It's spooky season this weekend, as you have doubtless already guessed from Shoutout's selection of creepy jingles. We don't need to explain why many people regard Hallowe'en as the premier queer festival of the year - as camp as Christmas, with ample opportunity to dress up, and in doing so engage in ancient customs of subverting the existing social order. Oh yes, Hallowe'en is quite rebellious politically as well as having deep ancient spiritual meaning. In the Celtic lands of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Cornwall and Brittany, it is marked as Samhain, the festival of the Celtic New Year. According to folklore, the veil between the worlds is thinnest at this time of year, and it is possible to draw close to ones ancestors and friends who have passed on. Many wiccans and pagans therefore treat this festival as the most important in their calendar. With the coming of Christianity to Europe, the theme of ancestor honouring continued in the Day of the Dead observances. In many parts of Southern Europe, it is customary to take food and flowers to the graves of the deceased, to tend them and to toast them. In more recent years, the carnivalesque traditions of Hallowe'en have expanded to include cos play and costume parties, and a huge number of queer clubs will be marking the season with sexy, seasonal parties. Our advice remains as always, have fun, have a laugh, but watch your intake of drink and drugs and be safe. Happy Hallowe'en!