Halloween (holiday)

Riley: “Halloween ain't a night for responsibility. It's when the ghosts and goblins come out.”

Buffy: “That's actually a misnomer-”

— Buffy Summers and Riley Finn

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Buffy, carving pumpkins during Halloween

Halloween or Hallowe'en was a holiday celebrated annually on the night of the 31st of October. Originally a pagan holiday, in modern times it had come to be associated with the supernatural. However, demons and vampires traditionally avoided hunting or attacking on Halloween and "took the night off" because they believed it to be an idiotic cliche.

However, that was not always the case; for example, Spike the rebel vampire attacked Buffy during Halloween 1997, though this was because of the chaos caused by a spell cast by Ethan Rayne. The Rebel Vampire Posse purposely hunted during Halloween, breaking this rule in an attempt to show they were rebels. 

Wolfram & Hart traditionally celebrated Halloween with an annual Halloween bash organized by the firm's Entertainment Division.

Since the supernatural became public, it was formed a tradition of celebrating Halloween at Sunnydale, in "celebration of the occult at the town that proved its existence."

Events

On Halloween night 1997, sorcerer and chaos worshiper Ethan Rayne caused havoc by enchanting those who bought costumes from his costume shop to magically transform into whatever they were dressed as.

On Halloween 1999, Buffy Summers and her friends found themselves at a frat party gone awry due to the accidental summoning of Gachnar, the demon of fear.

Anya dressed as a "Charlie's Angel" and Xander as a pirate at a Halloween party.

On Halloween 2001, Buffy and her friends celebrated with a party, whilst Dawn Summers went out with her friend Janice Penshaw and two young vampires: Zack and Justin. Zach and Justin belonged to a gang of "rebels" who decided to break the rules and go hunting.

On Halloween 2003, Wolfram & Hart, now under the management of the Angel Investigations team, organized their annual Halloween bash, but strange events occurred because Lorne, the new head of the Entertainment Division, had his ability to sleep removed to cope with the demands of his new job; lacking the ability to sleep while still possessing the need to do so, Lorne's subconscious eventually physically manifested as a means of coping with the subconscious conflicts that Lorne would normally have processed as he slept. It went around, attacking and seemingly killing all those who had recently angered Lorne, though it vanished when Lorne's ability to sleep was returned.

On Halloween 2006, the first Halloween after the creation of a new Seed of Wonder and the restoration of magic on Earth, Andrew Wells stole the Slayer Handbook and returned to Sunnydale, planning to use it and the new rules of magic to his advantage to resurrect Jonathan Levinson and Tara Maclay in an attempt to atone for his past sins; however, his efforts attracted a Soul Glutton. After the creature was dealt with, Buffy and Willow convinced Andrew not to go through with it.

Costumes

Buffy Summers

1997: 18th Century Girl
1999: Little Red Riding Hood

Xander Harris

1997: Soldier boy
1999: James Bond
2001: Pirate

Willow Rosenberg

1997: Hot rocker chick/ghost
1999: Joan of Arc

Rupert Giles

1999: Mexican man

Anya Jenkins

1999: Bunny
2001: Charlie's Angel

Oz

1999: "God"

Cordelia Chase

1997: Cat

Larry Blaisdell

1997: Pirate

Josh

1999: Rasta Jamaican

Rachel

1999: Hula girl

Devlin

2003: Human bean

Gallery

Buffy in her costume

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Willow as a rocker chick

Willow as a ghost

Cordelia as a cat

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Buffy, an 18th Century Girl and Xander, a Soldier

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The Scoobies in their costumes

Giles as a Mexican

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Buffy, as Red Riding Hood and Xander, as James Bond

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Willow, as Joan of Arc and Oz, as "God"

Anya, dressed as her worst fear, a bunny

Xander, a pirate and Anya, a Charlie's Angel

Rachel as a Hula Girl

Devlin, as a human

Behind the Scenes

• The non-canonical tie-in novel Halloween Rain portrays Halloween in a totally opposite light to how it is portrayed in the show. Rather than having an aversion to towards the holiday, vampires embrace it to the extent that they openly walk among humans in their vamp-face.

Appearances

• "Halloween"
• "Innocence" (Only mentioned)
• "Band Candy" (Only mentioned)
• "Fear, Itself"
• "Hero" (Only mentioned)
• "Goodbye Iowa" (Only mentioned)
• "All the Way"
• "Beneath You" (Only mentioned)
• "Slouching Toward Bethlehem" (Only mentioned)
• "Life of the Party"
• Return to Sunnydale, Part One
• Return to Sunnydale, Part Two