Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997)

Celtic festival held on the first day of November, and which Hallowe'en is the eve of. It marks the end of summer ("samhain" may mean literally that) and the beginning of winter. It is a festival during which Portals in the hollow hills known as The Sidhe open to a land of Faerie, which the Celtic fairies known as Sidhe rule; the Underworld itself may yawn open, and the dead may become manifest. It has characteristics of the Revel, and is likely to be found in tales that invoke Celtic Fantasy. [DRL/JC]
