Halloween takes its name from All Hallows' Eve, the evening before the Christian feast of All Hallows' Day on 1 November, when the dead and the saints are remembered. Many scholars link its customs to the Gaelic festival Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter in Ireland and Scotland, and some suggest the Church absorbed that festival into All Hallows. Others argue that it grew independently as a Christian vigil. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried the customs to North America in the 19th century, and American culture later spread them worldwide. Activities such as carving lanterns, guising and telling frightening stories came from these older traditions.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.