efore we get to the parties, we felt it necessary to explain the history behind the tradition a little.

And so it came to pass

Hallow’s End was a celebration in Lordaeron, it was believed that during this time the barrier between the living and the dead was thin and those who passed away could be sensed. The tradition was that at the end of the harvest season, a straw effigy was erected, and burned at sunset. Anyone passing by could toss a branch into it, to, in a way, burn away anything they did not want to carry into the more quiet, reflective months of winter. This celebration has evolved, mixing tradition with fun, but apart from being a night filled with costumes, candy, and alcohol, is also the day undead were freed from the Lich King’s Dominance and formed the Forsaken. This day celebrates freedom, to a personal level, to be who are or who you want to be, no matter what others might think, to leave behind the bad and look for a better future. During this time of the year there are several parties, and of course we went to all of them, even the ones that were one right after the other, not because we like to party but to inform our readers and make sure they don’t miss it next year.

Haunted Ballroom

On Saturday 23rd in an elegant manor in Duskwood the Haunted Ballroom took place. A great party hosted by the Hummingbird Emporium and Kialandi, which in her initial speech explained the meaning of the celebration for those unaware. The place was crowded, and it was great and fun to see so many people dressed as different things, trying to recognize friends was a feat. On a side note, even if the quality of the music was excellent, there were a couple of comments from guests about how they would have preferred something faster to dance to in a party. The best part of the night was the costume contest, where one could see fairies, witches, dragons, drust worgens, warlocks, demons, bandits, and pirates, just to name a few. In the end the winners were the following: 1st place – Mannfred Dieter as King of the Alliance 2nd place – Elanaris and Theramar as Divine and Demonic 3rd place – Tinka Bartenson as a Colourful Fly Honourable mentions - Bertel as Voo-jim and Brian as Fruit Bowl. However, the night ended on a sour note when some humans found the costume of the winner, a Forsaken, disrespectful, and they insulted the hostess and organization. This was also followed by some screams of members of the Horde insulting those that felt offended.

Hallow’s End at the Blue Recluse

A very good reason not to hate Monday, or at least not Monday 25th as the Blue Recluse hosted another party and well, walking around that party was a challenge like no other. Just to get a drink I even considered if the best path was above chairs and tables and jumping over people but seemed too dangerous. In such a crowd it was hard to recognize anyone, even harder when most people used a different costume than the previous night. The peak of the night was the raffle that had prizes as gift cards from stores in Dalaran and Stormwind such as TK Studios of Kialandi’s chocolates. Sadly, it seemed none of the winners was present, maybe they were still dealing with the hungover from Saturday…

Hallow’s End market, ball, and job faire

Right the following day, a party and a job faire took place in Duskwood, with the music of Baldemar, from Shredding Accordingly, organised by Brienne Langedijk and funded by the Queen Tiffin Ellerian Foundation. I took the chance of a more relaxed party to ask people about what does Hallow’s End mean to them and if they liked the parties: Xabia: "I am... not entirely sure, sorry. But the parties have been most enjoyable, yes! I enjoyed wearing the costumes." Danerios Starshine: "I heard there was paladin who was driven mad? Dont know much more about it. And I quite enjoy it. Some of the costumes people come up with are simply breathtaking." Anonymous person at the party: "Mrh. It celebrates letting go of past misfortunes and welcoming a new season. It is why for example, the wickerman is burned... I'm personally not one for too many celebrations however, but this time of the year? I enjoy it."

Hallow’s End Spooktacular

On Saturday 30th, after some deserved rest, the celebration continued at Shadowfang Keep with the Hallow’s End Spooktacular organised by Leliti and Khari. The party had an excellent themed menu served by The Fel’s Kitchen, along their usual menu. If there was a moment to remark of the night was indeed the pumpkin carving contest. Vivian, who got in second place, presented a very detailed image of a zombie chicken throwing up, clearly a horrifying image. Ashley, who got the third place, went for a more traditional approach of a scary pumpkin, but the size of it and the detail, as well as the good work on it made a lasting impression. An anonymous contestant under the name V presented a magnificent image of a dragon spitting fire on a woman, protected by a man aiming his sword at the dragon, the way the image was carved used the space for the candle to even make the scenery more vivid. Tristepin presented a realistic image of a worgen, and Daelrion presented an image of a wolf, sitting on a rock, howling to the moon, surrounded by leaves and forest. Finally, in the first position Visemar presented a demonic pumpkin, with sticks getting out of it, horns, sharp teeth, and one big eye. The final detail is that it had fel fire, making it look like a real Darkglare. The celebration also held a costume contest, attended by a numerous amount of people in an impressive display of creativity to find new and breath-taking dressings.