BBC Radio 4.

Good morning

The rise and rise of Halloween over the past decade has been phenomenal. I remember being in the United States a few years ago over this weekend and was staggered by the plethora of tat sold in the shops in the lead up to tonight’s festivities.

You might [or might not] find it hard to believe that this year, Americans are expected to spend $7bn on Halloween, of which a staggering $364m will be on costumes for their pets. Here in Britain the craze has eerily floated across the Atlantic but not quite to the same extent.
Now I have never seen a ghost, but I have been asked to go to people’s homes to ask them to leave.

There’s nothing wrong with a humble priest giving an initial assessment as to whether or not a ghost has taken up residence in someone’s home, but getting rid of a ghost is up to an expert. Most bishops have special advisers in the paranormal who are called in to do their work. We should not make light of those who experience such spiritual turmoil.

Rev Dr Rob Marshall - 31/10/15

But make light of it, we often do and from a very early age. For the notion that ghosts and ghouls and evil spirits are just a bit of fun starts in our primary years when we are small children? The tendency is to nurture our children only to see the funny side of ghosts and evil spirits. Cartoons and children’s books all do their bit to instil in us the funny side of what happens if, what we might call heaven, is not our final destination- meaning that we are forever in transit.

The actual name Halloween derives from the eve of All Hallows, or All Saints, which the Christian community observes tomorrow. All the great saints of the church, now at rest in eternity, are brought to mind and remembered.

And then on Monday, All Souls, the faithful remember those they have loved and known. They are prayed for. Name after name is read out with deep gratitude. Tears flow for lost loved ones, and this annual reminder of those now believed to be at peace is enormously powerful to many people.

Indeed these two great days combine to dispel any lingering fear about our final destination by underlining what Jesus is absolutely clear about in the Fourth Gospel - that the one thing we need not be – is afraid.