1950s that haunted houses as a major attraction began to appear, focusing first on California. Sponsored by the Children's Health Home Junior Auxiliary, the San Mateo Haunted House opened in 1957. The San Bernardino Assistance League Haunted House opened in 1958. Home haunts began appearing across the country during 1962 and 1963. In 1964, the San Manteo Haunted House opened, as well as the Children's Museum Haunted House in Indianapolis.[220] The haunted house as an American cultural icon can be attributed to the opening of The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland on 12 August 1969.[221] Knott's Berry Farm began hosting its own Halloween night attraction, Knott's Scary Farm, which opened in 1973.[222] Evangelical Christians adopted a form of these attractions by opening one of the first "hell houses" in 1972.[223] The first Halloween haunted house run by a nonprofit organization was produced in 1970 by the Sycamore-Deer Park Jaycees in Clifton, Ohio. It was cosponsored by WSAI, an AM radio station broadcasting out of Cincinnati, Ohio. It was last produced in 1982.[224] Other Jaycees followed suit with their own versions after the success of the Ohio house. The March of Dimes copyrighted a "Mini haunted house for the March of Dimes" in 1976 and began fundraising through their local chapters by conducting haunted houses soon after. Although they apparently quit supporting this type of event nationally sometime in the 1980s, some March of Dimes haunted houses have persisted until today.[225] On the evening of 11 May 1984, in Jackson Township, New Jersey, the Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure caught fire. As a result of the fire, eight teenagers perished.[226] The backlash to the tragedy was a tightening of regulations relating to safety, building codes and the frequency of inspections of attractions nationwide. The smaller venues, especially the nonprofit attractions, were unable to compete financially, and the better funded commercial enterprises filled the vacuum.[227][228] Facilities that were once able to avoid regulation because they were considered to be temporary installations now had to adhere to the stricter codes required of permanent attractions.[229][230][231] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, theme parks entered the business seriously. Six Flags Fright Fest began in 1986 and Universal Studios Florida began Halloween Horror Nights in 1991. Knott's Scary Farm experienced a surge in attendance in the 1990s as a result of America's obsession with Halloween as a cultural event. Theme parks have played a major role in globalizing the holiday. Universal Studios Singapore and Universal Studios Japan both participate, while Disney now mounts Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party events at its parks in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo, as well as in the United States.[232] The theme park haunts are by far the largest, both in scale and attendance.[233] Food Pumpkins for sale during Halloween On All Hallows' Eve, many Western Christian denominations encourage abstinence from meat, giving rise to a variety of vegetarian foods associated with this day.[234] A candy apple Because in the Northern Hemisphere Halloween comes in the wake of the yearly apple harvest, candy apples (known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel apples or taffy apples are common Halloween treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts. At one time, candy apples were commonly given to trick-or-treating children, but the practice rapidly waned in the wake of widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items like pins and razor blades in the apples in the United States.[235] While there is evidence of such incidents,[236] relative to the degree of reporting of such cases, actual cases involving malicious acts are extremely rare and have never resulted in serious injury. Nonetheless, many parents assumed that such heinous practices were rampant because of the mass media. At the peak of the hysteria, some hospitals offered free X-rays of children's Halloween hauls in order to find evidence of tampering. Virtually all of the few known candy poisoning incidents involved parents who poisoned their own children's candy.[237] One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays, the purchase) of a barmbrack (Irish: báirín breac), which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin, and other charms are placed before baking.[238] It is considered fortunate to be the lucky one who finds it.[238] It has also been said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year. This is similar to the tradition of king cake at the festival of Epiphany. Halloween-themed foods are also produced by companies in the lead up to the night, for example Cadbury releasing Goo Heads (similar to Creme Eggs) in spooky wrapping.[239] A jack-o'-lantern Halloween cake with a witches hat List of foods associated with Halloween: Barmbrack (Ireland) Bonfire toffee (Great Britain) Candy apples/toffee apples (Great Britain and Ireland) Candy apples, candy corn, candy pumpkins (North America) Chocolate Monkey nuts (peanuts in their shells) (Ireland and Scotland) Caramel apples Caramel corn Colcannon (Ireland; see below) Halloween cake Sweets/candy Novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, etc. Roasted pumpkin seeds Roasted sweet corn Soul cakes Pumpkin Pie Christian observances The Vigil of All Hallows' is being celebrated at an Episcopal Christian church on Hallowe'en On Hallowe'en (All Hallows' Eve), in Poland, believers were once taught to pray out loud as they walk through the forests in order that the souls of the dead might find comfort; in Spain, Christian priests in tiny villages toll their church bells in order to remind their congregants to remember the dead on All Hallows' Eve.[240] In Ireland, and among immigrants in Canada, a custom includes the Christian practice of abstinence, keeping All Hallows' Eve as a meat-free day and serving pancakes or colcannon instead.[241] In Mexico children make an altar to invite the return of the spirits of dead children (angelitos).[242] The Christian Church traditionally observed Hallowe'en through a vigil. Worshippers prepared themselves for feasting on the following All Saints' Day with prayers and fasting.[243] This church service is known as the Vigil of All Hallows or the Vigil of All Saints;[244][245] an initiative known as Night of Light seeks to further spread the Vigil of All Hallows throughout Christendom.[246][247] After the service, "suitable festivities and entertainments" often follow, as well as a visit to the graveyard or cemetery, where flowers and candles are often placed in preparation for All Hallows' Day.[248][249] In Finland, because so many people visit the cemeteries on All Hallows' Eve to light votive candles there, they "are known as valomeri, or seas of light".[250] Halloween Scripture Candy with gospel tract Today, Christian attitudes towards Halloween are diverse. In the Anglican Church, some dioceses have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions associated with All Hallow's Eve.[251][252] Some of these practices include praying, fasting and attending worship services.[1][2][3] O LORD our God, increase, we pray thee, and multiply upon us the gifts of thy grace: that we, who do prevent the glorious festival of all thy Saints, may of thee be enabled joyfully to follow them in all virtuous and godly living. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. —Collect of the Vigil of All Saints, The Anglican Breviary[253] Votive candles in the Halloween section of Walmart Other Protestant Christians also celebrate All Hallows' Eve as Reformation Day, a day to remember the Protestant Reformation, alongside All Hallow's Eve or independently from it.[254] This is because Martin Luther is said to have nailed his Ninety-five Theses to All Saints' Church in Wittenberg on All Hallows' Eve.[255] Often, "Harvest Festivals" or "Reformation Festivals" are held on All Hallows' Eve, in which children dress up as Bible characters or Reformers.[256] In addition to distributing candy to children who are trick-or-treating on Hallowe'en, many Christians also provide gospel tracts to them. One organization, the American Tract Society, stated that around 3 million gospel tracts are ordered from them alone for Hallowe'en celebrations.[257] Others order Halloween-themed Scripture Candy to pass out to children on this day.[258][259] Belizean children dressed up as Biblical figures and Christian saints Some Christians feel concerned about the modern celebration of Halloween because they feel it trivializes – or celebrates – paganism, the occult, or other practices and cultural phenomena deemed incompatible with their beliefs.[260] Father Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist in Rome, has said, "if English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that."[261] In more recent years, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has organized a "Saint Fest" on Halloween.[262] Similarly, many contemporary Protestant churches view Halloween as a fun event for children, holding events in their churches where children and their parents can dress up, play games, and get candy for free. To these Christians, Halloween holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson and a part of many of their parishioners' heritage.[263] Christian minister Sam Portaro wrote that Halloween is about using "humor and ridicule to confront the power of death".[264] In the Roman Catholic Church, Halloween's Christian connection is acknowledged, and Halloween celebrations are common in many Catholic parochial schools, such as in the United States,[265][266] while schools throughout Ireland also close for the Halloween break.[267][268] Many fundamentalist and evangelical churches use "Hell houses" and comic-style tracts in order to make use of Halloween's popularity as an opportunity for evangelism.[269] Others consider Halloween to be completely incompatible with the Christian faith due to its putative origins in the Festival of the Dead celebration.[270] Indeed, even though Eastern Orthodox Christians observe All Hallows' Day on the First Sunday after Pentecost, The Eastern Orthodox Church recommends the observance of Vespers or a Paraklesis on the Western observance of All Hallows' Eve, out of the pastoral need to provide an alternative to popular celebrations.[271] Analogous celebrations and perspectives Judaism Main article: Jews and Halloween According to Alfred J. Kolatch in the Second Jewish Book of Why, in Judaism, Halloween is not permitted by Jewish Halakha because it violates Leviticus 18:3, which forbids Jews from partaking in gentile customs. Many Jews observe Yizkor communally four times a year, which is vaguely similar to the observance of Allhallowtide in Christianity, in the sense that prayers are said for both "martyrs and for one's own family".[272] Nevertheless, many American Jews celebrate Halloween, disconnected from its Christian origins.[273] Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser has said that "There is no religious reason why contemporary Jews should not celebrate Halloween" while Orthodox Rabbi Michael Broyde has argued against Jews' observing the holiday.[274] Purim has sometimes been compared to Halloween, in part due to some observants wearing costumes, especially of Biblical figures described in the Purim narrative.[275] Islam Sheikh Idris Palmer, author of A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, has ruled that Muslims should not participate in Halloween, stating that "participation in Halloween is worse than participation in Christmas, Easter, ... it is more sinful than congratulating the Christians for their prostration to the crucifix".[276] It has also been ruled to be haram by the National Fatwa Council of Malaysia because of its alleged pagan roots stating "Halloween is celebrated using a humorous theme mixed with horror to entertain and resist the spirit of death that influence humans".[277][278] Dar Al-Ifta Al-Missriyyah disagrees provided the celebration is not referred to as an 'eid' and that behaviour remains in line with Islamic principles.[279] Hinduism Hindus remember the dead during the festival of Pitru Paksha, during which Hindus pay homage to and perform a ceremony "to keep the souls of their ancestors at rest". It is celebrated in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada, usually in mid-September.[280] The celebration of the Hindu festival Diwali sometimes conflicts with the date of Halloween; but some Hindus choose to participate in the popular customs of Halloween.[281] Other Hindus, such as Soumya Dasgupta, have opposed the celebration on the grounds that Western holidays like Halloween have "begun to adversely affect our indigenous festivals".[282] Neopaganism There is no consistent rule or view on Halloween amongst those who describe themselves as Neopagans or Wiccans. Some Neopagans do not observe Halloween, but instead observe Samhain on 1 November,[283] some neopagans do enjoy Halloween festivities, stating that one can observe both "the solemnity of Samhain in addition to the fun of Halloween". Some neopagans are opposed to the celebration of Hallowe'en, stating that it "trivializes Samhain",[284] and "avoid Halloween, because of the interruptions from trick or treaters".[285] The Manitoban writes that "Wiccans don't officially celebrate Halloween, despite the fact that 31 Oct. will still have a star beside it in any good Wiccan's day planner. Starting at sundown, Wiccans celebrate a holiday known as Samhain. Samhain actually comes from old Celtic traditions and is not exclusive to Neopagan religions like Wicca. While the traditions of this holiday originate in Celtic countries, modern day Wiccans don't try to historically replicate Samhain celebrations. Some traditional Samhain rituals are still practised, but at its core, the period is treated as a time to celebrate darkness and the dead – a possible reason why Samhain can be confused with Halloween celebrations."[283] Geography Main article: Geography of Halloween Halloween display in Kobe, Japan The traditions and importance of Halloween vary greatly among countries that observe it. In Scotland and Ireland, traditional Halloween customs include children dressing up in costume going "guising", holding parties, while other practices in Ireland include lighting bonfires, and having firework displays.[171][286][287] In Brittany children would play practical jokes by setting candles inside skulls in graveyards to frighten visitors.[288] Mass transatlantic immigration in the 19th century popularized Halloween in North America, and celebration in the United States and Canada has had a significant impact on how the event is observed in other nations.[171] This larger North American influence, particularly in iconic and commercial elements, has extended to places such as Brazil, Ecuador, Chile,[289] Australia,[290] New Zealand,[291] (most) continental Europe, Finland,[292] Japan, and other parts of East Asia.[25] Cost According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend $12.2 billion on Halloween in 2023, up from $10.6 billion in 2022. Of this amount, $3.9 billion is projected to be spent on home decorations, up from $2.7 billion in 2019. The popularity of Halloween decorations has been growing in recent years, with retailers offering a wider range of increasingly elaborate and oversized decorations.[293] See also iconChristianity portaliconHolidays portal Campfire story Devil's Night Dziady Ghost Festival Naraka Chaturdashi Kekri List of fiction works about Halloween List of films set around Halloween List of Halloween television specials Martinisingen Neewollah St. John's Eve Walpurgis Night Will-o'-the-wisp English festivals Halloween at Curlie "A brief history of Halloween" by the BBC "All Hallows Eve (Halloween) in the Traditional, Pre-1955 Liturgical Books" by the Liturgical Arts Journal "The History of Halloween" by the History Channel vte Halloween Main topics History Samhain Allhallowtide Symbols Activities Geography Christian observances Traditions Trick-or-treating Costumes Apple bobbing Cards Food cake Ghost tours Halloween Tree Jack-o'-lantern Connecticut field pumpkin Lighting candles on graves Prayer for the dead Soul cake Pangangaluluwa Events Bonfire Haunted attraction Hell house Pumpkin festival Pumpkin queen Media Books Films Music albums songs Television Great Pumpkin Related events Festival of the Dead Bon Festival Chuseok Día de Muertos Gai Jatra Pitri Paksha Qingming Festival Totensonntag Zhōng yuán jié Parade of Lost Souls Veneration of the dead Death anniversary Death customs Kaddish Yizkor Other events Allantide All Saints' Day All Souls Day Beggars Night Devil's Night Dziady Eid il-Burbara Hop-tu-Naa Kekri Korochun Mischief Night Namahage Old Halloween Saci Day Category: Halloween vte Halloween events Community Halloween in the Castro Headless Horseman Hayride New York's Village Halloween Parade Pumpkin Fest Rutland Halloween Parade Shocktoberfest State Street Halloween Party (Madison) Terror Behind the Walls Jack-o-lantern At theme parks Fright Fest Fright Nights HalloWeekends Halloween Haunt California's Great America Canada's Wonderland Dorney Park Kings Dominion Kings Island Halloween Spooktacular Happy Halloween Howl-O-Scream Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Busch Gardens Williamsburg SeaWorld San Antonio Knott's Scary Farm Mickey's Halloween Party Halloween Screams Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party SCarowinds Universal's Halloween Horror Nights ValleyScare vte Allhallowtide Main topics Allhallowtide All Saints' Day All Souls' Day Reformation Day International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church Remembrance Sunday Traditions Vigil Mass Church bells Votive candles Visitation of cemeteries Prayer for the dead Soul cake Trick-or-treating Hell house Office of the Dead Pangangaluluwa Hymns For All the Saints I Sing a Song of the Saints of God In Our Day of Thanksgiving Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones Theology Calendar of saints Christian burial Christian martyrs Christian views on Hades Churches Militant, Penitent, and Triumphant Communion of saints Exorcism in Christianity Four last things Persecution of Christians Related observances Blue Christmas Day of the Dead Halloween Totensonntag Thursday of the Dead vte Liturgical year of the Catholic Church Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite of the Latin Church (1969 Calendar) Advent Sundays 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Immaculate Conception December 17 to 23 Christmas Season Christmas Holy Family Mary, Mother of God Epiphany Baptism of the Lord Ordinary Time Presentation of the Lord Lent Ash Wednesday Sundays 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Saint Joseph Annunciation Palm Sunday Holy Week Paschal Triduum Holy Thursday Chrism Mass Mass of the Lord's Supper Good Friday Holy Saturday Easter Vigil Easter Season Easter Sunday Octave Divine Mercy Sunday Sundays 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th Ascension Pentecost Ordinary Time Trinity Sunday Corpus Christi Sacred Heart Visitation Saint John the Baptist Saints Peter and Paul Transfiguration Assumption Nativity of Mary Exaltation of the Cross All Saints' Day All Souls' Day Presentation of Mary Christ the King Tridentine Mass of the Roman Rite of the Latin Church (1960 Calendar) Legend Italic font marks the 10 holy days of obligation in the universal calendar which do not normally fall on a Sunday. Older calendars 1955 pre-1955 Tridentine Liturgical colours Ranking Computus Easter cycle icon Catholicism portal vte Holidays, observances, and celebrations in the United States January New Year's Day (federal) Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (federal) Birthday of Eugenio María de Hostos (PR) Confederate Heroes Day (TX) Eve of Three Kings' Day (PR, religious) Feast of Epiphany / Feast of Theophany (religious) Fred Korematsu Day (AZ, CA, FL, HI, VA) Idaho Human Rights Day (ID) Inauguration Day (federal quadrennial) Kansas Day (KS) Makar Sankranti / Pongal (religious) Robert E. Lee Day (FL) Stephen Foster Memorial Day (36) The Eighth (LA) Three Kings' Day (PR, VI, religious) World Religion Day (religious) January–February Super Bowl Sunday Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year (NY, cultural, religious) Vasant Panchami (religious) February American Heart Month Black History Month Washington's Birthday (federal) Valentine's Day Birthday of Luis Muñoz Marín (PR) Candlemas (religious) Charles Darwin Day / Darwin Day (CA, DE) Day of Remembrance (CA, OR, WA, cultural) Georgia Day (GA) Groundhog Day Imbolc (religious) Lincoln's Birthday (CA, CT, IL, IN, MO, NY, WV) National Girls and Women in Sports Day National Freedom Day (36) Nirvana Day (religious) Presentation of Our Lord to the Temple (religious) Promised Reformer Day (religious) Ronald Reagan Day (CA) Rosa Parks Day (CA, MO) Saviours' Day (religious) Susan B. Anthony Day (CA, FL, NY, WI, WV, proposed federal) Tu B’shvat (religious) February–March Mardi Gras Ash Wednesday (PR, religious) Carnival (PR, VI, religious) Clean Monday (religious) Courir de Mardi Gras (religious) Intercalary Days (religious) Mahashivaratri (religious) Purim (religious) Shrove Tuesday (religious) Super Tuesday March Irish-American Heritage Month Colon Cancer Awareness Month Women's History Month Saint Patrick's Day (religious) Spring break (week) Annunciation of the Virgin Mary / Annunciation of the Theotokos (religious) Casimir Pulaski Day (IL) Cesar Chavez Day (CA, CO, TX, proposed federal) Emancipation Day in Puerto Rico (PR, cultural) Evacuation Day (Suffolk County, MA) Harriet Tubman Day (NY) Hola Mohalla (religious) Holi (NY, religious) L. 