The shops are full of American Halloween tat like pumpkins, trick-or-treat bags and plastic crap. This has nothing to do with Scottish Culture. It’s part of the creeping Coca-Colanisation of the world’s cultures. Here we have Tumshie (turnip) Lanterns and guising (doorstep singing) for cash. Trick or Treating contains an element of revenge when you don’t get what you want; it’s American. Scots bairns used to just move on to the next house or, at worst, throw soor-dooks (sour milk and sops) at the houses of people who did not comply with the bairns requests. Try scraping raw eggs off your windows when they have set and hardened. Soor-dooks can be wiped off a door with a wet cloth. Boycott American Halloween and teach bairns their own Culture.

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The Scottish origins…

Scotland is well-known for its long and complicated association with the supernatural. For centuries, the otherworldly has influenced some of Scotland’s most famous writers, particularly those who speak and write in the Scots language. This Halloween, Dictionaries of the Scots Language present some favourite Spooky Scots!