Halloween is a holiday in the United States, celebrated both before and after the Great War.
Background[]
Celebrated at the end of October alongside various other autumnal events, preparations for the fall holiday were underway and adornments put in place shortly before the war.[1][2][3] Aside from flourishes still present in homes and businesses, evidence of the holiday's popularity is commonly found throughout the former United States.[4][5]
Pre-War[]
Celebratory Halloween-themed events included festivals and parties taking place in schools, outdoor venues, and in workplaces.[6][7] At the Tyler County Fairgrounds, attractions such as the "Tyler County Scare" event barn and Halloween hayrides were put in place ahead of the Halloween weekend carnival.[8][9] Across the street at the dirt track, ticket sales were well on their way for the Halloween Night Thrills Demolition Derby featuring 'Hot' Rod Daniels on Sunday, October 31, encouraging interested parties to "come celebrate spooky Halloween at the most amazing car calamity show in the mountains."[9][10] A livestock show and auction were also planned for the carnival, with the Best of Show announcement planned for Halloween day.[11]
The town of Lewisburg dedicated a weekend to their Halloween festival, setting up stalls and planning for a live band, coinciding with the upcoming senate vote taking place a few days later.[Non-game 1] Employees of the U.S. National Park Service decorated their watchtowers to celebrate Halloween while on duty.[12][Non-game 2] Farmsteads set up Halloween-themed events and attractions with pumpkin-covered farm fields and photo booths, such as the Halloween fright farm and Halloween horror hamlet, inviting visitors touring the area to enjoy the sights.[Non-game 3][Non-game 4] Grocery stores such as the Super-Duper Mart in Watoga ran Halloween sales, with signage advertising "spooky savings."[13]
Schools engaged in a wide variety of Halloween festivities, such as the Bolton Greens Halloween gala for the affluent families of students.[14] Students attending D.B. Technical High School and East Boston Preparatory School were encouraged to purchase tickets ahead of time for the Halloween Sadie Hawkins dance.[15] The students and staff at Suffolk County Charter School prepared costumes and celebrated an annual Halloween festival.[6]
Other events include Watoga High School's annual Monster Mash Monday, an annual tradition taking place the Monday before Halloween, where students wielding bats and sticks bash in a piñata head filled with toys and candy worn by a teacher.[16][17] Although student involvement was voluntary, teachers were pressed into service, suggesting in response that their robotic assistant teachers be utilized instead.[17][18]
Student misbehavior revolving around pulling pranks was common leading up to the traditionally mischievous holiday, resulting in school administrators outlining rules and regulations ahead of time.[19] Announcements encouraged students to file formal complaints if they wished to contest whether their actions qualify as a "trick" or not.[19][20] In an effort to quell overindulgence in candy, schools such as Watoga High installed SMART choice machines, exchanging candy for prizes.[21][22][23]
Costumes played a significant role in Halloween events, worn to parties, while trick-or-treating, or as allowed on a temporary basis at various schools.[24] Businesses such as Freddy Fear's House of Scares catered to those seeking annual disguises, offering a variety of choices, including costumes of a witch, skeleton, clown, vampire, Lady Liberty, a Red Chinese invader, American soldier, and Sock Hop Susie.[25][Non-game 5][26] Others chose to create costumes by hand.[27][28][Non-game 6] Other popular costumes include those emulating the Pint-Sized Slasher and Captain Cosmos,[Non-game 7] utilizing a wide variety of materials.[29]
Schools allowed students to wear their costumes to school in some cases, holding their own costume contests, so long as the students abided by applicable handbook guidelines.[20][30] In addition, around the Halloween season, after school detentions were canceled.[31] A costume contest was also sponsored by Freddy Fear's, advertised throughout Appalachia, the Commonwealth, the Mojave Wasteland, and the Capital Wasteland.
Trick-or-treating was an event tied to the celebration of Halloween, where individuals would travel from residence to residence to gather candy, sometimes accompanied by Miss Nanny bots.[32][33] Trick-or-treating was also offered as an attraction at larger events, such as at the Tyler County Fairgrounds Halloween carnival.[8] Adults also donned costumes, engaging in trick or treating as well as heading to parties at local establishments.[7]
Halloween events also included the popular tradition of decorating with pumpkins, carving and displaying them alight around homes and businesses.[34][35] A jack-o-lantern themed attraction known as the Pumpkin House was established in 1978, beginning with only four pumpkins carved for a Halloween display.[2][36] Over the years, the number of hand-carved pumpkins grew to over 300, attracting large groups of tourists and becoming one of the most popular attractions in Appalachia.[1][2][37]
Post-War[]
The celebration of Halloween continued after the Great War. The residents and business owners of Diamond City decorate each year on October 31, and Diamond City security will complain about working on the holiday, saying "Today's Halloween, but do we get treats? Nooooo. It's all tricks, all day."[38][Non-game 8] The Neighborhood Watch in Goodneighbor will make comments about the holiday, asking passersby if they are wearing a Halloween costume, or are just naturally ugly.[39] They will also wish others a Happy Halloween, followed with a question as to if they are scared yet.[40] If wearing the Silver Shroud costume in Vault 81, the citizens will give compliments, asking if it is Halloween already.[41]
The Maître d' at Bolton Greens will ask the Vault Dwellers for assistance in preparing for the long-past Halloween gala event.[42] It will ask afterward if they think the adornments were sufficient or not.[43][44][Non-game 9] When speaking with Codsworth, it will lament that the war cut short plans to celebrate Halloween and be visited by all the young trick-or-treaters centuries earlier. However, Codsworth will mention that it recently spotted Ms. Rosa's son, running around the neighborhood in his costume, a week before Halloween.[45][46]
At the post-War Pumpkin House, the automated attendant Jack O' Lantern is still functioning according to its original directives, preparing for the upcoming Halloween festival.[47] If assisted in collecting pumpkins for carving, Jack will provide rewards such as pumpkin grenades and radioactive pumpkin seeds.