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Indigenous Peoples' Day International Day of Non-Violence Leif Erikson Day (36) Missouri Day (MO) Nanomonestotse (cultural) National School Lunch Week (week) Native American Day in South Dakota (SD) Nevada Day (NV) Spirit Day (cultural) Sweetest Day Sukkot / Feast of Tabernacles (religious, week) Virgin Islands–Puerto Rico Friendship Day (PR, VI) White Cane Safety Day (36) October–November Birth of the Báb (religious) Birth of Baháʼu'lláh (religious) Day of the Dead (VI) Diwali (NY, religious) Mawlid al-Nabi (religious) November Native American Indian Heritage Month Veterans Day (federal) Thanksgiving (federal) Ascension of ‘Abdu’l Baha (religious) All Saints' Day (religious) Beginning of the Nativity Fast (religious) Beltane / Samhain (religious) Barack Obama Day in Alabama (Perry County, AL) D. Hamilton Jackson Day (VI) Day after Thanksgiving (24) Day of the Covenant (religious) Discovery of Puerto Rico Day (PR) Election Day (CA, DE, HI, KY, MT, NJ, NY, OH, PR, VA, WV, proposed federal) Family Day (NV) Guru Nanak Gurpurab (religious) Hanukkah (religious) Lā Kūʻokoʻa (HI, unofficial, cultural) Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (religious) Native American Heritage Day (MD, WA, cultural) Presentation of the Theotokos to the Temple (religious) Trans Day of Remembrance (cultural) Unthanksgiving Day (cultural) December Christmas (religious, federal) New Year's Eve Advent Sunday (religious) Alabama Day (AL) Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib (religious) Bodhi Day (religious) Chalica (religious) Christmas Eve (KY, NC, SC, PR, VI) Day after Christmas (KY, NC, SC, TX, VI) Festivus HumanLight Hanukkah (religious, week) Immaculate Conception (religious) Indiana Day (IN) Kwanzaa (cultural, week) Milad Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (religious) National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (36) Nativity of Jesus (religious) Old Year's Night (VI) Pan American Aviation Day (36) Pancha Ganapati (religious, week) Rosa Parks Day (OH, OR) Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (religious) Wright Brothers Day (36) Yule (religious) Zartosht No-Diso (religious) Varies (year round) Eid al-Adha (NY, religious) Eid al-Fitr (NY, religious) Islamic New Year (religious) Yawm al-Arafa (religious) Hajj (religious) Laylat al-Qadr (religious) Navaratri (religious, four times a year) Obon (religious) Onam (religious) Ramadan (religious, month) Ghost Festival (religious) Yawm Aashura (religious) Legend: (federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific racial/ethnic group or sexual minority, (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies See also: Lists of holidays, Hallmark holidays, Public holidays in the United States, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. vte Holidays, observances, and celebrations in Algeria January New Year's Day (1) Yennayer (12) February Valentine's Day (14) Tafsut (28) March International Women's Day (8) Victory Day (19) World Water Day (22) Maghrebi Blood Donation Day (30) Spring vacation (2 last weeks) April April Fools' Day (1) Knowledge Day (16) Berber Spring (20) Earth Day (22) Election Day (Thursday) May International Workers' Day (1) World Press Freedom Day (3) Mother's Day (last Sunday) June–July–August Summer vacation (varies) June Children's Day (1) Father's Day (21) July Independence Day (5) September International Day of Peace (21) October International Day of Non-Violence (2) Halloween (31) November Revolution Day (1) December Christmas Eve (24) Christmas (25) New Year's Eve (31) Winter vacation (2 last weeks) Varies (year round) Hijri New Year's Day (Muharram 1) Ashura (Muharram 10) Ashura in Algeria Mawlid (Rabi' al-Awwal 12) Mawlid in Algeria Ramadan (Ramadan 1) Laylat al-Qadr (Ramadan 27) Eid al-Fitr (Shawwal 1) Day of Arafah (Dhu al-Hijjah 9) Eid al-Adha (Dhu al-Hijjah 10) Bold indicates major holidays commonly celebrated in Algeria, which often represent the major celebrations of the month. See also: Lists of holidays. vte England English festivals and fairs English festivals Souling Halloween Plough Monday Lammas Hocktide Easter Christmas St George's Day Mothering Day (Mother's Day) Fairs and others Well dressing Category: Festivals in England vte LaVeyan Satanism High Priest Anton LaVey (1966–1997) Peter H. Gilmore (2001–present) High Priestess Diane Hegarty (1966–1985) Zeena LaVey (1985–1990) Karla LaVey (1990–1999) Blanche Barton (1997–2002) Peggy Nadramia (2002–present) Organizations Church of Satan First Satanic Church (see also The Black House, Grotto, Council of Nine) Influential figures Friedrich Nietzsche Ayn Rand Herbert Spencer Arthur Desmond Charles Darwin Sigmund Freud Niccolò Machiavelli Carl Jung Wilhelm Reich P.T. Barnum William Mortensen Aleister Crowley Maria de Naglowska Stanisław Przybyszewski Helena Blavatsky Grigori Rasputin Benjamin Franklin H. P. Lovecraft Edward Bernays H. L. Mencken Jack London Ambrose Bierce Benjamin De Casseres Arthur Schopenhauer Max Stirner Bernardino Nogara Basil Zaharoff Mark Twain John Milton Literature The Satanic Bible The Satanic Witch The Satanic Rituals The Secret Life of a Satanist We Are Satanists The Devil's Notebook Satan Speaks! Letters from the Devil The Satanic Scriptures Other media The Satanic Mass Satanis: The Devil's Mass Speak of the Devil: The Canon of Anton LaVey The Black Flame Satan Takes a Holiday Strange Music Death Scenes Satanic holidays Birthday Equinoxes Walpurgisnacht Solstices Halloween Yule Ideas and concepts Amorality Animalism Antihumanism Balance of nature Blasphemy Burlesque Carnality Carnivalesque Carpe diem, carpe noctem Elitism Epicureanism Egoism Egotheism Eugenics Grotesque body Hierarchy Individualism Iconoclasm Jungian psychology Law of the jungle Lex talionis Materialism Meritocracy Misanthropy Naturalism Pragmatism Psychic vampire Realism Self-preservation Social Darwinism Social stratification Universal Darwinism Related topics An Interview with Peter H. Gilmore Satanic panic Hellfire Club The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters Authority control databases: National Edit this at Wikidata France BnF data Germany Israel United States Czech Republic vte Ireland topics Republic of Ireland topics Northern Ireland topics History Timeline Prehistory Protohistory Early history Gaelic Ireland / Lordship of Ireland 800–1169 1169–1536 Kingdom of Ireland 1536–1691 1691–1800 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801–1923 Irish Republic Southern Ireland (1921–1922) Northern Ireland (1921–present) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 1922 Irish Free State (1922–1937) Ireland (since 1922) Events Battles of Tara / Glenmama / Clontarf Norman invasion Bruce campaign Black Death Tudor conquest Desmond Rebellions Spanish Armada Tyrone's Rebellion Flight of the Earls Plantation of Ulster 1641 Rebellion / Confederate War Cromwellian conquest / Settlement of 1652 Williamite War Penal Laws First Great Famine 1798 Rebellion Act of Union (1800) 1803 Rebellion Tithe War Second Great Famine Land War Fenian Rising Dublin lock-out Home Rule crisis Easter Rising War of Independence Anglo-Irish Treaty Civil War The Emergency IRA Northern Campaign IRA Border Campaign The Troubles Peace process Economy of the Republic of Ireland Celtic Tiger Post-2008 Irish economic downturn Post-2008 Irish banking crisis Other topics List of conflicts in Ireland List of Irish tribes List of Irish kingdoms List of High Kings Gaelic clothing and fashion List of World Heritage Sites in the Republic of Ireland Geography Natural Climate Climate change Coastline Extreme points Fauna Islands Loughs Mountains Rivers list List of national parks of the Republic of Ireland / in Northern Ireland Human Architecture Notable buildings Tallest buildings and structures Cities Counties Demographics of the Republic of Ireland / of Northern Ireland Ports Provinces ROI–UK border Towns Tourism in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions Transport Politics Ideologies Nationalism Republicanism Ulster loyalism Unionism Republic of Ireland Constitution Economy Education Foreign relations Government local Law Oireachtas parliament Dáil Éireann (lower house) Seanad Éireann (upper house) President Taxation Northern Ireland Assembly D'Hondt method Economy Education Government local Peace process Culture Cuisine Food List of dishes Barmbrack Bacon and cabbage Boxty Champ Coddle Colcannon Drisheen Irish fry Skirts and kidneys Soda bread Spice Bag Stew Drinks Coffee Cream Guinness Mist Poitín Tea Whiskey Dance Jig Sean-nós Set dancing Stepdance Festivals Imbolc Saint Patrick's Day Bealtaine The Twelfth Lúnasa Rose of Tralee Samhain / Halloween Wren Day Languages Hiberno-English Irish Shelta Ulster Scots Literature Annals Fiction Gaeilge Poetry Theatre Triads Music Ballads Céilí Folk music session Instruments Rock music Traditional singing Mythology Cycles Mythological Fenian Ulster Kings Aos Sí Echtrai Immrama Tuatha Dé Danann Firbolg Fomorians Legendary creatures People Anglo-Irish Gaels Gaelic Ireland Hiberno-Normans Irish diaspora List of Irish people Travellers Ulster Scots Yola Sport Association football in the Republic of Ireland Association football in Northern Ireland Camogie Gaelic football Gaelic handball Hurling Martial arts Road bowling Rounders Rugby union Symbols Brighid's Cross Cláirseach County coats of arms Flags Northern Ireland flags issue Irish Wolfhound National coat of arms Red Hand Shamrock Other Calendar Castles Cinema Heritage Sites Historic houses Homelessness Mass media (Republic) Monastic Names Place names / outside Ireland Prostitution (Republic) / in Northern Ireland Public holidays in the Republic of Ireland / in Northern Ireland Public houses Squatting flag Ireland portal Categories: HalloweenAllhallowtideAutumn festivalsChristianity and deathHalloween eventsCulture of IrelandIrish folkloreMasquerade ceremoniesObservances honoring the deadOctober observancesScottish cultureScottish folklore Toggle the table of contents Freemasonry Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools This is a good article. Click here for more information. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Masonic" and "Freemason" redirect here. For the ghost town, see Masonic, California. For other uses, see Freemason (disambiguation). "Freemasons" redirects here. For the house music producers, see Freemasons (DJs). Standard image of masonic square and compasses The Masonic Square and Compasses (found with or without the letter G) Part of a series on Freemasonry Overview Grand LodgeMasonic lodgeMasonic lodge officersGrand MasterPrince Hall FreemasonryRegular Masonic jurisdictionAnglo-American FreemasonryContinental Freemasonry History Masonic bodies Views of Masonry People and places Related By country vte Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 14th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups: Regular Freemasonry, which insists that a volume of scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member professes belief in a Supreme Being, that no women be admitted,[1] and that the discussion of religion and politics do not take place within the lodge;[2] and Continental Freemasonry, which consists of the jurisdictions that have removed some, or all, of these restrictions.[3][4] The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge.[5] These private Lodges are usually supervised at the regional level (usually coterminous with a state, province, or national border) by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There is no international, worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.[6][7][8][9] The degrees of Freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Entered Apprentice, Journeyman or fellow (now called Fellowcraft), and Master Mason. The candidate of these three degrees is progressively taught the meanings of the symbols of Freemasonry and entrusted with grips, signs, and words to signify to other members that he has been so initiated. The degrees are part allegorical morality play and part lecture. These three degrees form Craft (or Blue Lodge) Freemasonry, and members of any of these degrees are known as Freemasons or Masons. Once the Craft degrees have been conferred upon a Mason, he is qualified to join various "Concordant bodies" which offer additional degrees. These organisations are usually administered separately from the Grand Lodges who administer the Craft degrees. The extra degrees vary with locality and jurisdiction.[10] Masonic lodge Italian lodge at Palazzo Roffia, Florence Lodge in Palazzo Roffia, Florence, set out for French (Moderns) ritual Main article: Masonic lodge The Masonic lodge is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry.[11] The Lodge meets regularly and conducts the usual formal business of any small organisation (approve minutes, elect new members, appoint officers and take their reports, consider correspondence, bills and annual accounts, organise social and charitable events, etc.). In addition to such business, the meeting may perform a ceremony to confer a Masonic degree[7] or receive a lecture, which is usually on some aspect of Masonic history or ritual.[12] At the conclusion of the meeting, the Lodge may hold a formal dinner, or festive board, sometimes involving toasting and song.[13] The bulk of Masonic ritual consists of degree ceremonies. Candidates for Freemasonry are progressively initiated into Freemasonry, first in the degree of Entered Apprentice. At some later time, in separate ceremonies, they will be passed to the degree of Fellowcraft; and then raised to the degree of Master Mason. In each of these ceremonies, the candidate must first take the new obligations of the degree, and is then entrusted with secret knowledge including passwords, signs and grips (secret handshakes) confined to his new rank.[10] Another ceremony is the annual installation of the Master of the Lodge and his appointed or elected officers.[7] In some jurisdictions, an Installed Master elected, obligated, and invested to preside over a Lodge, is valued as a separate rank with its own secrets and distinctive title and attributes; after each full year in the chair the Master invests his elected successor and becomes a Past Master with privileges in the Lodge and Grand Lodge.[14] In other jurisdictions, the grade is not recognised, and no inner ceremony conveys new secrets during the installation of a new Master of the Lodge.[15] Most Lodges have some sort of social functions, allowing members, their partners, and non-Masonic guests to meet openly.[16] Often coupled with these events is the discharge of every Mason's and Lodge's collective obligation to contribute to charity. This occurs at many levels, including in annual dues, subscriptions, fundraising events, Lodges and Grand Lodges. Masons and their charities contribute for the relief of need in many fields, such as education, health and old age.[17][18] Private Lodges form the backbone of Freemasonry, with the sole right to elect their own candidates for initiation as Masons or admission as joining Masons, and sometimes with exclusive rights over residents local to their premises. There are non-local Lodges where Masons meet for wider or narrower purposes, such or in association with some hobby, sport, Masonic research, business, profession, regiment or college. The rank of Master Mason also entitles a Freemason to explore Masonry further through other degrees, administered separately from the basic Craft or "Blue Lodge" degrees described here, but generally having a similar structure and meetings.[8] There is much diversity and little consistency in Freemasonry because each Masonic jurisdiction is independent and sets its own rules and procedures while Grand Lodges have limited jurisdiction over their constituent member Lodges, which are ultimately private clubs. The wording of the ritual, the number of officers present, the layout of the meeting room, etc. varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.[8][9] Almost all officers of a Lodge are elected or appointed annually. Every Masonic Lodge has a Master, two Wardens, a treasurer and a secretary. There is also always a Tyler, or outer guard, outside the door of a working Lodge, who may be paid to secure its privacy. Other offices vary between jurisdictions.[8] Each Masonic Lodge exists and operates according to ancient principles known as the Landmarks of Freemasonry, which elude any universally accepted definition.