Samhain (pronounced SAH-win or SOW-in) is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the darker half of the year. It is celebrated from sunset on 31 October to sunset on 1 November and was the origin of what we now know as Halloween. Samhain (like Beltane) was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies (the Sidhe - pronounced Shee) could more easily come into our world. Most scholars see the Sidhe as remnants of the pagan gods and nature spirits. It was believed that the Sidhe needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink were left for them. The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. Mumming and guising were part of the festival, and involved people going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food. The costumes may have been a way of imitating, or disguising oneself from, the Sidhe (some of whom could be mischievous or down right dangerous). Anime Girl Kristin and clothes by me... Sluggian freebie from RDNA... Mushroom caps, and boots by Nursoda and refitted to Kristin and Sluggian by me, Reipus, Zwoggel, Don Teo add-on, and PSil mushroom scene set all freebies from Nursoda... Additional scene props and figure extras from a variety of sources... Rendered in DS2.3 with absolutely no post work... 2 point-lights and 2 spot-lights with ray-traced shadows and reflections...