Tag: halloween

  • Pakistani social media is seriously debating why we celebrate Halloween

    Pakistani social media is seriously debating why we celebrate Halloween

    On Halloween Day, while the world is breaking the internet by posting their pictures of themselves in their Halloween costumes, Pakistan is debating why a ‘foreign holiday’ being celebrated in our country?

    Wasim & Shaniera Akram with Sharmila Faruqi and Hisham Riaz at a Halloween party last year

    The debate ranges from people discussing how it’s against Islam to celebrate a ‘pagan’ holiday and others saying that ‘The West’ does not celebrate Eid, so why is Pakistan celebrating their holidays? The counter-argument to this is that if that’s the case, then we should also not celebrate birthdays.

    Sheheryar Munawar at a previous Halloween party

    Others are pressing the fact that Pakistanis need to live and let live and if people want to celebrate Halloween they should be allowed to do so; the counter to which is that celebration of the event is ruining our culture and should not be promoted.

    Ahmed Ali Butt at a Halloween celebration

    Despite people passing judgement against the celebration of Halloween, there are many events happening in major cities for children to dress up and enjoy the holidays. Some people are planning small trick or treating events in their areas, hoping it also promotes their children to get to know their neighbours.

  • Spooky halloween events in your city

    Spooky halloween events in your city

    Halloween is the day when the boundary between the living and the dead becomes a blur and the ghosts of the dead return to earth. But the question is how to celebrate this creepy day properly.

    Here are a few events in major cities that might make your Halloween a little more spooky.

    For people in Lahore

    Howdy, Johar Town

    Lahoris can head over to Howdy Johar town for a drum circle and wear the spookiest costume if they want to win the best costume award.

    Date: 31st Oct (Today)

    Time: 7 PM – 10 PM

    Venue: 7 R3, Johar Town, Near Shaukat Khanum Hospital

     

    Emporium Mall

    Emporium mall’s spooktacular Halloween will last till 3rd November. You can find the gruesome graveyard, tarot card reading, exorcism room, and haunted house all in one place.

    Date:  24th Oct- 3rd Nov

    Time: 11 AM-11 PM

    Venue: Johar Town

     

    Karachi

    Halloween at islands of fun

    If you are a Karachiite, you can spend your Halloween with some adventurous rides along with Halloween competitions and prizes at ‘Halloween at islands of fun’.

     

    Date: 31st Oct

    Time: 3PM-12AM

    Venue: Islands Of Fun, Main University Road, Gulshan-e-Iqbal

    Koyla Chai

    If you are more of a scary movie type person, you can visit the Koyla Chai for an Open Air cinema to watch horror movies.

    Date: 31st oct

    Time: 7 PM – 10 PM

    Venue: 7 R3, Johar Town, Near Shaukat Khanum Hospital

    Islamabad

    Safa Gold Mall

    Grab your broomsticks and head over to Safa Gold Mall for trick or treat.

    Date: 29th Oct- 3rd Nov

    Time: 3 pm-9 pm

    Venue: Safa Gold Mall, Jinnah Super, College Road, F-7 Markaz

    Centaurus Mall

    At Centaurus mall’s haunted city, you can explore horror house, blood-curdling makeover and photo booth.

     

    Date: 1-3rd Nov

    Time: 11AM-11PM

    Venue: F-8, 4th floor, Centaurus Mall.

  • Earn $20,000 – by completing a terrifying tour at a ‘Haunted House’

    Earn $20,000 – by completing a terrifying tour at a ‘Haunted House’

    Russ McKamey, owner of a Haunted House in Tennessee, offers visitors $20,000 if they complete a 10-hour tour of the house. The tour is apparently a very disturbing and horrifying experience. No one has so far been able to complete the tour. McKamey’s Manor tour is known as the scariest haunted attraction in the United States.

    Before you go on this haunted tour, you are required to sign a 40-page waiver, insurance and get a doctor’s clearance.

    Details of the waiver here:

    Participants who can visit the Manor have to be 18-20 with parental approval or be 21 and older. Once they go inside, “there is no quitting unless serious physical or psychological injury is present.” Having a panic attack doesn’t count!

    The haunted experience

    Reports say that the disturbing tour may also include choking, shock dog collars, and tasers.

    The waiver says that “injuries may occur during their tour…which may include, but not limited to, head, neck and back injuries, death, stroke, and traumatic brain injury.”

    No one has completed the haunted house tour

    Even though some visitors have taken legal action against McKamey, he’s protected by the waivers and video footage.

    You have to sign a 40 page waiver before you can go in

    A Change.org petition was started to shut down McKamey Manor, due to concerns over physical and mental trauma. Almost 60,000 people have signed it so far, which says the experience is “a torture chamber under disguise” and “some people have had to seek professional psychiatric help and medical care for extensive injuries”.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The video on the haunted house has more than 3M views on YouTube
  • What is Halloween & how it is trending in Pakistan?

    What is Halloween & how it is trending in Pakistan?

    Halloween parties are a big thing in schools, universities as well as at private events. They are no doubt a lot of fun and the spooky decor and trick or treating make it even more entertaining. However, many people do not know what Halloween is.

    For starters, Halloween is celebrated every year on 31st October and this year Halloween falls on Thursday, October 31. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.

    According to tradition, the concept of Halloween was introduced by the Celts, a collection of tribes with origins in central Europe. The Celts lived 2,000 years ago and celebrated their new year on November 1.

    Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred. Hence, on the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

    How is Halloween relevant to Pakistan?

    Google trends show that Halloween was one of the highest searches in Pakistan in the past day. It was majorly searched in Islamabad, Punjab, and Sindh. 

    Meanwhile, when we observe other searches relevant to Halloween, Google Trends shows that Halloween celebration, costume and Halloween costumes were searched by most people in Pakistan.