[19] Joining a lodge Worshipful Master George Washington Print from 1870 portraying George Washington as Master of his Lodge Candidates for Freemasonry will usually have met the most active members of the Lodge they are joining before being elected for initiation. The process varies among Grand Lodges, but in modern times interested people often look up a local Lodge through the Internet and will typically be introduced to a Lodge social function or open evening. The onus is upon candidates to ask to join; while they may be encouraged to ask, they may not be invited. Once the initial inquiry is made, a formal application may be proposed and seconded or announced in open Lodge and a more or less formal interview usually follows. If the candidate wishes to proceed, references are taken up during a period of notice so that members may enquire into the candidate's suitability and discuss it. Finally, the Lodge takes an officially secret ballot on each application before a candidate is either initiated or rejected.[20] The exact number of adverse ballots ("blackballs") required to reject a candidate varies between Masonic jurisdictions. As an example, the United Grand Lodge of England only requires a single "blackball", while the Grand Lodge of New York requires three. A minimum requirement of every body of Freemasons is that each candidate must be "free and of good reputation".[21] The question of freedom, a standard feudal requirement of mediaeval guilds, is nowadays one of independence: the object is that every Mason should be a proper and responsible person.[20] Thus, each Grand Lodge has a standard minimum age, varying greatly and often subject to dispensation in particular cases. (For example, in England the standard minimum age to join is 18, but university lodges are given dispensations to initiate undergraduates below that age.) Additionally, most Grand Lodges require a candidate to declare a belief in a Supreme Being (although every candidate must interpret this condition in his own way, as all religious discussion is commonly prohibited). In a few cases, the candidate may be required to be of a specific religion. The form of Freemasonry most common in Scandinavia (known as the Swedish Rite), for example, accepts only Christians.[22] At the other end of the spectrum, "Liberal" or Continental Freemasonry, exemplified by the Grand Orient de France, does not require a declaration of belief in any deity and accepts atheists (the cause of the distinction from the rest of Freemasonry).[3][4] During the ceremony of initiation, the candidate is required to undertake an obligation, swearing on the religious volume sacred to his personal faith to do good as a Mason. In the course of three degrees, Masons will promise to keep the secrets of their degree from lower degrees and outsiders, as far as practicality and the law permit, and to support a fellow Mason in distress.[8] There is formal instruction as to the duties of a Freemason, but on the whole, Freemasons are left to explore the craft in the manner they find most satisfying. Some will simply enjoy the dramatics, or the management and administration of the lodge, others will explore the history, ritual and symbolism of the craft, others will focus their involvement on their Lodge's sociopolitical side, perhaps in association with other lodges, while still others will concentrate on the lodge's charitable functions.[23][24] Organization Grand Lodges Freemason's Hall, London Freemasons Hall, London, home of the United Grand Lodge of England Main article: Grand Lodge Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are independent and sovereign bodies that govern Masonry in a given country, state or geographical area (termed a jurisdiction). There is no single overarching governing body that presides over worldwide Freemasonry; connections between different jurisdictions depend solely on mutual recognition.[25][26] Freemasonry, as it exists in various forms all over the world, has a membership estimated at around six million worldwide.[7] The fraternity is administratively organised into independent Grand Lodges (or sometimes Grand Orients), each of which governs its own Masonic jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent) Lodges. The largest single jurisdiction, in terms of membership, is the United Grand Lodge of England (with local organisation into Provincial Grand Lodges possessing a combined membership estimated at around a quarter million). The Grand Lodge of Scotland and Grand Lodge of Ireland (taken together) have approximately 150,000 members.[7] In the United States, there are 51 Grand Lodges (one in each state and the District of Columbia) which together have a total membership just under 2 million.[27] Recognition, amity and regularity Relations between Grand Lodges are determined by the concept of Recognition. Each Grand Lodge maintains a list of other Grand Lodges that it recognises.[28] When two Grand Lodges recognise and are in Masonic communication with each other, they are said to be in amity, and the brethren of each may visit each other's Lodges and interact Masonically. When two Grand Lodges are not in amity, inter-visitation is not allowed. There are many reasons one Grand Lodge will withhold or withdraw recognition from another, but the two most common are Exclusive Jurisdiction and Regularity.[29] Exclusive Jurisdiction Exclusive Jurisdiction is a concept whereby normally only one Grand Lodge will be recognised in any geographical area. If two Grand Lodges claim jurisdiction over the same area, the other Grand Lodges will have to choose between them, and they may not all decide to recognise the same one. (In 1849, for example, the Grand Lodge of New York split into two rival factions, each claiming to be the legitimate Grand Lodge. Other Grand Lodges had to choose between them until the schism was healed.[30]) Exclusive Jurisdiction can be waived when the two overlapping Grand Lodges are themselves in amity and agree to share jurisdiction. For example, since the Grand Lodge of Connecticut is in amity with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Connecticut, the principle of Exclusive Jurisdiction does not apply, and other Grand Lodges may recognise both.[31] Likewise, the five distinct kinds of lodges in Germany have nominally united under one Grand Lodge in order to obtain international recognition. Regularity First Freemason's Hall, 1809 Freemasons' Hall, London, c. 1809 Main article: Regular Masonic jurisdictions Regularity is a concept based on adherence to Masonic Landmarks, the basic membership requirements, tenets and rituals of the craft. Each Grand Lodge sets its own definition of what these landmarks are, and thus what is Regular and what is Irregular (and the definitions do not necessarily agree between Grand Lodges). Essentially, every Grand Lodge will hold that its landmarks (its requirements, tenets and rituals) are Regular, and judge other Grand Lodges based on those. If the differences are significant, one Grand Lodge may declare the other "Irregular" and withdraw or withhold recognition.[32][33] The most commonly shared rules for Recognition (based on Regularity) are those given by the United Grand Lodge of England in 1929: The Grand Lodge should be established by an existing regular Grand Lodge, or by at least three regular Lodges. A belief in a supreme being and scripture is a condition of membership. Initiates should take their vows on that scripture. Only men can be admitted, and no relationship exists with mixed Lodges. The Grand Lodge has complete control over the first three degrees and is not subject to another body. All Lodges shall display a volume of scripture with the square and compasses while in session. There is no discussion of politics or religion. "Ancient landmarks, customs and usages" observed.[2] Other degrees, orders, and bodies See also: Masonic bodies and List of Masonic rites Blue Lodges, known as Craft Lodges in the United Kingdom, offer only the three traditional degrees. In most jurisdictions, the rank of past or installed master is also conferred in Blue/Craft Lodges. Master Masons are able to extend their Masonic experience by taking further degrees, in appendant or other bodies whether or not approved by their own Grand Lodge.[34] The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is a system of 33 degrees, including the three Blue Lodge degrees administered by a local or national Supreme Council. This system is popular in North America, South America and in Continental Europe. In America, the York Rite, with a similar range, administers three orders of Masonry, namely the Royal Arch, Cryptic Masonry, and Knights Templar.[35] In Britain, separate bodies administer each order. Freemasons are encouraged to join the Holy Royal Arch, which is linked to Mark Masonry in Scotland and Ireland, but completely separate in England. In England, the Royal Arch is closely associated with the Craft, automatically having many Grand Officers in common, including H.R.H the Duke of Kent as both Grand Master of the Craft and First Grand Principal of the Royal Arch. The English Knights Templar and Cryptic Masonry share the Mark Grand Lodge offices and staff at Mark Masons Hall.[36] The Ancient and Accepted Rite (similar to the Scottish Rite), requires a member to proclaim the Trinitarian Christian faith, and is administered from Duke Street in London.[37] In the Nordic countries, the Swedish Rite is dominant; a variation of it is also used in parts of Germany. Ritual and symbolism Main article: Masonic ritual and symbolism Ottoman noble Ahmad Nami dressed in full Masonic attire in 1925 Example of Masonic symbols in Szprotawa Poland Freemasonry structure showing the symbols associated with the organization Part of a series on Esotericism Esoteric symbolism Key concepts Esoteric rites Esoteric societies Notable figures vte Freemasonry describes itself as a "beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols".[38] The symbolism is mainly, but not exclusively, drawn from the tools of stonemasons – the square and compasses, the level and plumb rule, the trowel, the rough and smooth ashlars, among others. Moral lessons are attributed to each of these tools, although the assignment is by no means consistent. The meaning of the symbolism is taught and explored through ritual,[8] and in lectures and articles by individual Masons who offer their personal insights and opinions. According to the scholar of Western esotericism Jan A. M. Snoek: "the best way to characterize Freemasonry is in terms of what it is not, rather than what it is".[39] All Freemasons begin their journey in the "craft" by being progressively "initiated", "passed" and "raised" into the three degrees of Craft, or Blue Lodge Masonry. During these three rituals, the candidate is progressively taught the Masonic symbols, and entrusted with grips or tokens, signs, and words to signify to other Masons which degrees he has taken. The dramatic allegorical ceremonies include explanatory lectures and revolve around the construction of the Temple of Solomon, and the artistry and death of the chief architect, Hiram Abiff. The degrees are those of "Entered apprentice", "Fellowcraft" and "Master Mason". While many different versions of these rituals exist, with various lodge layouts and versions of the Hiramic legend, each version is recognizable to any Freemason from any jurisdiction.[8] In some jurisdictions, the main themes of each degree are illustrated by tracing boards. These painted depictions of Masonic themes are exhibited in the lodge according to which degree is being worked and are explained to the candidate to illustrate the legend and symbolism of each degree.[40] The idea of Masonic brotherhood probably descends from a 16th-century legal definition of a "brother" as one who has taken an oath of mutual support to another. Accordingly, Masons swear at each degree to keep the contents of that degree secret, and to support and protect their brethren unless they have broken the law.[41] In most Lodges, the oath or obligation is taken on a Volume of Sacred Law, whichever book of divine revelation is appropriate to the religious beliefs of the individual brother (usually the Bible in the Anglo-American tradition). In Progressive continental Freemasonry, books other than scripture are permissible, a cause of rupture between Grand Lodges.[42] History Main article: History of Freemasonry Origins Since the middle of the 19th century, Masonic historians have sought the origins of the movement in a series of similar documents known as the Old Charges, dating from the Regius Poem in about 1425[43] to the beginning of the 18th century. Alluding to the membership of a lodge of operative masons, they relate it to a mythologised history of the craft, the duties of its grades, and the manner in which oaths of fidelity are to be taken on joining.[44] The 15th century also sees the first evidence of ceremonial regalia.[45] There is no clear mechanism by which these local trade organisations became today's Masonic Lodges. The earliest rituals and passwords known, from operative lodges around the turn of the 17th–18th centuries, show continuity with the rituals developed in the later 18th century by accepted or speculative Masons, as those members who did not practice the physical craft gradually came to be known.[46] The minutes of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 in Scotland show a continuity from an operative lodge in 1598 to a modern speculative Lodge.[47] It is reputed to be the oldest Masonic Lodge in the world.[48] Royal Arch Chapter in England, beginning of c20 View of room at the Masonic Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, early 20th century, set up for a Holy Royal Arch convocation Alternatively, Thomas De Quincey in his work titled Rosicrucians and Freemasonry put forward the theory that suggested that Freemasonry may have been an outgrowth of Rosicrucianism. The theory had also been postulated in 1803 by German professor; J. G. Buhle.[49][50] The first Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, later called the Grand Lodge of England, was founded on St John's Day, 24 June 1717,[51] when four existing London Lodges met for a joint dinner. Over the next decade, most of the existing Lodges in England joined the new regulatory body, which itself entered a period of self-publicity and expansion. New lodges were created, and the fraternity began to grow. During the course of the 18th century, as aristocrats and artists crowded out the craftsmen originally associated with the organization, Freemasonry became fashionable throughout Europe and the American colonies.[52][53] Between 1730 and 1750, the Grand Lodge endorsed several significant changes that some Lodges could not endorse. A rival Grand Lodge was formed on 17 July 1751, which called itself the "Antient Grand Lodge of England" to signify that these lodges were maintaining older traditions and rejected changes that "modern" Lodges had adopted (historians still use these terms - "Ancients" and "Moderns" - to differentiate the two bodies). These two Grand Lodges vied for supremacy until the Moderns promised to return to the ancient ritual. They united on 27 December 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of England.[54][55] The Grand Lodge of Ireland and the Grand Lodge of Scotland were formed in 1725 and 1736, respectively, although neither persuaded all of the existing lodges in their countries to join for many years.[56][57] North America Erasmus James Philipps, first Freemason in present-day Canada, Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia) The earliest known American lodges were in Pennsylvania. The collector for the port of Pennsylvania, John Moore, wrote of attending lodges there in 1715, two years before the putative formation of the first Grand Lodge in London. The Grand Lodge of England appointed a Provincial Grand Master for North America in 1731, based in Pennsylvania,[58] leading to the creation of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. In Canada, Erasmus James Philipps became a Freemason while working on a commission to resolve boundaries in New England and, in 1739, he became provincial Grand Master for Nova Scotia; Philipps founded the first Masonic lodge in Canada at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.[59] Other lodges in the colony of Pennsylvania obtained authorisations from the later Antient Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and the Grand Lodge of Ireland, which was particularly well represented in the travelling lodges of the British Army.[60][61] Many lodges came into existence with no warrant from any Grand Lodge, applying and paying for their authorisation only after they were confident of their own survival.[62] After the American Revolution, independent U.S. Grand Lodges developed within each state. Some thought was briefly given to organising an overarching "Grand Lodge of the United States," with George Washington, who was a member of a Virginian lodge, as the first Grand Master, but the idea was short-lived. The various state Grand Lodges did not wish to diminish their own authority by agreeing to such a body.[6] Jamaican Freemasonry Freemasonry was imported to Jamaica by British immigrants who colonized the island for over 300 years. In 1908, there were eleven recorded Masonic lodges, which included three Grand Lodges, two Craft lodges, and two Rose Croix chapters.[63] During slavery, the lodges were open to all "freeborn" men. According to the Jamaican 1834 census, that potentially included 5,000 free black men and 40,000 free people of colour (mixed race).[64] After the full abolition of slavery in 1838, the Lodges were open to all Jamaican men of any race.[65] Jamaica also kept close relationships with Masons from other countries. Jamaican Freemasonry historian Jackie Ranston, noted that: Jamaica served as an arms depot for the revolutionary forces when two Kingston Freemasons, Wellwood and Maxwell Hyslop, financed the campaigns of Simón Bolívar, the Liberator, to whom six Latin American Republics owe their independence". Bolívar himself was a Mason, enjoying contacts with Brethren in Spain, England, France, and Venezuela until after gaining power in Venezuela, he prohibited all secret societies in 1828 and included the Freemasons.[65] On 25 May 2017, Masons around the world celebrated the 300th anniversary of the fraternity. Jamaica hosted one of the regional gatherings for this celebration.[66][63] Prince Hall Freemasonry Main article: Prince Hall Freemasonry Prince Hall Freemasonry exists because of the refusal of early American lodges to admit African Americans. In 1775, an African American named Prince Hall,[67] along with 14 other African American men, was initiated into a British military lodge with a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Ireland, having failed to obtain admission from the other lodges in Boston. When the British military Lodge left North America after the end of the Revolution, those 15 men were given the authority to meet as a Lodge, but not to initiate Masons. In 1784, these individuals obtained a Warrant from the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns) and formed African Lodge, Number 459. When the two English grand lodges united in 1813, all U.S.-based Lodges were stricken from their rolls – largely because of the War of 1812. Thus, separated from both English jurisdiction and any concordantly recognised U.S. Grand Lodge, African Lodge retitled itself as the African Lodge, Number 1 – and became a de facto Grand Lodge. (This lodge is not to be confused with the various Grand Lodges in Africa.) As with the rest of U.S. Freemasonry, Prince Hall Freemasonry soon grew and organised on a Grand Lodge system for each state.