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Celebrate Halloween with 10 great Irish horror movies

MEGHAN SWEENEY

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, October 12, 2009, 3:59 PM

Updated Monday, October 19, 2009, 4:24 PM

Read more: Entertainment, Horror Films, Movies

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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 18^th 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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As the Irish people have a genuine sense of fun, Irish entertainment can be found in every town, village, city and county. One of the most popular forms is the festival, which is used to celebrate all sorts of occasions &emdash; everything from literary pursuits to a love of oysters. Here are a few highlights of entertainment in Ireland throughout the year: Londonderry boasts the biggest Halloween Festival in the world with around 30,000 celebrating the ancient Celtic New Year every October. Grab a dodgy mask and join the party! / The Belfast Festival at Queen’s is Ireland’s biggest International Festival and boasts an eclectic mix of music, talks, comedy, exhibitions and film. / The Galway Races, the Rose of Tralee Festival, Puck Fair in Killorglin, and the Oul’ Lammas Fair in Ballycastle are world famous and offer a great chance to enjoy Irish entertainment, life and laughs with the locals. / Food festivals are now a big draw in Ireland with local produce scoring high among international foodies. Head to the famous oyster festivals in Clarenbridge in Galway, or Hillsborough, County Down. / Tune in to a spot of music with the Open House Festival in Belfast, the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera, or the Feile an Phobail in west Belfast. Or grab a pint and tap your feet to some cool tunes at the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. / If you prefer your festivals small and intimate, try the harp festivals in Roscommon or the rough and ready horse and pony fairs from Cavan to Cork. Even today, the horses are priced in guineas, and bought and sold with a spit in the hand. / At the other end of the scale of entertainment in Ireland lies the Wexford Opera Festival with full-scale opera productions, concerts, recitals, talks, cabaret, fireworks, and, of course, parties. / For something a little different, try the Magnus Barelegs Festival in Downpatrick offering a slice of Viking life, or the Eagle Wing Festival in Groomsport, County Down, which celebrates Ireland’s cultural links with America. / Theater fans should head to Dublin for both the Dublin Theatre Festival and the excellent Dublin Fringe Festival, with wildly exciting performances taking place in fabulous venues. / Around March 17, the country turns a shade of green for a host of St Patrick’s Festivals. All over the country, from the Saint’s hallowed burial place in Downpatrick to the more carnival atmosphere of parades and exceptional fireworks in Dublin and Belfast. / Literary lovers should head to Dublin in June for the intriguing Bloomsday Festival, where fans of Joyce’s Gargantuan Ulysses dress up in traditional gear and scoff old Dublin food like “nutty gizzards” and “urine-soaked kidneys”. Alternatively, seek out the delights of the Aspects Literature Festival in Bangor in September, an annual celebration of Irish literature with lectures, discussion and music. But festivals are just one aspect of Irish entertainment—let's not forget about music! From impromptu sessions in your local bar to the thrilling beat of U2, Ireland has always been home to the best sounds of music. Ireland’s massive successes in the Irish entertainment world include some bands and artists you may have heard of…U2, The Corrs, Enya, Westlife, Snow Patrol, Ash, David Holmes, Van Morrison and The Thrills, to name just a few. Unique and distinctive, the harp holds a special place in Irish entertainment and has come to symbolize the harmony of people and music in Ireland. It’s the earliest musical instrument mentioned in Irish literature and has been used as an official emblem for Ireland since medieval times. Today, it’s on Irish passports and stamps. But there's more: Fleadhs, or festivals, are a major part of Irish entertainment as well as cultural life, and impromptu trad sessions have become the stuff of legend at West Belfast’s Feile an Phobail, the Galway Racing Festival or Kerry’s Puck Fair. Rock and dance music festivals are also big news with the Oxegen Festival, Tennents Vital Belfast and the Electric Picnic held in summer.

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