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Celebrate Halloween with 10 great Irish horror movies

By
MEGHAN SWEENEY,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, October 12, 2009, 3:59 PM
Updated Monday, October 19, 2009, 4:24 PM

 

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The evil Leprechaun: An Irish horror movie staple
The evil Leprechaun: An Irish horror movie staple

Gallery / 10 Great Irish Horror Movies / Click here

Did you know that Halloween has Irish roots?

The spooky holiday was created by the Celts as the day of All Souls that ghosts walked and the undead spoke.

The 2,000-year-old ancient Celtic festival is called Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1, a day that marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of winter – a time of year they associated with death.

It was believed that on October 31, the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurry, and ghosts returned to earth.

To mark the coming of otherworldly spirits, Celtic Druids built large sacred bonfires, where everyone gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic gods.

During Samhain, the Celts wore costumes, usually consisting of animal heads and skins, and told each other’s fortunes.

Perhaps a bit more intense than today’s Halloween, but spooky nonetheless!

In celebration of the upcoming holiday and its Celtic origins, we’ve compiled a list of 10 great Hollywood horror flicks that have Irish roots themselves.

“Interview with the Vampire”

This 1994 film from famous Irish director Neil Jordan was a huge hit with both audiences and critics.

Adapted from Anne Rice’s “Vampire Chronicles” novel, the movie features Brad Pitt as Louis, a 200-year-old vampire who tells his epic story to a journalist (Christian Slater).

Tom Cruise plays the charismatic villain Lestat, who turned Louis into a vampire in the 18th century in order to make him his companion. Louis hates being a vampire, but Lestat convinces him to turn a little orphan girl, Claudia, into one as well, and together Louis and Claudia live on through the centuries.

A classic vampire tale from a great Irishman.

“Queen of the Damned”

Another installment of Anne Rice’s “Vampire Chronicles was brought to the big screen in 2002, and an Irish actor took over the role of Lestat.

Stuart Townsend, best known as Charlize Theron’s Irish boyfriend, appeared opposite the late R&B singer Aaliyah in “Queen of the Damned.”

The Dubliner portrayed the legendary vampire Lestat, who after many years of sleeping in his coffin, awakens to a modern world unfamiliar to him. Lestat decides to become a rock star, and his music awakens the ancient Akasha, Queen of the vampires and the damned.

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