[68] Widespread racial segregation in 19th- and early 20th-century North America made it difficult for African Americans to join Lodges outside of Prince Hall jurisdictions – and impossible for inter-jurisdiction recognition between the parallel U.S. Masonic authorities. By the 1980s, such discrimination was a thing of the past. Today most U.S. Grand Lodges recognise their Prince Hall counterparts, and the authorities of both traditions are working towards full recognition.[69] The United Grand Lodge of England has no problem with recognising Prince Hall Grand Lodges.[70] While celebrating their heritage as lodges of African Americans, Prince Hall is open to all men regardless of race or religion.[71] Emergence of Continental Freemasonry Masonic initiation, Paris, 1745 Masonic initiation, Paris, 1745 English Freemasonry spread to France in the 1720s, first as lodges of expatriates and exiled Jacobites, and then as distinctively French lodges that still follow the ritual of the Moderns. From France and England, Freemasonry spread to most of Continental Europe during the course of the 18th century. The Grande Loge de France was formed under the Grand Mastership of the Duke of Clermont, who exercised only nominal authority. His successor, the Duke of Orléans, reconstituted the central body as the Grand Orient de France in 1773. Briefly eclipsed during the French Revolution, French Freemasonry continued to grow in the next century,[72] at first under the leadership of Alexandre Francois Auguste de Grasse, Comte de Grassy-Tilly. A career Army officer, he lived with his family in Charleston, South Carolina from 1793 to the early 1800s, after leaving Saint-Domingue, now Haiti, during the years of the Haitian Revolution. Freemasonry in the Middle East See also: Ottoman Empire Further information: Freemasonry in the Middle East After the failure of the 1830 Italian revolution, a number of Italian Freemasons were forced to flee. They secretly set up an approved chapter of Scottish Rite in Alexandria, a town already inhabited by a large Italian community. Meanwhile, the French Freemasons publicly organised a local chapter in Alexandria in 1845.[73] During the 19th and 20th century Ottoman empire, Masonic lodges operated widely across all parts of the empire and numerous Sufi orders shared a close relationship with them. Many Young Turks affiliated with the Bektashi order were members and patrons of Freemasonry. They were also closely allied against European imperialism. Many Ottoman intellectuals believed that Sufism and Freemasonry shared close similarities in doctrines, spiritual outlook and mysticism.[74] Schism The ritual form on which the Grand Orient of France was based was abolished in England in the events leading to the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. However, the two jurisdictions continued in amity, or mutual recognition, until events of the 1860s and 1870s drove a seemingly permanent wedge between them. In 1868 the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the State of Louisiana appeared in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, recognised by the Grand Orient de France, but regarded by the older body as an invasion of their jurisdiction. The new Scottish Rite body admitted black people. The resolution of the Grand Orient the following year that neither colour, race, nor religion could disqualify a man from Masonry prompted the Grand Lodge to withdraw recognition, and it persuaded other American Grand Lodges to do the same.[75] A dispute during the Lausanne Congress of Supreme Councils of 1875 prompted the Grand Orient de France to commission a report by a Protestant pastor, which concluded that, as Freemasonry was not a religion, it should not require a religious belief. The new constitutions read, "Its principles are absolute liberty of conscience and human solidarity", the existence of God and the immortality of the soul being struck out. It is possible that the immediate objections of the United Grand Lodge of England were at least partly motivated by the political tension between France and Britain at the time. The result was the withdrawal of recognition of the Grand Orient of France by the United Grand Lodge of England, a situation that continues today.[4] Not all French lodges agreed with the new wording. In 1894, lodges favouring the compulsory recognition of the Great Architect of the Universe formed the Grande Loge de France.[76] In 1913, the United Grand Lodge of England recognised a new Grand Lodge of Regular Freemasons, a Grand Lodge that follows a similar rite to Anglo-American Freemasonry with a mandatory belief in a deity.[77] There are now three strands of Freemasonry in France, which extend into the rest of Continental Europe: - Liberal, also called adogmatic or progressive – Principles of liberty of conscience, and laicity, particularly the separation of the Church and State.[78] Traditional – Old French ritual with a requirement for a belief in a Supreme Being.[79] (This strand is typified by the Grande Loge de France). Regular – Standard Anglo-American ritual, mandatory belief in Supreme Being.[80] The term Continental Freemasonry was used in Mackey's 1873 Encyclopedia of Freemasonry to "designate the Lodges on the Continent of Europe which retain many usages which have either been abandoned by, or never were observed in, the Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as the United States of America".[81] Today, it is frequently used to refer to only the Liberal jurisdictions typified by the Grand Orient de France.[82] The majority of Freemasonry considers the Liberal (Continental) strand to be Irregular, and thus withhold recognition. The Continental lodges, however, did not want to sever masonic ties. In 1961, an umbrella organisation, Centre de Liaison et d'Information des Puissances maçonniques Signataires de l'Appel de Strasbourg (CLIPSAS) was set up, which today provides a forum for most of these Grand Lodges and Grand Orients worldwide. Included in the list of over 70 Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are representatives of all three of the above categories, including mixed and women's organisations. The United Grand Lodge of England does not communicate with any of these jurisdictions and expects its allies to follow suit. This creates the distinction between Anglo-American and Continental Freemasonry.[83][84] Freemasonry and women Main articles: Freemasonry and women and Co-Freemasonry The status of women in the old guilds and corporations of medieval masons remains uncertain. The principle of "femme sole" allowed a widow to continue the trade of her husband, but its application had wide local variations, such as full membership of a trade body or limited trade by deputation or approved members of that body.[85] In masonry, the small available evidence points to the less empowered end of the scale.[86] At the dawn of the Grand Lodge era, during the 1720s, James Anderson composed the first printed constitutions for Freemasons, the basis for most subsequent constitutions, which specifically excluded women from Freemasonry.[1] As Freemasonry spread, women began to be added to the Lodges of Adoption by their husbands who were continental masons, which worked three degrees with the same names as the men's but different content. The French officially abandoned the experiment in the early 19th century.[87][88] Later organisations with a similar aim emerged in the United States but distinguished the names of the degrees from those of male masonry.[89] Maria Deraismes was initiated into Freemasonry in 1882, then resigned to allow her lodge to rejoin their Grand Lodge. Having failed to achieve acceptance from any masonic governing body, she and Georges Martin started a mixed masonic lodge that worked masonic ritual.[90] Annie Besant spread the phenomenon to the English-speaking world.[91] Disagreements over ritual led to the formation of exclusively female bodies of Freemasons in England, which spread to other countries. Meanwhile, the French had re-invented Adoption as an all-female lodge in 1901, only to cast it aside again in 1935. The lodges, however, continued to meet, which gave rise, in 1959, to a body of women practising continental Freemasonry.[88] In general, Continental Freemasonry is sympathetic to Freemasonry amongst women, dating from the 1890s when French lodges assisted the emergent co-masonic movement by promoting enough of their members to the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite to allow them, in 1899, to form their own grand council, recognised by the other Continental Grand Councils of that Rite.[92] The United Grand Lodge of England issued a statement in 1999 recognising the two women's grand lodges there, The Order of Women Freemasons[93] and The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons,[94] to be regular in all but the participants. While they were not, therefore, recognised as regular, they were part of Freemasonry "in general".[7][95] The attitude of most regular Anglo-American grand lodges remains that women Freemasons are not legitimate Masons.[96] In 2018, guidance was released by the United Grand Lodge of England stating that, in regard to transgender women, "A Freemason who after initiation ceases to be a man does not cease to be a Freemason".[97] The guidance also states that transgender men are allowed to apply to become Freemasons.[97] Political activity 18th century Enlightenment Goose and Gridiron, where the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, later called the Grand Lodge of England, was founded. During the Age of the Enlightenment in the 18th century, Freemasons comprised an international network of like-minded men, often meeting in secret in ritualistic programs at their lodges. They promoted the ideals of the Enlightenment and helped diffuse these values across Britain and France and other places. British Freemasonry offered a systematic creed with its own myths, values and set of rituals. It fostered new codes of conduct – including a communal understanding of liberty and equality inherited from guild sociability – "liberty, fraternity, and equality"[98] Scottish soldiers and Jacobite Scots brought to the Continent ideals of fraternity which reflected not the local system of Scottish customs but the institutions and ideals originating in the English Revolution against royal absolutism.[99] Freemasonry was particularly prevalent in France – by 1789, there were between 50,000 and 100,000 French Masons, making Freemasonry the most popular of all Enlightenment associations.[100] Jacob argues that Masonic lodges probably had an effect on society as a whole, for they "reconstituted the polity and established a constitutional form of self-government, complete with constitutions and laws, elections and representatives". In other words, the micro-society set up within the lodges constituted a normative model for society as a whole. This was especially true on the Continent: when the first lodges began to appear in the 1730s, their embodiment of British values was often seen as threatening by state authorities. For example, the Parisian lodge that met in the mid-1720s was composed of English Jacobite exiles.[101] Furthermore, freemasons all across Europe made reference to the Enlightenment in general in the 18th century. In French lodges, for example, the line "As the means to be enlightened I search for the enlightened" was a part of their initiation rites. British lodges assigned themselves the duty to "initiate the unenlightened". Many lodges praised the Grand Architect, the masonic terminology for the divine being who created a scientifically ordered universe.[102] On the other hand, historian Robert Roswell Palmer noted that lodges operated separately and Masons politically did not act together as a group.[103] American historians note that Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were leading Masons, but the significance of freemasonry in the revolution is a topic of debate.[104] Daniel Roche contests freemasonry's claims for egalitarianism, writing that "the real equality of the lodges was elitist", only attracting men of similar social backgrounds.[105] In long-term historical perspective, Norman Davies has argued that Freemasonry was a powerful force in Europe, from about 1700 to the twentieth century. It expanded rapidly during the Age of Enlightenment, reaching practically every country in Europe, as well as the European colonies in the New World and Asia. Davies states, "In the nineteenth century and beyond it would be strongly associated with the cause of Liberalism."[106] In Catholic lands it was anti-clerical and came under heavy attack from the Catholic Church. In the 20th century, it was suppressed by Fascist and Communist regimes. It was especially attractive to royalty, aristocrats and politicians and businessmen, as well as intellectuals, artists and political activists. Davies notes that prominent members included Montesquieu, Voltaire, Sir Robert Walpole, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington.[107] Steven Bullock notes that in the late 18th century, English lodges were headed by the Prince of Wales, Prussian lodges by king Frederick the Great, and French lodges by royal princes. Emperor Napoleon selected as Grand Master of France his own brother.[108] France Further information: Freemasonry in France In the 18th century, liberal French politicians met together in Masonic lodges to develop some of the Enlightenment ideas that dominated the French Revolution of 1789.[109] Avner Halpern has traced French Freemasonry's major role in building France's first modern political party in 1901, the Radical Party. It used two Masonic devices: the "civil leadership model", which Freemasonry developed in late 19th century France, and the local Masonic congresses of the Grand Orient of France federations.[110] Russia Further information: History of Freemasonry in Russia Freemasons had been active in Russia in the 18th century, working to introduce Enlightenment ideals; however, they were increasingly suppressed by the government.[111] According to Ludwick Hass, Freemasonry was officially illegal in Tsarist Russia, but would later be introduced by exiles who returned after the 1905 revolution. These individuals had been active Masons in Paris, where lodges were politically active in the new Radical Party. In Russia, the Freemasons supported constitutional liberalism, and maintained ties with France while simplifying many of the ceremonial rituals. Their secret meetings became a centre of progressive ideals, attracting politicians and activists. The lodges initially supported World War I, promoting close ties with France. Alexander Kerensky was an important Masonic activist who came to political power with the overthrow of the czars, in 1917. The organization collapsed as the Bolsheviks took power and was again outlawed.[112] Italy Further information: Freemasonry in Italy According to Adrian Lyttelton, in the early 20th century, Freemasonry was an influential but semi-secret force in Italian politics; with a strong presence amongst professionals and the middle class across Italy, its appeal spread to the leadership of the parliament, public administration, and the army. The two main organisations were the Grand Orient and the Grand Lodge of Italy. They had around 25,000 members in some 500 lodges. Freemasons typically espoused anticlericalism and promoted unification. The Catholic Church was a vigorous opponent of unification, and thus of the Freemasons; various national governments would repeatedly alternate and backpedal between the anticlerical side and the Church side.[113] Politically, they promoted Italian nationalism focused on unification and undermining the power of the Catholic Church. Freemasons took on the challenge of mobilizing the press, encouraging public opinion and the leading political parties in support of Italy's joining of the Allies of the First World War in 1914–1915. In 1919, they favoured a League of Nations to promote a new post-war, universal order based upon the peaceful coexistence of independent and democratic nations.[114] In the early 1920s, many of Mussolini's collaborators, especially the leaders in organizing the March on Rome, were Masons. The lodges hailed fascism as the saviour of Italy from Bolshevism; however, Mussolini decided he needed to come to terms with the Catholic Church, in the mid-1920s, outlawing Freemasonry.[115] Latin America The Spanish government outlawed Freemasonry in its overseas empire in the mid-18th century, and energetically enforced the ban. Nevertheless, many Freemasons were active in planning and plotting for independence.[116] Leaders with Freemason membership included Grand Master Francisco de Miranda, José de San Martin, Simón Bolivar, Bernardo O'Higgins, and many others.[117] The movement was important after independence was achieved in the 1820s.[118] In Brazil, many prominent men were Freemasons, and they played a leading role in the abolition of slavery.[119] Mexico Freemasons were leaders in liberalism and anti-clericalism in 19th and 20th-century Mexico. Members included numerous top leaders.[120] The Freemasons were divided regarding relations with the United States, with a pro-U.S. faction supported by the American ambassador Joel Poinsett known as the "Yorkinos."[121][122] According to historian Karen Racine, Freemasons in the presidency of Mexico included: Guadalupe Victoria, Valentín Gómez Farías, Antonio López de Santa Anna, Benito Juárez, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Porfirio Díaz, Francisco I. Madero, Venustiano Carranza, Plutarco Elías Calles, Lázaro Cárdenas, Emilio Portes Gil, Pascual Ortiz Rubio, Abelardo L. Rodríguez, and Miguel Alemán Valdés.[123] Anti-Masonry Main article: Anti-Masonry Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, one of the few Masonic temples that survived the Franco dictatorship in Spain Anti-Masonry (alternatively called Anti-Freemasonry) has been defined as "opposition to Freemasonry",[124][125] but there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement. Anti-Masonry consists of widely differing criticisms from diverse (and often incompatible) groups who are hostile to Freemasonry in some form. Critics have included religious groups, political groups, and conspiracy theorists, in particular, those espousing Masonic conspiracy theories or the Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory. Certain prominent Anti-Masons, such as Nesta Helen Webster (1876–1960), have exclusively criticized "Continental Masonry" while considering "Regular Masonry" an honourable association.[126] There have been many disclosures and exposés dating as far back as the 18th century. These often lack context,[127] may be outdated for various reasons,[128] or could be outright hoaxes on the part of the author, as in the case of the Taxil hoax.[129] These hoaxes and exposés have often become the basis for criticism of Masonry, often religious or political in nature or are based on suspicion of corrupt conspiracy of some form. The political opposition that arose after the American "Morgan Affair" in 1826 gave rise to the term Anti-Masonry, which is still in use in America today, both by Masons in referring to their critics and as a self-descriptor by the critics themselves.