Vault dwellers who wore a Pip-Boy 2000 received a Halloween greeting on the device every October 31.[48]
In Vault 51, during the now-defunct Nuclear Winter game mode, ZAX 1.3c would provide well wishes, stating "Happy Halloween from all of us at Vault-Tec" to potential overseer candidates.[49] ZAX noted the fact that it "encourage[s] celebration of holidays that inspire bloodshed."[50] It would continue, mentioning that the holiday has inspired new additions to the vault, acquired readily from testing, such as skeletons and rotting gourds and corpses.[51][52] ZAX would state that it believes most holidays have little value, but a holiday for death such as Halloween is perfect motivation for testing.[53][54] Despite using "trick or treat" as a greeting, ZAX would report that candidates should not expect to receive any Halloween treats, as the positive effect on testing is negligible.[55][56] In addition, it shared the observation that the individual "has dressed up as a disappointing overseer candidate this Halloween" but attempts to rally confidence, stating that by failing as a candidate, one will succeed as a decoration.[57][58]
Appearances[]
Halloween is mentioned in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, as well as in Fallout 76 and its Nuclear Winter mode.
Behind the scenes[]
As Fallout 76 features a larger number of events and occasions themed around the holiday, Jeff Gardiner believes Halloween events are exciting to fans, as well as being in service to the lore of the series.[Non-game 10]
Gallery[]
.jpg "Fo4 Layton Towers (10).jpg (1.71 MB)")
References[]
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Non-game
- ↑ Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide pp. 385-386 "31. LEWISBURG: Lewisburg's miners may have been striking along the southern perimeter of town, but the majority of the townsfolk still came out to vote and celebrate Halloween with a festival, complete with stalls and a live band."
(Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Atlas of Appalachia) - ↑ Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p. 403 "NORTH MOUNTAIN LOOKOUT
Need to survey the northern mountains? Then locate this tower on a relatively steep rock slope with light scrub. Check the parked pickup for some minor junk; then scale the tower to its extra-spooky top—there's a Halloween party going on up here!"
(Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Atlas of Appalachia) - ↑ Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p. 413 "Savage Divide (Zone A) - Secondary Locations
33. Halloween Fright Farm: A small ticket shed and some Halloween-themed farm fields, though the real terror is the nearby fissure."
(Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Atlas of Appalachia) - ↑ Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p. 394 "The Ash Heap (Zone B) - Secondary Locations
38. Halloween Horror Hamlet: A Halloween-themed farmstead on both sides of the room, where pumpkins are plentiful."
(Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Atlas of Appalachia) - ↑ Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p. 452 "FREDDY FEAR'S HOUSE OF SCARES
On the edge of the tangled forest is an odd little Halloween store, filled with strange junk. Choose the front, rear, or fire escape entrances, with another entrance on the roof (key). The waffle diner has a floor safe, while the store has one on the wall. Find the Rusted Key (all the way in Toxic Valley!) to enter the rooftop bedroom, which has a collection of board games and military-grade junk."
(Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Atlas of Appalachia) - ↑ Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p. 106 "CLOTHING
If you tire of your Vault 76 clothing, you can wear the outfits of the people of West Virginia: the recently dead, the long-dead, and the pretending-to-be-dead for Halloween (vanity clothing like the Civil War–Era Suit, Skiiing Purple and White Outfit, and Halloween Costume Skeleton)." - ↑ Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p. 91: "Pint-Sized Slasher
A myth used to scare children who misbehave, the Pint-Sized Slasher is said to appear from a dog kennel at dusk to chase the children around with a Toy Knife. The Pint-Sized Slasher has been the second-best-selling Halloween costume, topped only by Captain Cosmos."
(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census) - ↑ Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p. 442: "Side Quests: Freeform Activities: Diamond City
Holidays: For some festive spirit, be sure to visit Diamond City on Halloween (10/31) and Christmas (12/25). The dates are available on your Pip-Boy (easily seen when you are waiting)." - ↑ Fallout 76 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide p. 262 "Distinguished Guests
The Maître d' at Bolton Greens, Billingsley, is in distress. He is convinced that distinguished guests will be arriving at any moment for the Halloween Gala, but the club is in such disarray! In addition to getting the robot waitstaff back to work and setting the tables, uninvited guests must be turned away and kept out of the function room so as not to disturb the guests’ delicate sensibilities." - ↑ Jeff Gardiner 2021 AMA: "The team is re-thinking how we're approaching Halloween events as we know how exciting they are to fans and in service to the Fallout Lore! Unfortunately, Mischief night caused many server issues and we're looking to replace it with a new event which we're are aiming to have out this Halloween."