There are few American authors that are as memorable as Ray Bradbury. There is a good chance that you have encountered his works and may not have known about it. He is an author that was prolific in multiple genres including science fiction, horror, and mystery. In high school literature classes, or at least when I was in school, we read a few of his works. THe one that stands out most to me and influenced my love of the dystopian, cyberpunk genre was Fahrenheit 451. Then there was I Sing the Body Electric, which oddly enough we read and discussed in AP biology, in high school.
What fewer may know is that Bradbury had a love of Halloween and horror. He wrote many works about them and the one that stands out most to me, wasnt even introduced to me as a book. Instead. I found this gem in college. Are you curious as to what this hidden gem is? Let me introduce you to an amazing cartoon and book called The Halloween Tree. Join me today as we discuss this story and its impact on me in an article I like to call The HalloweenTree: A Spooky Tradition.
- Halloween traditions
- Halloween Tree, a book
- Halloween Tree, a movie
- Comparing Traditions
- Frights for all
Halloween traditions
For me, Halloween has always been one of the coolest and deeply rooted traditions that has become a holiday. The lore around it, in various countries, is a complex web of cultural beliefs and an acceptance of those no longer living. As time has moved on we have added more and more to this ancient celebration. Gone are the days of lighting huge bonfires on ridges and leaving out carved turnips to dissuade event spirits from plaguing us. We have moved from wearing costumes to confuse and scare dark spirits using them to offer bargins of tricks or treats to unsuspecting house owners. We still sit around, over campfires or with the helpful accent of flashlights, telling spooky stories to unnerve friends. In many ways, the traditions have only changed in small ways, others have been totally redesigned to fit modern culture.
I have been fascinated with spooky things since I was a young kid and Halloween was always one of those times. As I aged out of trick or treating, it was the history of this amazing holiday that entranced me more. As I went through history classes and read on my own, I started to realize that there are some common thoughts of how cultures handled their dead and respect them. I also started to see that many of these customs are still alive in our celebrations today.
I always looked for ways to create holiday parties around Halloween that weren’t just the show up in costume, party, then go home. I wanted an experience and being someone who practices witchcraft, it was an added bonus. I searched for books, stories, movies, things I could do, and even movies to increase what would make this time of year special to me. In college, I saw Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown and I secretly fell in love. I say secretly because no self respecting male goth would say they loved those things. With age, i have learned to celebrate the things I love. So, in 1993 when I first saw the Halloween Tree on television, I knew this was going to be a must fo me. To be fair, I instantly fell in love and had only seen the last ten minutes of it. That would change when I watched it again.
Halloween Tree, a book
The beginnings of the book, The Halloween Tree, date back to 1967. At this time, Bradbury started an unproduced collaboration with the widely known animator, Chuck Jones. This collaboration never materialized so Bradbury took that to write his book, The Halloween Tree. The book was later released in 1972. The goal of the book was to showcase the history of the two holidays Samhain and Halloween. It teaches how various cultures have inspired what we now know as the candy holiday and where its roots started. It highlights beliefs and customs from each individual culture represented in the book.
The book is about the dynamic between 9 boys who are planning to go trick’r’treatin’ on Halloween night. As they congregate to plan the night, they learn that their ninth friend, Pipkin, has been stolen away on a journey that could, quite possibly, determine the fate of his life. The eight remaining friends meet a mysterious person named Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, who will help them pursue their friend across space and time, in hopes of saving him.
The book takes us through ancient cultures like Egypt, Greece, Rome, Ireland, France, and Mexico. Each of these stops show us how specific cultural traditions were incorporated into what we now know as Halloween, today. At each stop, they learn how the specific tradition began, how it was celebrated, and how spirits of the dead factored into it all.
Halloween Tree, a movie
In 1993, Bradbury’s highly acclaimed book finally made its visual debut in the form of an animated fantasy drama made for television film. It would be the studio of Hanna Barbara that would help Bradbury bring the animated dream to life. Bradbury used part of the original screenplay to create this version and he would be the narrator of his visual version of the Halloween story. This version also included the voice over work of Leonard Nimoi, whom you may know from the cultural phenomenon that is Star Trek as Mr Spock the lovable science officer on the USS Enterprise and second in command to James T. Kirk.
Due to time constraints and a change in political/gender norms, the story was slightly changed. In the book, there were nine boys, including Pipkin. The animated movie would see the cast of kids reduced to five, in total, including Pipkin. The movie opens with Bradbury describing the preparations of a Midwest small town for Halloween. Then we see each of the four friends, Jenny the witch, Ralph the mummy, Wally the monster, and Tom a Skeleton. The opener shows them donning their respective costumes and planning to meet “Pip” Pipkin for a night of trick or treating. As they arrive, they see Pipkin being taken out of his house on a stretcher and put in the back of an ambulance. The four friends are left agape and in disbelief.
The friends begin to think that this is just an elaborate ruse, from their good ole friend Pip, and set out to follow him. They end up at a looming, darkened mansion where they ultimately meet Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud. Moundshroud mentions how he is searching for Pipkin, also. Pip is then seen stealing a pumpkin that looks very much like him and slips away. The friends all beg to come along with Moundshroud, in hopes to save their friend. Thus begins their journey through Halloween history.
Comparing Traditions
There are many noticeable differences between the book and the animated, none of which diminish each work, independently. If you are someone who has read the book and knows it quite well, then the movie will be a disappointment — in many ways. On the other hand, if you saw the movie first and then wanted to read the book, the differences can be quite jarring.
On either end, you are left thinking, “wait, that wasn’t in the ____ version.” Or you may be confused when you see the character difference between them. Time is always a constraint, when it comes to books made into movies. As such, a great many things must always be cut and the most noticeable was the various points in history the group visits in their specific way of trying to save their best friend. The animated movie keeps Egypt, France, and Mexico, it removes Greece and Rome.
The bigger change in the two is the diminishment of Pipkin’s character in relation to the story. In the animated movie, he is always off scene, unless you see him in a spectral form. The focus seems to be more on the friends finding their own strength to be out front since Pipkin has been sidelined due to an illness. The movie, while still focusing on the roots of Halloween, is also a story of growth and change for the group of friends. At the beginning, we see that all of the friends put their faith into Pip and get him back. They feel the best parts of their lives are because of him. What they learn is that they are the reason for the best parts of their lives and how to be stronger.
Frights for all
This has been one of my most favorite things to watch during Halloween. If someone has never seen it, I do my best to introduce it to them. While it is not perfect in its portrayal of history, it is enough to give you a good working beginning for how many cultural traditions went into and have affected out tradition of Halloween. It teaches you to understand where many of the “monsters” we love got their start. It is a cute movie that doesnt get the attention it needs. For me, it is on a higher level that It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. If you haven’t seen it, there is still time. You can find it at Amazon for just $2.99 Why not give it a try before Halloween is slips quietly into the darkness for another year.
How about you guys, are there favorite movies, cartoons, and stuff that you do for Halloween? Have you ever heard of this movie or book? If so, when did you first see/read it? If you haven’t, does it sound like something that would be fun to watch? If not, do it anyway. You won’t be disappointed. Happy Halloween to each of my GayintheCLE readers. You guys make this webpage possible, you are the reason I do this. Thank you for your support and get out there and have some fun this Halloween.
Gay in the CLE 