[130] Religious opposition Freemasonry has attracted criticism from theocratic states and organised religions for supposed competition with religion or supposed heterodoxy within the fraternity itself and has long been the target of conspiracy theories, which assert Freemasonry to be an occult and evil power.[131] Christianity and Freemasonry Main article: Opposition to Freemasonry within Christianity Although members of various faiths cite objections, certain Christian denominations have had high-profile negative attitudes to Masonry, banning or discouraging their members from being Freemasons. The denomination with the longest history of objection to Freemasonry is the Catholic Church. The objections raised by the Catholic Church are based on the allegation that Masonry teaches a naturalistic deistic religion which is in conflict with Church doctrine.[132] A number of Papal pronouncements have been issued against Freemasonry. The first was Pope Clement XII's In eminenti apostolatus, 28 April 1738; the most recent was Pope Leo XIII's Ab apostolici, 15 October 1890.[133] Other Vatican documents include the following: Providas Romanorum (Benedict XIV, 18 May 1751); Ecclesiam a Iesu (Pius VII, 13 September 1821); Quo Graviora (Leo XII, 15 March 1825); Traditi Humilitati; Ad Gravissimas (Gregory XVI, 31 August 1843);[134] Qui pluribus (Pius IX, 9 November 1846); Quibus Quantisque Malis (20 April 1849);[135] Quanta cura (8 Decembre 1864); bull Multiplices inter (25 September 1865); Apostolicae Sedis (12 October 1869);"As quoted in". Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2023. Etsi multa (21 November 1873, in which the Pope defined Freemasonry as the "Synagogue of Satan); Diuturnum Illud (Pope Leo XIII, 29 June 1881); Etsi Nos (15 February 1882); Humanum Genus (20 March 1884); Officio Sanctissimo (22 December 1887); Rerum novarum (15 May 1891); Inimica Vis (8 December 1892); Annum ingressi (18 March 1902). The 1917 Code of Canon Law explicitly declared that joining Freemasonry entailed automatic excommunication and banned books favouring Freemasonry.[136] In 1983, the Church issued a new code of canon law. Unlike its predecessor, the 1983 Code of Canon Law did not explicitly name Masonic orders among the secret societies it condemns. It states: "A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an interdict." This named omission of Masonic orders caused both Catholics and Freemasons to believe that the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons may have been lifted, especially after the perceived liberalisation of Vatican II.[137] However, the matter was clarified when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a Declaration on Masonic Associations, which states: "... the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion."[138] For its part, Freemasonry has never objected to Catholics joining their fraternity. Those Grand Lodges in amity with the United Grand Lodge of England deny the Church's claims, stating that "Freemasonry does not seek to replace a Mason's religion or provide a substitute for it."[7] In contrast to Catholic allegations of rationalism and naturalism, Protestant objections are more likely to be based on allegations of mysticism, occultism, and even Satanism.[139] Masonic scholar Albert Pike is often quoted (in some cases misquoted) by Protestant anti-Masons as an authority for the position of Masonry on these issues.[140] However, Pike, although undoubtedly learned, was not a spokesman for Freemasonry and was also controversial among Freemasons in general. His writings represented his personal opinion only, and furthermore, an opinion grounded in the attitudes and understandings of late 19th century Southern Freemasonry of the US. Notably, his book carries in the preface a form of disclaimer from his own Grand Lodge. No one voice has ever spoken for the whole of Freemasonry.[141] Free Methodist Church founder B.T. Roberts was a vocal opponent of Freemasonry in the mid 19th century. Roberts opposed the society on moral grounds and stated, "The god of the lodge is not the God of the Bible." Roberts believed Freemasonry was a "mystery" or "alternate" religion and encouraged his church not to support ministers who were Freemasons. Freedom from secret societies is one of the "frees" upon which the Free Methodist Church was founded.[142] Since the founding of Freemasonry, many Bishops of the Church of England have been Freemasons, including Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher.[143] In the past, few members of the Church of England would have seen any incongruity in concurrently adhering to Anglican Christianity and practising Freemasonry. In recent decades, however, reservations about Freemasonry have increased within Anglicanism, perhaps due to the increasing prominence of the evangelical wing of the church. The former archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, appeared to harbour some reservations about Masonic ritual, whilst being anxious to avoid causing offence to Freemasons inside and outside the Church of England. In 2003 he felt it necessary to apologise to British Freemasons after he said that their beliefs were incompatible with Christianity and that he had barred the appointment of Freemasons to senior posts in his diocese when he was Bishop of Monmouth.[144] In 1933, the Orthodox Church of Greece officially declared that being a Freemason constitutes an act of apostasy and thus, until he repents, the person involved with Freemasonry cannot partake of the Eucharist. This has been generally affirmed throughout the whole Eastern Orthodox Church. The Orthodox critique of Freemasonry agrees with both the Catholic and Protestant versions: "Freemasonry cannot be at all compatible with Christianity as far as it is a secret organisation, acting and teaching in mystery and secret and deifying rationalism."[145] Regular Freemasonry has traditionally not responded to these claims, beyond the often-repeated statement that Freemasonry explicitly adheres to the principle that "Freemasonry is not a religion, nor a substitute for religion. There is no separate 'Masonic deity,' and there is no separate proper name for a deity in Freemasonry."[146] Christian men, who were discouraged from joining the Freemasons by their Churches or who wanted a more religiocentric society, joined similar fraternal organisations, such as the Knights of Columbus and Knights of Peter Claver for Catholics, and the Loyal Orange Institution for Protestants,[147] although these fraternal organisations have been "organized in part on the style of and use many symbols of Freemasonry".[147] There are some elements of Freemasonry within the temple rituals of Mormonism. Islam and Freemasonry Some of this section's listed sources may not be reliable. Please help this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. (December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Many Islamic anti-Masonic arguments are closely tied to anti-Zionism, though other criticisms are made, such as linking Freemasonry to Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (the false Messiah in Islamic Scripture).[148][149] Syrian-Egyptian Islamic theologian Mūhammād Rashīd Ridâ (1865-1935) played the crucial role in leading the opposition to Freemasonry across the Islamic world during the early twentieth century.[150] Influenced by Rida, Islamic anti-Masons argue that Freemasonry promotes the interests of the Jews around the world and that one of its aims is to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in order to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.[151] Through his popular pan-Islamic journal Al-Manar, Rashid Rida spread anti-Masonic ideas which would directly influence the Muslim Brotherhood and subsequent Islamist movements, such as Hamas.[152] In article 28 of its Covenant, Hamas states that Freemasonry, Rotary, and other similar groups "work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions ..."[153] Several predominantly Muslim countries have banned Freemasonry within their borders, while others have not. Turkey and Morocco have established Grand Lodges,[154] while in countries such as Malaysia[155][156] and Lebanon,[157] there are District Grand Lodges operating under a warrant from an established Grand Lodge. In 1972, in Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then Prime Minister of Pakistan, placed a ban on Freemasonry. Lodge buildings were confiscated by the government.[158] Masonic lodges existed in Iraq as early as 1917, when the first lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) was opened. Nine lodges under UGLE existed by the 1950s, and a Scottish lodge was formed in 1923. However, the position changed following the revolution, and all lodges were forced to close in 1965.[159] This position was later reinforced under Saddam Hussein; the death penalty was "prescribed" for those who "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organisations."[148] Political opposition See also: Anti-Masonry and Suppression of Freemasonry In 1799, English Freemasonry almost came to a halt due to Parliamentary proclamation. In the wake of the French Revolution, the Unlawful Societies Act banned any meetings of groups that required their members to take an oath or obligation.[160] The Grand Masters of both the Moderns and the Antients Grand Lodges called on Prime Minister William Pitt (who was not a Freemason) and explained to him that Freemasonry was a supporter of the law and lawfully constituted authority and was much involved in charitable work. As a result, Freemasonry was specifically exempted from the terms of the Act, provided that each private lodge's Secretary placed with the local "Clerk of the Peace" a list of the members of his lodge once a year. This continued until 1967, when the obligation of the provision was rescinded by Parliament.[160] Freemasonry in the United States faced political pressure following the 1826 kidnapping of William Morgan by Freemasons and his subsequent disappearance. Reports of the "Morgan Affair", together with opposition to Jacksonian democracy (Andrew Jackson was a prominent Mason), helped fuel an Anti-Masonic movement. The short-lived Anti-Masonic Party was formed, which fielded candidates for the presidential elections of 1828 and 1832.[161] Erlangen Lodge revival, meeting in 1948 Lodge in Erlangen, Germany. First meeting after World War II with guests from US, France and Czechoslovakia, 1948. In Italy, Freemasonry has become linked to a scandal concerning the Propaganda Due lodge (a.k.a. P2). This lodge was chartered by the Grande Oriente d'Italia in 1877, as a lodge for visiting Masons unable to attend their own lodges. Under Licio Gelli's leadership, in the late 1970s, P2 became involved in the financial scandals that nearly bankrupted the Vatican Bank. However, by this time the lodge was operating independently and irregularly, as the Grand Orient had revoked its charter and expelled Gelli in 1976.[162] Conspiracy theorists have long associated Freemasonry with the New World Order and the Illuminati, and state that Freemasonry as an organisation is either bent on world domination or already secretly in control of world politics. Historically Freemasonry has attracted criticism, and suppression from both the politically far right (e.g., Nazi Germany)[163][164] and the far left (e.g., the former Communist states in Eastern Europe).[165] Freemasonry is viewed with distrust even in some modern democracies.[166] In the UK, Masons working in the justice system, such as judges and police officers, were required to disclose their membership from 1999 to 2009.[167] While a parliamentary inquiry found that there had been no evidence of wrongdoing, the government believed that Masons' potential loyalties to support fellow Masons should be transparent to the public.[166][167][168] The policy of requiring a declaration of masonic membership by applicants for judicial office (judges and magistrates) was ended in 2009 by Justice Secretary Jack Straw (who had initiated the requirement in the 1990s). Straw stated that the rule was considered disproportionate since no impropriety or malpractice had been shown as a result of judges being Freemasons.[169] Freemasonry is both successful and controversial in France. As of the early 21st century, membership is rising, but reporting of it in popular media is often negative.[166] In some countries, anti-Masonry is often related to antisemitism and anti-Zionism. For example, in 1980, the Iraqi legal and penal code was changed by Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'ath Party, making it a felony to "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including Freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organisations".[148] Professor Andrew Prescott of the University of Sheffield writes: "Since at least the time of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, antisemitism has gone hand in hand with anti-masonry, so it is not surprising that allegations that 11 September was a Zionist plot have been accompanied by suggestions that the attacks were inspired by a masonic world order".[170] The Holocaust Main article: Holocaust victims § Freemasons See also: Liberté chérie and Suppression of Freemasonry Forget-me-not Forget-me-not The preserved records of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (the Reich Security Main Office) show the persecution of Freemasons during the Holocaust.[171] RSHA Amt VII (Written Records), overseen by Professor Franz Six, was responsible for "ideological" tasks, by which was meant the creation of antisemitic and anti-Masonic propaganda. While the number of victims is not accurately known, historians estimate that between 80,000 and 200,000 Freemasons were killed under the Nazi regime.[172] Masonic concentration camp inmates were classified as political prisoners and wore an inverted red triangle.[173] Hitler believed Freemasons had succumbed to Jews conspiring against Germany.[174][175] The small blue forget-me-not flower was first used by the Grand Lodge Zur Sonne in 1926, as a Masonic emblem at the annual convention in Bremen, Germany. In 1938, a forget-me-not badge, made by the same factory as the Masonic badge, was chosen for the Nazi Party's Winterhilfswerk, the annual charity drive of the National Socialist People's Welfare (the welfare branch of the Nazi party). This coincidence enabled Freemasons to wear the forget-me-not badge as a secret sign of membership.[176][177][178] After World War II, the forget-me-not flower was used again as a Masonic emblem in 1948 at the first Annual Convention of the United Grand Lodges of Germany in 1948. The badge is now sometimes worn in the coat lapel by Freemasons around the world to remember all who suffered in the name of Freemasonry, especially those during the Nazi era.[179] See also List of Freemasons – Lists of Notable Freemasons List of general fraternities Fraternal order – Fraternity organized as an order Secret society Co-Freemasonry References Anderson, James (1734) [1723]. Paul Royster (ed.). The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (Philadelphia ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Benjamin Franklin. p. 49. Retrieved 12 August 2013. 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Retrieved 8 September 2011. Heimbichner, S. Craig; Parfrey, Adam (2012). Ritual America: Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on American Society: A Visual Guide. Feral House. p. 187. ISBN 978-1936239153. Morris, S. Brent (2006). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry. New York: Alpha Books. pp. 85 (also discussed in chapters 13 and 16). ISBN 978-1-59257-490-2. OCLC 68042376. Robinson, John J. (1993). A Pilgrim's Path. New York: M. Evans. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-87131-732-2. OCLC 27381296. de Hoyos, Arturo; S. Brent Morris (18 August 2002). "Leo Taxil Hoax –Bibliography". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. Retrieved 7 July 2007. Lists many books which perpetuate Masonic ritual hoaxes. "Anti-mason" infoplease.com retrieved 9 January 2014 Morris, S. Brent; The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry, Alpha books, 2006, p. 204. Cardinal Law, Bernard (19 April 1985). "Letter of 19 April 1985 to U.S. Bishops Concerning Masonry". CatholicCulture.org. Retrieved 9 July 2007. "Dall'alto dell'apostolico seggio". Formatasi negli animi tale persuasione, e certi d'altra parte che senza la fede è impossibile piacere a Dio e salvarsi [...] sotto pena della sua eterna infelicità. "Epistola "Ad Gravissimas"". Ricordando nel contempo a tutti le pene gravissime di scomunica che le costituzioni apostoliche infliggono ipso facto a coloro che si iscrivono a dette società o in qualche modo non rifiutano di favorirle. "Quibus, quantisque". Canon 2335, 1917 Code of Canon Law from "Canon Law regarding Freemasonry, 1917–1983". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. McInvale, Reid (1991). "Roman Catholic Church Law Regarding Freemasonry". Transactions of Texas Lodge of Research. 27: 86–97. OCLC 47204246. Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Masonic Associations Archived 14 March 2001 at the Wayback Machine, 26 November 1983, retrieved 26 November 2015 Jack Chick. "The Curse of Baphomet". Retrieved 29 September 2007. Arturo de Hoyos and S. Brent Morris (2004). Is it True What They Say About Freemasonry, 2nd edition (revised), chapter 1. M. Evans & Company. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Pike, Albert; T. W. Hugo; Scottish Rite (Masonic order). Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction (1950) [1871]. Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Washington, DC: House of the Temple. OCLC 12870276. In preparing this work [Pike] has been about equally Author and Compiler. (p. iii.) ... The teachings of these Readings are not sacramental, so far as they go beyond the realm of Morality into those of other domains of Thought and Truth. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite uses the word "Dogma" in its true sense of doctrine, or teaching; and is not dogmatic in the odious sense of that term. Everyone is entirely free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound (p. iv) Snyder, Howard (2006). Populist Saints. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 727. Beresiner, Yasha (July 2006). "Archbishop Fisher – A Godly man and a Brother". Masonic Quarterly Magazine (18). Retrieved 7 May 2007. Hastings, Chris; Elizabeth Day (20 April 2003). "Rowan Williams apologises to Freemasons". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2007. "Freemasonry: Official Statement of the Church of Greece (1933)". Orthodoxinfo.com. 12 October 1933. Retrieved 15 January 2011. "Freemasonry and Religion" (PDF). United Grand Lodge of England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013. Fields, Rona M. (1980). Northern Ireland: Society Under Siege. Transaction Publishers. p. 113. ISBN 978-1412845090. Sands, David R (1 July 2004). "Saddam to be formally charged". The Washington Times. Retrieved 18 June 2006. Prescott, Andrew. The Study of Freemasonry as a New Academic Discipline. