Catholic Medical Quarterly Volume 64(4) November 2014

Correspondence

Halloween

Anthony Porter

I am sure I cannot be the only Catholic to identify a link between Halloween and the Culture of Abortion. This bizarre festival seems to be all about frightening people and causing them sharp intakes of breath. It is also linked with blood and gore, bad language and sexual slurs, and hauntings and dead people.

I have seen Halloween costumes that look like the uniforms of doctors and nurses but are drenched in blood. The associated instruments of torture can often resemble the instruments of surgery. Other features include scary sounds, screams and a focus upon gruesomeness. Some people claim that Halloween causes them anxieties, nightmares and sleeplessness.

Particularly disturbing are the effects of all this upon the young. At some schools and within many families, children are encouraged to dress up for Halloween parties with the same innocence and amusement as if preparing for a Christmas pantomime. I am so glad I was spared all that when I was a child.

Antony Porter. London W9