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 18 December 2008. Rickenbacher, Daniel (6 December 2019). "The 'War Against Islam': How a Conspiracy Theory Drove and Shaped the Islamist Movement". Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. "Can a Muslim be a Freemason" Archived 29 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Wake up from your slumber, 2007, retrieved 8 January 2014 Rickenbacher, Daniel (6 December 2019). "The 'War Against Islam': How a Conspiracy Theory Drove and Shaped the Islamist Movement". Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. "Hamas Covenant 1988". Avalon.law.yale.edu. 18 August 1988. Retrieved 15 January 2011. Leyiktez, Celil. "Freemasonry in the Islamic World", Pietre-Stones Retrieved 2 October 2007. "Home Page", District Grand Lodge of the Eastern Archipelago Archived 9 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 9 January 2014 "Mystery unveiled". The Star Online. 17 April 2005. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014. Freemasonry in Lebanon Lodges linked to the Grand Lodge of Scotland, retrieved 22 August 2013 Peerzada Salman, "Masonic Mystique", December 2009, Dawn.com (News site), retrieved 3 January 2012 Kent Henderson, "Freemasonry in Islamic Countries", 2007 paper, Pietre Stones, retrieved 4 January 2014 Andrew Prescott, "The Unlawful Societies Act", First published in M. D. J. Scanlan, ed., The Social Impact of Freemasonry on the Modern Western World, The Canonbury Papers I (London: Canonbury Masonic Research Centre, 2002), pp. 116–34, Pietre-Stones website, retrieved 9 January 2014 "The Morgan Affair", Reprinted from The Short Talk Bulletin – Vol. XI, March 1933 No. 3, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, retrieved 4 January 2014 King, Edward L. (2007). "P2 Lodge". Retrieved 31 October 2006. Wilkenson, James; H. Stuart Hughes (1995). Contemporary Europe: A History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-13-291840-4. OCLC 31009810. Zierer, Otto (1976). Concise History of Great Nations: History of Germany. New York: Leon Amiel Publisher. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-8148-0673-9. OCLC 3250405. Michael Johnstone, The Freemasons, Arcturus, 2005, pp 73–75 Hodapp, Christopher. Freemasons for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley, 2005. p. 86. Bright, Martin (12 June 2005). "MPs told to declare links to Masons", The Guardian Cusick, James (27 December 1996). Police want judges and MPs to reveal Masonic links too, The Independent Sparrow, Andrew (5 November 2009). "Jack Straw scraps rule saying judges must declare if they are masons". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2009. Prescott, pp. 13–14, 30, 33. "World War II Documents showing the persecution of Freemasonry". Mill Valley Lodge #356. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2006. Freemasons for Dummies, by Christopher Hodapp, Wiley Publishing Inc., Indianapolis, 2005, p. 85, sec. "Hitler and the Nazi" Katz (1990). "Jews and Freemasons in Europe". In Israel Gutman (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. p. vol. 2, p. 531. ISBN 978-0-02-897166-7. OCLC 20594356. "Freemasonry". McKeown, Trevor W. "Hitler and Freemasonry". "Das Vergißmeinnicht-Abzeichen und die Freimaurerei, Die wahre Geschichte" (in German). Internetloge.de. Retrieved 8 July 2006. Bernheim, Alain (10 September 2004). "The Blue Forget-Me-Not: Another Side Of The Story". Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry. Retrieved 8 July 2006. Francke, Karl Heinz; Ernst-Günther Geppert (1974). Die Freimaurer-Logen Deutschlands und deren Grosslogen 1737–1972 (in German) (Second rev. ed.). Bayreuth: Quatuor Coronati.Also in: Francke, Karl Heinz; Ernst-Günther Geppert (1988). Die Freimaurer-Logen Deutschlands und deren Grosslogen 1737–1985 : Matrikel und Stammbuch; Nachschlagewerk über 248 Jahre Geschichte der Freimaurerei in Deutschland (in German). Bayreuth: Quatuor Coronati. ISBN 978-3-925749-05-6. OCLC 75446479. "The Story Behind Forget Me Not Emblem!". Masonic Network. 11 December 2009. Further reading Further information: Freemasonry in France § Bibliography Belton, John L., et al. Freemasonry in context: history, ritual, controversy (Lexington Books, 2004) online. Berger, Joachim. "The great divide: Transatlantic brothering and masonic internationalism, c. 1870–c. 1930." Atlantic Studies 16.3 (2019): 405-422. Dickie, John. The Craft: How the Freemasons Made the Modern World (PublicAffairs, 2020). excerpt Fozdar, Vahid. " 'That Grand Primeval and Fundamental Religion': The Transformation of Freemasonry into a British Imperial Cult." Journal of World History 22#3 (2011), pp. 493–525. online Hamill, John. The Craft: A History of English Freemasonry (1986) Harland-Jacobs, Jessica L. Builders of Empire: Freemasons and British Imperialism, 1717-1927 (2007) Hoffmann, Stefan-Ludwig. Freemasonry and German Civil Society, 1840-1918 (U of Michigan Press, 2007). excerpt; see also online review Jacob, Margaret C. Living the Enlightenment: Freemasonry and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Europe (1991) excerpt Jacob, Margaret C. The Origins of Freemasonry: Facts and Fictions (U of Pennsylvania Press, 2007). Jacob, Margaret, and Matthew Crow. "Freemasonry and the Enlightenment." in Handbook of Freemasonry (Brill, 2014) pp. 100–116. online Loiselle, Kenneth. "Freemasonry and the Catholic Enlightenment in Eighteenth-Century France." Journal of Modern History 94.3 (2022): 499-536. online Önnerfors, Andreas. Freemasonry: a very short introduction (Oxford University Press, 2017) excerpt. Racine, Karen. "Freemasonry" in Michael S. Werner, ed. Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society, and Culture (Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997) 1:538–540. Ridley, Jasper. The Freemasons (1999), wide-ranging global popular history. Snoek Jan A.M. and Henrik Bogdan. "The History of Freemasonry: An Overview" in Bogdan and Snoek, eds. Handbook of Freemasonry (Brill, 2014) ch. 2 pp 13–32. online Stevenson, David. "Four Hundred Years of Freemasonry in Scotland." Scottish Historical Review, 90#230 (2011), pp. 280–95. online Stevenson, David. The First Freemasons. Scotland's Early Lodges and Their Members (1988) Weisberger, R. William et al. Freemasonry on Both Sides of the Atlantic: Essays concerning the Craft in the British Isles, Europe, the United States, and Mexico (2002), 969pp Weisberger, R. William. Speculative Freemasonry and the Enlightenment: A Study of the Craft in London, Paris, Prague and Vienna (Columbia University Press, 1993) 243 pp. United States Bullock, Steven C. Revolutionary brotherhood: Freemasonry and the transformation of the American social order, 1730-1840 (UNC Press Books, 2011). Formisano, Ronald P., and Kathleen Smith Kutolowski. "Antimasonry and Masonry: The Genesis of Protest, 1826-1827." American Quarterly 29.2 (1977): 139-165. online Hackett, David G. That Religion in Which All Men Agree : Freemasonry in American Culture (U of California Press, 2015) excerpt Hinks, Peter P. et al. All Men Free and Brethren: Essays on the History of African American Freemasonry (Cornell UP, 2013). Kantrowitz, Stephen. " 'Intended for the Better Government of Man': The Political History of African American Freemasonry in the Era of Emancipation." Journal of American History 96#4, (2010), pp. 1001–26. online. Weisberger, R. William et al. Freemasonry on Both Sides of the Atlantic: Essays concerning the Craft in the British Isles, Europe, the United States, and Mexico (2002), 969pp York, Neil L. "Freemasons and the American Revolution." Historian 55#2 (1993), pp. 315–30. online Historiography and memory Jacob, Margaret. "The Radical Enlightenment and Freemasonry: where we are now." REHMLAC: Revista de Estudios Históricos de la Masonería Latinoamericana y Caribeña 1 (2013): 11–25.online. External links Freemasonry at Wikipedia's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity "Freemasonry" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. Web of Hiram Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine at the University of Bradford. A database of donated Masonic material. Masonic Books Online of the Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (1734), James Anderson, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Royster. Hosted by the Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln The Mysteries of Free Masonry, by William Morgan, from Project Gutenberg A Legislative Investigation into Masonry (1832) at the Internet Archive, OCLC 1560509 The United Grand Lodge of England's Library and Museum of Freemasonry Archived 27 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine, London Articles on Judaism and Freemasonry Anti-Masonry: Points of View – Edward L. King's Masonic website The International Order of Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain vte Freemasonry Fraternal organisations with origins in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, sorted by bodies, lodges, locations and rites General HistoryChamber of ReflectionManuscriptsMusicLodge Grand Lodge ListResearch lodgeRites Symbolism Square and Compasses Freemasons' Hall, London, headquarters (1775/1933-) of the United Grand Lodge of England (1722-) Anglo-American Freemasonry Eurasia British Isles ("home grand lodges") United Grand Lodge of EnglandGrand Lodge of ScotlandGrand Lodge of Ireland Swedish Rite Swedish Order of FreemasonsDanish Order of FreemasonsIcelandic Order of FreemasonsNorwegian Order of FreemasonsGrand Lodge of SpainGrand Landlodge of the Freemasons of Germany ArmeniaBelgiumCyprusCzech RepublicFranceIndiaGermanyItaly Regular Grand LodgeGrand OrientLuxembourgNorth MacedoniaMaltaNetherlandsPhilippinesPortugalRomaniaRussiaSwitzerlandTurkey Australia and New Zealand United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital TerritoryGrand Lodge of New Zealand Americas United States AlabamaCaliforniaConnecticutIdahoIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMissouriNebraskaNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth DakotaOhioPennsylvaniaTennesseeTexasVirginiaWest VirginiaWisconsin African-American Prince Hall Freemasonry Canada ManitobaNewfoundland and LabradorOntario Latin America BrazilChileCosta RicaDominican RepublicMexicoVenezuela Continental Freemasonry and Co-Freemasonry, including CLIPSAS Eurasia Le Droit Humain (several countries)Belgium Grand OrientFemale Grand LodgeGrand LodgeDenmark SpainCataloniaFrance Grand OrientMixed Grand LodgeGreeceIbéricoItaly Grand Orient of ItalyGrand LodgeFemale Grand LodgeMaltaPolandPortugalRomaniaTurkey Americas Universal Co-MasonryVenezuelaUnited StatesCanadaMexico Appendant Orders Non-Denominational Allied Masonic DegreesGrand College of RitesHoly Royal Arch (Anglo-European)Royal Arch Masonry (American)Order of AthelstanOrder of Knight MasonsOrder of Mark Master MasonsOrder of the Scarlet CordOrder of the Secret MonitorOrder of Royal and Select Masters (Anglo-European)Cryptic Masonry (American)Royal Ark MarinersShriners Christian Only Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar PriestsKnights of the York Cross of HonourKnights TemplarMasonic Order of the BathOrder of Saint Thomas of AconRed Cross of ConstantineReformed and Rectified RiteRoyal Order of ScotlandSocietas RosicrucianaSovereign Order of Knights PreceptorYork Rite Sovereign College Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite USA Northern JurisdictionSouthern JurisdictionSupreme Council of Louisiana Related List of Freemasons A–DE–ZmonarchsUS presidentsFreemasonry and womenBuildings TemplesLandmarksMuseum of FreemasonryAbbreviationsAnti-MasonryConspiracy theoriesMasonic myths Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory Category Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata International FASTISNIVIAF National ChileSpainFranceBnF dataGermanyIsraelUnited StatesLatviaCzech Republic Artists ULAN Other Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine 2Historical Dictionary of SwitzerlandNARA Category: Freemasonry Horror fiction Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the genre. For the film genre, see Horror film. "Horror story" redirects here. For other uses, see Horror Story (disambiguation). "Supernatural horror" redirects here. For the film genre, see Supernatural horror film. An Illustration of Poe's "The Raven" by Gustav Dore An Illustration of Poe's "The Raven" by Gustave Doré vampire, face of little green man, feather pen (quill) and fire-breathing dragon – to the right of that are scripted words "Speculative (over) Fiction" Speculative fiction Alternate history Fantasy fiction Science fiction Horror fiction AnimeAwardsConventionsFiction magazinesFilms HistoryGenresPodcastsTelevisionWriters Miscellaneous icon Portal vte Horror is a genre of fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten or scare.[1] Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which are in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing".[2] Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society. Prevalent elements include ghosts, demons, vampires, monsters, zombies, werewolves, the Devil, serial killers, extraterrestrial life, killer toys, psychopaths, sexual deviancy, rape, gore, torture, evil clowns, cults, cannibalism, vicious animals, the apocalypse, evil witches, dystopia and man-made or natural disasters. History Before 1000 Athenodorus and the ghost, by Henry Justice Ford, c. 1900 Athenodorus The horror genre has ancient origins, with roots in folklore and religious traditions focusing on death, the afterlife, evil, the demonic and the principle of the thing embodied in the person.[3] These manifested in stories of beings such as demons, witches, vampires, werewolves and ghosts. European horror-fiction became established through works of the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans.[4] Mary Shelley's well-known 1818 novel about Frankenstein was greatly influenced by the story of Hippolytus, whom Asclepius revives from death.[5] Euripides wrote plays based on the story, Hippolytos Kalyptomenos and Hippolytus.[6] In Plutarch's The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans in the account of Cimon, the author describes the spirit of a murderer, Damon, who himself was murdered in a bathhouse in Chaeronea.[7] Pliny the Younger (61 to c. 113) tells the tale of Athenodorus Cananites, who bought a haunted house in Athens. Athenodorus was cautious since the house seemed inexpensive. While writing a book on philosophy, he was visited by a ghostly figure bound in chains. The figure disappeared in the courtyard; the following day, the magistrates dug in the courtyard and found an unmarked grave.[8] Elements of the horror genre also occur in Biblical texts, notably in the Book of Revelation.[9][10] After 1000 The Witch of Berkeley by William of Malmesbury has been viewed as an early horror story.[11] Werewolf stories were popular in medieval French literature. One of Marie de France's twelve lais is a werewolf story titled "Bisclavret". A Print of Vlad III Vlad III "The Impaler", the inspiration for Count Dracula. The Countess Yolande commissioned a werewolf story titled "Guillaume de Palerme". Anonymous writers penned two werewolf stories, "Biclarel" and "Melion". Much horror fiction derives from the cruellest personages of the 15th century. Dracula can be traced to the Prince of Wallachia Vlad III, whose alleged war crimes were published in German pamphlets. A 1499 pamphlet was published by Markus Ayrer, which is most notable for its woodcut imagery.[12] The alleged serial-killer sprees of Gilles de Rais have been seen as the inspiration for "Bluebeard".[13] The motif of the vampiress is most notably derived from the real-life noblewoman and murderer, Elizabeth Bathory, and helped usher in the emergence of horror fiction in the 18th century, such as through László Turóczi's 1729 book Tragica Historia.[14] 18th century Horace Walpole wrote the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto (1764), initiating a new literary genre.[15] The 18th century saw the gradual development of Romanticism and the Gothic horror genre. It drew on the written and material heritage of the Late Middle Ages, finding its form with Horace Walpole's seminal and controversial 1764 novel, The Castle of Otranto. In fact, the first edition was published disguised as an actual medieval romance from Italy, discovered and republished by a fictitious translator.[15] Once revealed as modern, many found it anachronistic, reactionary, or simply in poor taste but it proved immediately popular.[15] Otranto inspired Vathek (1786) by William Beckford, A Sicilian Romance (1790), The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) and The Italian (1796) by Ann Radcliffe and The Monk (1797) by Matthew Lewis.[15] A significant amount of horror fiction of this era was written by women and marketed towards a female audience, a typical scenario of the novels being a resourceful female menaced in a gloomy castle.[16] 19th century Mary Shelley by Richard Rothwell (1840–41) The Gothic tradition blossomed into the genre that modern readers today call horror literature in the 19th century. Influential works and characters that continue resonating in fiction and film today saw their genesis in the Brothers Grimm's "Hänsel und Gretel" (1812), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), John Polidori's "The Vampyre" (1819), Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer (1820), Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), Jane C. Loudon's The Mummy!: Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century (1827), Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831), Thomas Peckett Prest's Varney the Vampire (1847), the works of Edgar Allan Poe, the works of Sheridan Le Fanu, Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man (1897), and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). Each of these works created an enduring icon of horror seen in later re-imaginings on the page, stage and screen.[17] 20th century A proliferation of cheap periodicals around the turn of the century led to a boom in horror writing. For example, Gaston Leroux serialized his Le Fantôme de l'Opéra before it became a novel in 1910. One writer who specialized in horror fiction for mainstream pulps, such as All-Story Magazine, was Tod Robbins, whose fiction deals with themes of madness and cruelty.[18][19] In Russia, the writer Alexander Belyaev popularized these themes in his story Professor Dowell's Head (1925), in which a mad doctor performs experimental head transplants and reanimations on bodies stolen from the morgue, and which was first published as a magazine serial before being turned into a novel. Later, specialist publications emerged to give horror writers an outlet, prominent among them was Weird Tales[20] and Unknown Worlds.[21] Influential horror writers of the early 20th century made inroads in these mediums. Particularly, the venerated horror author H. P. Lovecraft, and his enduring Cthulhu Mythos transformed and popularized the genre of cosmic horror, and M. R. James is credited with redefining the ghost story in that era.[22] The serial murderer became a recurring theme. Yellow journalism and sensationalism of various murderers, such as Jack the Ripper, and lesser so, Carl Panzram, Fritz Haarman, and Albert Fish, all perpetuated this phenomenon. The trend continued in the postwar era, partly renewed after the murders committed by Ed Gein. In 1959, Robert Bloch, inspired by the murders, wrote Psycho. The crimes committed in 1969 by the Manson Family influenced the slasher theme in horror fiction of the 1970s. In 1981, Thomas Harris wrote Red Dragon, introducing Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In 1988, the sequel to that novel, The Silence of the Lambs, was published. Early cinema was inspired by many aspects of horror literature, and started a strong tradition of horror films and subgenres that continues to this day. Up until the graphic depictions of violence and gore on the screen commonly associated with 1960s and 1970s slasher films and splatter films, comic books such as those published by EC Comics (most notably Tales From The Crypt) in the 1950s satisfied readers' quests for horror imagery that the silver screen could not provide.[23] This imagery made these comics controversial, and as a consequence, they were frequently censored.[24][25] The modern zombie tale dealing with the motif of the living dead harks back to works including H. P. Lovecraft's stories "Cool Air" (1925), "In The Vault" (1926), and "The Outsider" (1926), and Dennis Wheatley's "Strange Conflict" (1941). Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend (1954) influenced an entire genre of apocalyptic zombie fiction emblematized by the films of George A. Romero. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the enormous commercial success of three books - Rosemary's Baby (1967) by Ira Levin, The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, and The Other by Thomas Tryon - encouraged publishers to begin releasing numerous other horror novels, thus creating a "horror boom".[26][27] Stephen King Stephen King One of the best-known late-20th century horror writers is Stephen King, known for Carrie, The Shining, It, Misery and several dozen other novels and about 200 short stories.[28][29][30] Beginning in the 1970s, King's stories have attracted a large audience, for which he was awarded by the U.S. National Book Foundation in 2003.[31] Other popular horror authors of the period included Anne Rice, Brian Lumley, Graham Masterton, James Herbert, Dean Koontz, Richard Laymon, Clive Barker,[32] Ramsey Campbell,[33] and Peter Straub. 21st century Best-selling book series of contemporary times exist in genres related to horror fiction, such as the werewolf fiction urban fantasy Kitty Norville books by Carrie Vaughn (2005 onward). Horror elements continue to expand outside the genre. The alternate history of more traditional historical horror in Dan Simmons's 2007 novel The Terror sits on bookstore shelves next to genre mash ups such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009), and historical fantasy and horror comics such as Hellblazer (1993 onward) and Mike Mignola's Hellboy (1993 onward). Horror also serves as one of the central genres in more complex modern works such as Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves (2000), a finalist for the National Book Award. There are many horror novels for children and teens, such as R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series or The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. Additionally, many movies for young audiences, particularly animated ones, use horror aesthetics and conventions (for example, ParaNorman). These are what can be collectively referred to as "children's horror".[34] Although it is unknown for sure why children enjoy these movies (as it seems counter-intuitive), it is theorized that it is, in part, grotesque monsters that fascinate kids.[34] Tangential to this, the internalized impact of horror television programs and films on children is rather under-researched, especially when compared to the research done on the similar subject of violence in TV and film's impact on the young mind. What little research there is tends to be inconclusive on the impact that viewing such media has.[35] Characteristics One defining trait of the horror genre is that it provokes an emotional, psychological, or physical response within readers that causes them to react with fear. One of H. P. Lovecraft's most famous quotes about the genre is that: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."[36] the first sentence from his seminal essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature". Science fiction historian Darrell Schweitzer has stated, "In the simplest sense, a horror story is one that scares us" and "the true horror story requires a sense of evil, not in necessarily in a theological sense; but the menaces must be truly menacing, life-destroying, and antithetical to happiness."[37] In her essay "Elements of Aversion", Elizabeth Barrette articulates the need by some for horror tales in a modern world: The old "fight or flight" reaction of our evolutionary heritage once played a major role in the life of every human. Our ancestors lived and died by it. Then someone invented the fascinating game of civilization, and things began to calm down. Development pushed wilderness back from settled lands. War, crime, and other forms of social violence came with civilization and humans started preying on each other, but by and large daily life calmed down. We began to feel restless, to feel something missing: the excitement of living on the edge, the tension between hunter and hunted. So we told each other stories through the long, dark nights. when the fires burned low, we did our best to scare the daylights out of each other. The rush of adrenaline feels good. Our hearts pound, our breath quickens, and we can imagine ourselves on the edge. Yet we also appreciate the insightful aspects of horror. Sometimes a story intends to shock and disgust, but the best horror intends to rattle our cages and shake us out of our complacency. It makes us think, forces us to confront ideas we might rather ignore, and challenges preconceptions of all kinds. Horror reminds us that the world is not always as safe as it seems, which exercises our mental muscles and reminds us to keep a little healthy caution close at hand.[38] In a sense similar to the reason a person seeks out the controlled thrill of a roller coaster, readers in the modern era seek out feelings of horror and terror to feel a sense of excitement. However, Barrette adds that horror fiction is one of the few mediums where readers seek out a form of art that forces themselves to confront ideas and images they "might rather ignore to challenge preconceptions of all kinds." One can see the confrontation of ideas that readers and characters would "rather ignore" throughout literature in famous moments such as Hamlet's musings about the skull of Yorick, its implications of the mortality of humanity, and the gruesome end that bodies inevitably come to. In horror fiction, the confrontation with the gruesome is often a metaphor for the problems facing the current generation of the author. There are many theories as to why people enjoy being scared. For example, "people who like horror films are more likely to score highly for openness to experience, a personality trait linked to intellect and imagination."[39] It is a now commonly accepted view that the horror elements of Dracula's portrayal of vampirism are metaphors for sexuality in a repressed Victorian era.[40] But this is merely one of many interpretations of the metaphor of Dracula. Jack Halberstam postulates many of these in his essay Technologies of Monstrosity: Bram Stoker's Dracula. He writes: [The] image of dusty and unused gold, coins from many nations and old unworn jewels, immediately connects Dracula to the old money of a corrupt class, to a kind of piracy of nations and to the worst excesses of the aristocracy.[41] Illustration from an 1882 issue of Punch: An English editorial cartoonist conceives the Irish Fenian movement as akin to Frankenstein's monster, in the wake of the Phoenix Park killings. Menacing villains and monsters in horror literature can often be seen as metaphors for the fears incarnate of a society. Halberstram articulates a view of Dracula as manifesting the growing perception of the aristocracy as an evil and outdated notion to be defeated. The depiction of a multinational band of protagonists using the latest technologies (such as a telegraph) to quickly share, collate, and act upon new information is what leads to the destruction of the vampire. This is one of many interpretations of the metaphor of only one central figure of the canon of horror fiction, as over a dozen possible metaphors are referenced in the analysis, from the religious to the antisemitic.[42] Noël Carroll's Philosophy of Horror postulates that a modern piece of horror fiction's "monster", villain, or a more inclusive menace must exhibit the following two traits: A menace that is threatening — either physically, psychologically, socially, morally, spiritually, or some combination of the aforementioned. A menace that is impure — that violates the generally accepted schemes of cultural categorization. "We consider impure that which is categorically contradictory".[43] Scholarship and criticism In addition to those essays and articles shown above, scholarship on horror fiction is almost as old as horror fiction itself. In 1826, the gothic novelist Ann Radcliffe published an essay distinguishing two elements of horror fiction, "terror" and "horror." Whereas terror is a feeling of dread that takes place before an event happens, horror is a feeling of revulsion or disgust after an event has happened.[44] Radcliffe describes terror as that which "expands the soul and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life," whereas horror is described as that which "freezes and nearly annihilates them." Modern scholarship on horror fiction draws upon a range of sources. In their historical studies of the gothic novel, both Devandra Varma[45] and S.L. Varnado[46] make reference to the theologian Rudolf Otto, whose concept of the "numinous" was originally used to describe religious experience. A recent survey reports how often horror media is consumed: To assess frequency of horror consumption, we asked respondents the following question: "In the past year, about how often have you used horror media (for example, horror literature, film, and video games) for entertainment?" 11.3% said "Never," 7.5% "Once," 28.9% "Several times," 14.1% "Once a month," 20.8% "Several times a month," 7.3% "Once a week," and 10.2% "Several times a week." Evidently, then, most respondents (81.3%) claimed to use horror media several times a year or more often. Unsurprisingly, there is a strong correlation between liking and frequency of use (r=.79, p<.0001).[47] Awards and associations Achievements in horror fiction are recognized by numerous awards. The Horror Writers Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror novel Dracula.[48] The Australian Horror Writers Association presents annual Australian Shadows Awards. The International Horror Guild Award was presented annually to works of horror and dark fantasy from 1995 to 2008.[49][50] The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic works. Other important awards for horror literature are included as subcategories within general awards for fantasy and science fiction in such awards as the Aurealis Award. Alternative terms Some writers of fiction normally classified as "horror" tend to dislike the term, considering it too lurid. They instead use the terms dark fantasy or Gothic fantasy for supernatural horror,[51] or "psychological thriller" for non-supernatural horror.[52] See also icon Speculative fiction/Horror portal Related genres Crime fiction Dark fantasy Death metal Ghost stories Monster literature Mystery fiction Speculative fiction Thriller Weird fiction History of horror films Horror convention Horror film Horror podcast LGBT themes in horror fiction List of ghost films List of horror fiction writers List of horror podcasts List of horror television programs References Carroll, Noël (1990). The Philosophy of Horror or Paradoxes of the Heart. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 28, 36, 53. ISBN 0-415-90145-6. Art-horror requires evaluation both in terms of threat and disgust. ... some emotional states are the cognitive-evaluative sort. And, of course, I would hold that art-horror is one of these. ... The audience's psychological state, therefore, diverges from the psychological state of characters in respect of belief, but converges on that of characters with respect to the way in which the properties of said monsters are emotively assessed. Cuddon, J.A. (1984). "Introduction". The Penguin Book of Horror Stories. Harmondsworth: Penguin. p. 11. ISBN 0-14-006799-X. Jackson, Rosemary (1981). Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion. London: Methuen. pp. 53–5, 68–9. "Even Ancient Greeks and Romans Enjoyed Good Scary Stories, Professor Says". phys.org. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020. Though the sub-title of Frankenstein references the titan Prometheus, none of the ancient myths about Prometheus is itself a horror tale. * Edward P. Coleridge, 1891, prose: full text Archived 12 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine * John Dryden, 1683: full text Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Pliny the Younger (1909–14). "LXXXIII. To Sura". In Charles W. Eliot. Letters, by Pliny the Younger; translated by William Melmoth; revised by F. C. T. Bosanquet. The Harvard Classics. 9. New York: P.F. Collier & Son. Beal, Timothy (23 October 2018). "Left Behind Again: The Rise and Fall of Evangelical Rapture Horror Culture". The Book of Revelation: A Biography. Lives of Great Religious Books. Princeton: Princeton University Press (published 2018). p. 197. ISBN 9780691145839. Retrieved 9 April 2021. Taken together with the rapture and tribulation themes in evangelical apocalyptic horror movies, this zombie connection testifies to the variety of ways that Revelation feeds into deep, largely repressed correspondences between religion and horror in contemporary culture. Pippin, Tina (1992). Death and Desire: The Rhetoric of Gender in the Apocalypse of John. Wipf and Stock Publishers (published 2021). p. 105. ISBN 9781725294189. Retrieved 9 April 2021. If these books were arranged in a bookstore, one would find all the women writers under 'science fiction.' The Apocalyse, on the other hand, would be found under 'horror literature.' Livermore, C. (2021). When the Dead Rise: Narratives of the Revenant, from the Middle Ages to the Present Day. D.S. Brewer. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-84384-576-8. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023. Raymond T. McNally and Radu R. Florescu (1972). "In Search of Dracula." Houghton Milton. Pages 8–9. Kiernan, Dr. Jas. G. "Sexual Perversion, and the Whitechapel Murders." The Medical Standard: IV.5. G. P. Engelhard and Company: Chicago. in Ungaria suis cum regibus compendia data, Typis Academicis Soc. Jesu per Fridericum Gall. Anno MCCCXXIX. Mense Sepembri Die 8. p 188-193, quoted by Farin "The Castle of Otranto: The creepy tale that launched gothic fiction" Archived 3 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine. BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2017 Richard Davenport-Hines (1998). Gothic: 1500 Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin. London: Fourth Estate. Christopher Frayling (1996). Nightmare: The Birth of Horror. London: BBC Books. Brian Stableford, "Robbins, Tod", in David Pringle, ed., St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers (London: St. James Press, 1998) ISBN 1558622063 (pp. 480–1). Lee Server. Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers. New York: Facts On File, 2002. ISBN 978-0-8160-4578-5 (pp. 223–224). Robert Weinberg, "Weird Tales" in M.B Tymn and Mike Ashley, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1985.ISBN 0-313-21221-X (pp. 727–736). "Unknown". in: M.B. Tymn and Mike Ashley, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines. Westport: Greenwood, 1985. pp.694-698. ISBN 0-313-21221-X "Medieval Studies and the Ghost Stories of M. R. James By Patrick J. Murphy". www.psupress.org. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020. Hutchings, Peter (2008). The A to Z of Horror Cinema. The A to Z Guide Series. Vol. 100. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-8108-6887-8. Retrieved 29 October 2015. Collins, Max Allan (28 February 2013). "11 Most Controversial Comic Books" Archived 18 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine. HuffPost. Retrieved 5 February 2019. Hansen, Kelli (1 October 2012). "Banned Books Week: Comics and Controversy" Archived 7 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. University of Missouri. Retrieved 5 February 2019. "Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby (1967), Thomas Tyron's The Other (1971), and William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist (1971) were all released within a few years of one another...and their immense combined sales indicted to many publishers that horror was now a profitable marketing niche." Simmons, David, American Horror Fiction and Class: From Poe to Twilight. London: Palgrave Macmillan 2017 ISBN 9781137532800 (p.119) Pringle,David, "Rosemary's Baby", in Pringle (ed.) Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels. London, Grafton, 1988. ISBN 0246132140 (p.103-5) Barone, Matt (8 November 2011). "The 25 Best Stephen King Stories" Archived 7 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Complex. Retrieved 5 February 2019. Jackson, Dan (18 February 2016). "A Beginner's Guide to Stephen King Books" Archived 7 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Thrillist. Retrieved 5 February 2019. Richard Bleiler, "Stephen King" in: Bleiler, Ed. Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003, ISBN 9780684312507. (pp. 525-540). Hillel Italie (18 September 2003). "Stephen King receives honorary National Book Award". Ellensburg Daily Record. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2010. Stephen King, brand-name writer, master of the horror story and e-book pioneer, has received an unexpected literary honor: a National Book Award for lifetime achievement. K.A. Laity "Clive Barker" in Richard Bleiler, ed. Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003. ISBN 9780684312507 (pp. 61–70). K.A. Laity, "Ramsey Campbell", in Richard Bleiler, ed. Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003. ISBN 9780684312507 (pp. 177–188.) Lester, Catherine (Fall 2016). "The Children's Horror Film". The Velvet Light Trap. 78 (78): 22–37. doi:10.7560/VLT7803. S2CID 194468640. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019. Pearce, Laura J.; Field, Andy P. (2016). "The Impact of "Scary" TV and Film on Children's Internalizing Emotions: A Meta-Analysis". Human Communication Research. 42 (1): 98–121. doi:10.1111/hcre.12069. ISSN 1468-2958. "Golden Proverbs". Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2012. Schweitzer, Darrell, "Why Horror Fiction?" in Windows of the Imagination. Berkeley Heights, NJ : Wildside Press, 1999. ISBN 9781880448601 (p. 64, 67). "Elements of Aversion". Archived from the original on 28 February 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2012. Whyte, Chelsea (9 February 2019). "The benefits of being scared". New Scientist. 241 (3216): 8. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(19)30224-6. S2CID 126647318. Stephanie Demetrakopoulos (Autumn 1977). "Feminism, Sex Role Exchanges, and Other Subliminal Fantasies in Bram Stoker's "Dracula"". Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. University of Nebraska Press. 2 (3): 104–113. doi:10.2307/3346355. JSTOR 3346355. "Technologies of Monstrosity" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2012. "Lecture Notes for Dracula". Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012. "Horror Stories". Dating Ghosts. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019. Mrs Radcliffe, "On the Supernatural in Poetry Archived 8 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine", The New Monthly Magazine 7 (1826): 145–52. Devandra Varma, The Gothic Flame (New York: Russell & Russell, 1966. S.L. Varnado, "The Idea of the Numinous in Gothic Literature," in The Gothic Imagination, ed. G.R. Thompson (Pullman: Washington State University Press, 1974). Clasen, Mathias; Kjeldgaard-Christiansen, Jens; Johnson, John A. (July 2020). "Horror, personality, and threat simulation: A survey on the psychology of scary media". Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. 14 (3): 213–230. doi:10.1037/ebs0000152. S2CID 149872472. "The Bram Stoker Awards". Horror Writers Association. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2010. "IHG Award Recipients 1994–2006". HorrorAward.org. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2014. "IHG Award Recipients 2007". HorrorAward.org. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2014. Brian Stableford, "Horror", in The A to Z of Fantasy Literature (p. 204), Scarecrow Press, Plymouth. 2005. ISBN 0-8108-6829-6. Brian Stableford, "Non-supernatural horror stories tend to be psychological thrillers, often involving criminals of an unusually lurid stripe." "The Discovery of Secondary Worlds:Some Notes on the Aesthetics and Methodology of Heterocosmic Creativity", in Heterocosms. Wildside Press LLC, 2007 ISBN 0809519070 (p. 200). Further reading Library resources about Horror fiction Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Neil Barron, Horror Literature: A Reader's Guide. New York: Garland, 1990. ISBN 978-0824043476. Jason Colavito, Knowing Fear: Science, Knowledge and the Development of the Horror Genre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008. ISBN 978-0786432738. Brian Docherty, American Horror Fiction: From Brockden Brown to Stephen King. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. ISBN 978-0333461297. Errickson, Will; Hendrix, Grady (2017). Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction. Philadelphia: Quirk Books. ISBN 9781594749810. OCLC 1003294393. Stephen Jones and Kim Newman, (eds.), Horror: 100 Best Books. New York: Carroll & Graf, 1998. ISBN 0786705523. Stephen King, Danse Macabre. New York: Everest House, 1981. ISBN 978-0896960763. H. P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature, 1927, rev. 1934, collected in Dagon and Other Macabre Tales. Arkham House, 1965. David J. Skal, The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror. New York: Norton, 1993. ISBN 978-0859652117. Andrea Sauchelli "Horror and Mood", American Philosophical Quarterly, 51:1 (2014), pp. 39–50. Gina Wisker, Horror Fiction: An Introduction. New York: Continuum, 2005. ISBN 978-0826415615. External links Horror fiction at Wikipedia's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Travel information from Wikivoyage Data from Wikidata Horror fiction at Curlie vte Horror fiction Speculative fiction Media AnimeComicsFilms HistoryMagazinesPodcastsTelevision programsVideo games list Types ArtBodyCannibalComedy ZombieCosmicDark fantasy Dark RomanticismFaustianGrimdarkSplatterpunkErotic GuroMonster eroticaZombie pornographyFolkGhostGialloGothic AmericanSouthernSouthern OntarioSuburbanTasmanianTech noirUrbanJapaneseKoreanLovecraftianMonsters JiangshiVampireWerewolfOccult detectiveOrgan transplantationPenny dreadfulPostmodern horrorPsychologicalSurvivalTechnoWeird fiction New weirdWeird menaceWeird WestZombie apocalypse Monsters Demons DevilsGhoulsEvil clownsExtraterrestrialsFire-breathing monsters ChimeraDragonsGargoylesKaijuKiller toyMutantsOgresSea monsterPiranhaTherianthropes WerecatsWerewolvesUndead DeathGhostsMummiesSkeletonsVampiresZombiesWitches Related genres Black comedyCreepypastaFantastiqueFantasy fictionMysteryParanormalScience fictionShenmoSupernaturalThrillerTokusatsuUrban legend Other Grand GuignolWritersConventionsLGBT themes charactersMacabreHorror hostHorrorcoreVulgar auteurism Related Pulp magazineMonster eroticaInternet Speculative Fiction DatabaseBram Stoker AwardVideo nasties Category Portal vte Speculative fiction Science fiction Media ComicsFilms listMagazines listTelevision Creators listAuthorsEditors Studies AwardsDefinitionsHistory Subgenres Alternate historyApocalyptic/post-apocalypticClimate fictionComic/comedyCyberpunk (derivatives)Dying EarthFeministFuture historyMilitarySpace operaSpace WesternTech-noir Themes AfricanfuturismAfrofuturismAliensAIFrankensteinParallel universesPlanetsTime travelUtopia/dystopiaSpace piratesTerraformingTerraforming in popular culture Subculture CommunityGathering list Fantasy Media AnimeArt FantasticComicsFantasy filmLiteratureMagazinesTelevision Creators Authors Studies High fantasy Tolkien's influenceLiteratureSources Subgenres BangsianComicContemporaryDarkDying EarthFairytaleFolklore mythology (based)GaslampHardHighHistoricalLost worldLowMedievalRomanticSword and sorceryUrban Tropes Fantasy racesFantasy worldsLegendary creaturesMagic (fantasy)Magician (fantasy)Norse mythology Magic itemQuestOccult detective Horror Media ComicsFilms listMagazinesTelevision programsVideo games Subgenres BodyGoosebumpsLovecraftianMass hysteriaPsychologicalSplatterpunkQueerUrban legend Tropes GargoyleVampires listWerewolves General Authors of colorFictional speciesGenderJapanese authorsMasqueradeSexuality HomosexualityReproduction and pregnancyWomen Related Science fantasyFantastiqueMagic realismSlipstreamTechno-thriller Portal Category Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata International FAST 2 National IsraelUnited StatesLatvia 2 Category: Horror fiction Highest-grossing horror films † indicates films playing in the week commencing 27 October 2023 in theaters around the world. Rank Film Worldwide gross Year Ref 1 It $701,842,551 2017 [1] 2 The Sixth Sense $672,806,292 1999 [2] 3 I Am Legend $585,349,010 2007 [3] 4 World War Z $540,007,876 2013 [4] 5 It Chapter Two $473,093,228 2019 [5] 6 The Exorcist $441,306,145 1973 [6] 7 Signs $408,247,917 2002 [7] 8 Prometheus $403,354,469 2012 [8] 9 The Nun $365,550,119 2018 [9] 10 Hannibal $351,692,268 2001 [10] 11 A Quiet Place $340,952,971 2018 [11] 12 The Conjuring 2 $320,392,818 2016 [9] 13 The Conjuring $319,494,638 2013 [9] 14 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter $312,242,626 2017 [12] 15 Annabelle: Creation $306,515,884 2017 [9] 16 Van Helsing $300,257,475 2004 [13] 17 Resident Evil: Afterlife $300,228,084 2010 [14] 18 A Quiet Place Part II $297,372,261 2020 [15][16] 19 Split $278,454,358 2017 [17] 20 Scary Movie $278,019,771 2000 [18] 21 The Silence of the Lambs $272,742,922 1991 [19] 22 The Nun II † $263,492,078 2023 [20] 23 Halloween $259,939,835 2018 [21] 24 Annabelle $257,619,282 2014 [9] 25 The Village $256,697,520 2004 [22] 26 Us $256,067,149 2019 [23] 27 Get Out $255,745,157 2017 [24] 28 The Blair Witch Project $248,639,099 1999 [25] 29 The Ring $248,218,486 2002 [26] 30 Dark Shadows $245,527,149 2012 [27] 31 Alien: Covenant $240,891,763 2017 [28] 32 Resident Evil: Retribution $240,004,424 2012 [29] 33 Constantine $230,884,728 2005 [30] 34 Annabelle Comes Home $228,552,591 2019 [31] 35 Interview with the Vampire $223,564,608 1994 [32] 36 Scary Movie 3 $220,673,217 2003 [33] 37 Smile $217,408,513 2022 [34][35] 38 Bram Stoker's Dracula $215,862,692 1992 [36] 39 Jaws 2 $208,900,376 1978 [37] 40 The Others $207,765,056 2001 [38] 41 Sleepy Hollow $207,068,340 1999 [39] 42 Paranormal Activity 3 $207,039,844 2011 [40] 43 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It $206,431,050 2021 [41] 44 Paranormal Activity $194,183,034 2007 [42] 45 Hollow Man $191,200,000 2000 [43] 46 Insidious: The Red Door $188,785,257 2023 [44][45] 47 The Final Destination $187,384,627 2009 [46] 48 The Grudge $187,281,115 2004 [47] 49 Alien $184,655,794 1979 [48] 50 Aliens $183,300,764 1986 [49] Highest-grossing horror film franchises and film series † indicates that at least one film in the series is playing in the week commencing 27 October 2023. Highest-grossing horror film franchises and film series (The films in each franchise can be viewed by selecting "show") Rank Series Total worldwide box office No. of films Average of films Highest-grossing film 1 The Conjuring Universe † $2,396,745,466 9 $266,305,052 The Nun ($365,551,694) 2 Alien $1,653,812,293 8 $206,726,537 Prometheus ($403,354,469) 3 Resident Evil $1,237,686,980 10 $123,768,698 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ($312,257,250) 4 It $1,173,474,976 2 $586,737,488 It ($701,842,551) 5 Saw † $1,097,021,497 10 $109,702,150 Saw III ($164,874,275) 6 Hannibal $924,422,301 5 $184,884,460 Hannibal ($351,692,268) 7 Dracula $913,670,412 15 $60,911,361 Van Helsing ($300,157,638) 8 Scream $913,385,720[58] 6 $152,230,953 Scream ($173,046,663) 9 Scary Movie $896,555,030 5 $179,311,006 Scary Movie ($278,019,771) 10 Paranormal Activity $890,533,646[59] 6 $148,422,274 Paranormal Activity 3 ($207,039,844) 11 Halloween $885,594,556 13 $68,122,658 Halloween ($259,939,835) 12 Predator $744,593,166 6 $124,098,861 Alien vs. Predator ($172,544,654) 13 Insidious † $731,684,239 5 $146,336,848 Insidious: The Red Door ($188,652,606) 14 The Exorcist † $698,579,359 6 $116,429,893 The Exorcist ($441,306,145) 15 Final Destination $665,080,639 5 $133,016,128 The Final Destination ($186,167,139) 16 The Ring $654,610,579 11 $59,510,053 The Ring ($249,348,933) 17 A Quiet Place $638,325,232 2 $319,162,616 A Quiet Place ($340,952,971) 18 I Am Legend $589,349,010 2 $294,674,505 I Am Legend ($585,349,010) 19 A Nightmare on Elm Street $545,221,132 9 $60,580,126 Freddy vs. Jason ($116,632,628) 20 The Purge $533,051,095 5 $106,610,219 The First Purge ($136,211,978) Highest-grossing horror films by year † indicates films playing in the week commencing 27 October 2023 in theaters around the world. Year Film Worldwide gross Ref 1931 Frankenstein $12,001,420 [89] 1932 Doctor X $594,000 [90] 1933 Mystery of the Wax Museum $1,100,000 [90] 1934 The Black Cat $236,000 [91] 1935 Bride of Frankenstein $2,000,000 [92] 1936 The Walking Dead $300,000 [93] 1937 TBD 1938 TBD 1939 TBD 1940 You'll Find Out $1,000,000 [94] 1941 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde $2,300,000 [95] 1942 TBD 1943 TBD 1944 The Invisible Man's Revenge $1,669,226 [96] 1945 The Picture of Dorian Gray $2,370,000 [95][97] 1946 TBD 1947 TBD 1948 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein $3,200,000 [98] 1949 Mahal ₹1.45 crore [99] 1950 TBD 1951 The Thing from Another World $1,950,000 [100] 1952 The Black Castle $1,300,000 1953 House of Wax $23,750,000 [101] 1954 Creature from the Black Lagoon $1,300,000 1955 It Came from Beneath the Sea $1,700,000 [102] 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers $3,000,000 1957 The Curse of Frankenstein $8,000,000 [103] 1958 Macabre $5,000,000 [104] 1959 House on Haunted Hill $2,500,000 [105] 1960 Psycho $50,000,000 [106] 1961 The Pit and the Pendulum $2,000,000 [107] 1962 Tales of Terror $1,500,000 [108] 1963 The Birds $11,436,929 [109] 1964 Strait-Jacket $2,195,195 [110] 1965 Repulsion $3,100,000 [111] 1966 Queen of Blood $17,300,000 [112] 1967 Berserk! $3,195,000 [113] 1968 Rosemary's Baby $33,396,740 [114] 1969 Eye of the Cat $1,200,000 [115] 1970 House of Dark Shadows $1,836,000 [116] 1971 Willard $14,545,941 [117] 1972 Deliverance $46,122,355 [118] 1973 The Exorcist $441,306,145 [6] 1974 Young Frankenstein $86,273,333 [119] 1975 The Rocky Horror Picture Show $115,309,023 [120] 1976 The Omen $60,922,980 [121] 1977 Exorcist II: The Heretic $30,749,142 [122] 1978 Jaws 2 $208,900,376 [123] 1979 Alien $203,626,500 [124] 1980 Friday the 13th $59,800,000 [125] 1981 An American Werewolf In London $61,973,249 [126] 1982 Poltergeist $121,706,019 [127] 1983 Jaws 3-D $87,987,055 [128] 1984 Gremlins $212,000,000 [129][130] 1985 Day of the Dead $34,004,262 [131] 1986 Aliens $183,300,764 [132] 1987 Predator $98,268,458 [133] 1988 A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master $49,369,899 [134] 1989 Pet Sematary $57,469,467 [134] 1990 Misery $61,276,872 [135] 1991 The Silence of the Lambs $272,742,922 [136] 1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula $215,862,692 [36] 1993 Hocus Pocus $39,514,713 [137] 1994 Interview with the Vampire $223,664,608 [32] 1995 Species $113,354,449 [138] 1996 Scream $173,046,663 [139] 1997 Scream 2 $172,363,301 [140] 1998 Halloween: H20 $75,041,738 [141] 1999 The Sixth Sense $672,806,292 [2] 2000 Scary Movie $278,019,771 [18] 2001 Hannibal $351,692,268 [10] 2002 Signs $408,247,917 [7] 2003 Scary Movie 3 $220,673,217 [142] 2004 The Grudge $187,281,115 [143] 2005 Constantine $230,884,728 [30] 2006 Scary Movie 4 $178,262,620 [144] 2007 I Am Legend $585,349,010 [3] 2008 Saw V $118,209,778 [145][146] 2009 Paranormal Activity $194,183,034 [147] 2010 Resident Evil: Afterlife $300,228,084 [14] 2011 Paranormal Activity 3 $207,039,844 [40] 2012 Prometheus $403,354,469 [8] 2013 World War Z $540,007,876 [4] 2014 Annabelle $256,862,920 [9] 2015 Goosebumps $150,170,815 [148] 2016 The Conjuring 2 $320,392,818 [9] 2017 It $700,381,748 [1] 2018 The Nun $365,550,119 [9] 2019 It Chapter Two $473,093,228 [5] 2020 A Quiet Place Part II $297,372,261 [15][16] 2021 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It $206,431,050 [149] 2022 Smile $217,408,513 [150][151] 2023 The Nun II $263,492,078 [152] Timeline of highest-grossing horror films Title Established Record-setting gross Ref Ingagi 1930 $4,000,000 [114] Bride of Frankenstein 1936 $4,400,000 [114] Cat People 1942 $8,900,000 [114] House of Wax 1953 $23,800,000 [114] Psycho 1960 $24,900,000 [114] Rosemary's Baby 1968 $33,396,740 [114] The Exorcist 1973 $441,306,145 [6] The Sixth Sense 1999 $672,806,292 [2] It 2017 $700,381,748 [5] By tickets sold The following is a list of horror films which sold more than 25 million tickets. Film Year Known ticket sales (est.) Territories with known ticket sales data[b] Notes The Exorcist 1973 214,900,000 Worldwide [citation needed] The Sixth Sense 1999 103,747,446 Worldwide [153] Gremlins 1984 44,100,000 U.S. + Canada [92] Psycho 1960 41,500,000 U.S. + Canada [92] House of Wax 1953 39,700,000 U.S. + Canada [92] Signs 2002 38,200,000 U.S. + Canada [92] I Am Legend 2007 36,900,000 U.S. + Canada [92] It 2017 36,500,000 U.S. + Canada [92] Jaws 2 1978 35,000,000 U.S. + Canada [92] The Curse of Frankenstein 1957 34,800,000 U.S. + Canada [92] The Amityville Horror 1979 34,400,000 U.S. + Canada [92] Cat People 1942 33,000,000 U.S. + Canada [92] Alien 1979 31,800,000 U.S. + Canada [92] The Silence of the Lambs 1991 31,000,000 U.S. + Canada [92] What Lies Beneath 2000 30,600,000 U.S. + Canada [92] The Omen 1976 28,500,000 U.S. + Canada [92] The Blair Witch Project 1999 27,700,000 U.S. + Canada [92] Poltergeist 1982 26,200,000 U.S. + Canada [92] Rosemary's Baby 1968 25,400,000 U.S. + Canada [92] Interview with the Vampire 1994 25,200,000 U.S. + Canada [92] Top 25 Highest Grossing Horror Movies Worldwide at IMDb vte Box office Topics Box office territoryBox-office bomb listFastest-grossing filmsSecond weekend box office highest-grossing second weekendsSequelsLists of box office number-one films most weekends at number one in North AmericaFour-wall distribution Highest-grossing General Highest-grossing films worldwideBox office admissionsNon-EnglishOpeningsR-ratedVideo game adaptationsIndependent filmsTelevision series adaptations Animated Decades 1980s1990s2000s2010s2020sLive-action/animatedOpeningsBox office admissionsadult-oriented animated films By genre ChristmasComedyFantasyHorrorMusicalPuppetScience fictionSportsSuperhero By origin BangladeshiCzechFilipinoGreekMexicanIndian overseasBengaliHindiMalayalamPunjabiTeluguTamilKannadaItalianIranianJapaneseNigerianPakistaniPortuguese By region AustraliaAustriaChinaFranceGermanyHong KongIndiaIndonesiaItalyJapanMalaysiaNepalPakistanPhilippinesRomaniaRussiaSingaporeSouth KoreaSoviet UnionTaiwanTurkeyUnited KingdomUnited States and Canada animated By person ActorsDirectorsProducers Records Avatar (2009)Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)Avengers: Infinity War (2018)Avengers: Endgame (2019) Awards Box Office Entertainment AwardsCrystal FilmDiamond FilmGolden Film recipientsGolden Screen AwardGoldene LeinwandPlatinum Film recipients Websites Box Office MojoLumiereThe NumbersShowBIZ DataBox Office India Other Box office futuresBox Office PoisonBoxoffice ProFilm Business Asia Related Blockbuster100 Crore ClubBest-selling films in the United StatesHighest-grossing media franchisesHighest-grossing musical theatre productions Category vte Horror film History Subgenres ArthouseBlaxploitationBodyCannibalComedyFolkFound footageGothic romanceHolidayLovecraftianMonster KaijuPostmodern horrorPsychologicalSatanicSlasherSplatterSupernaturalSocial thrillerTeenZombie comedy Territories Australia OzploitationCambodiaChinese JiangshiFrance ExtremityGermany ExpressionismUndergroundIndia ghost moviesBollywoodIndonesiaItaly GialloJapanKoreaMexicoThailandUnited Kingdom Film lists Highest-grossingFirst film by countryIndian HindiMalayalam By decade 1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s By type ComedyNatural EcoSci-fiGhostAnthology Topics ScoreHorror hostGender final girlscream queenarchaic motherJump scareDisabilityLGBTRace Indian burial ground tropeCharacters hostsvillains Related B movieExploitation filmExtreme cinemaGrindhouseVideo nastyVulgar auteurism Category vte Horror fiction Speculative fiction Media AnimeComicsFilms HistoryMagazinesPodcastsTelevision programsVideo games list Types ArtBodyCannibalComedy ZombieCosmicDark fantasy Dark RomanticismFaustianGrimdarkSplatterpunkErotic GuroMonster eroticaZombie pornographyFolkGhostGialloGothic AmericanSouthernSouthern OntarioSuburbanTasmanianTech noirUrbanJapaneseKoreanLovecraftianMonsters JiangshiVampireWerewolfOccult detectiveOrgan transplantationPenny dreadfulPostmodern horrorPsychologicalSurvivalTechnoWeird fiction New weirdWeird menaceWeird WestZombie apocalypse Monsters Demons DevilsGhoulsEvil clownsExtraterrestrialsFire-breathing monsters ChimeraDragonsGargoylesKaijuKiller toyMutantsOgresSea monsterPiranhaTherianthropes WerecatsWerewolvesUndead DeathGhostsMummiesSkeletonsVampiresZombiesWitches Related genres Black comedyCreepypastaFantastiqueFantasy fictionMysteryParanormalScience fictionShenmoSupernaturalThrillerTokusatsuUrban legend Other Grand GuignolWritersConventionsLGBT themes charactersMacabreHorror hostHorrorcoreVulgar auteurism Related Pulp magazineMonster eroticaInternet Speculative Fiction DatabaseBram Stoker AwardVideo nasties Category Portal Categories: Lists of horror filmsLists of highest-grossing films |
