Spooky monsters back at Albergue for Halloween nights

Halloween events were held on Saturday and Sunday night in the courtyard of Albergue SCM, in the city’s historic S. Lázaro District, inviting in hundreds of children and their parents for a spooky visit.

Dubbed “Macau’s most frightening experience,” the courtyard was brimming with its usual host of scary mannequins, skeletons and other monsters. Also on display were plastic limbs, cotton cobweb strewn from the Marriage Trees and a giant spider lurking in the old well.

The iconic symbols of Halloween spilled out onto the street, Calcada da Igreja de S. Lazaro, where plastic Jack-o’- lanterns hung from the overarching trees.

However, the weekend’s events seemed to lack certain elements seen in previous years. Most notably, there were fewer food and beverage options, no live music and – more worryingly – fewer people in costume.

Halloween, largely believed to have originated from Celtic pagan traditions, is celebrated traditionally on October 31. As a contemporary event, it is more often associated with the theme of evil and mythical monsters, and it is common for children and adolescents to dress in horror costumes.

The festivities at Albergue SCM marked the fifth consecutive year that Halloween has been celebrated in the courtyard. The free-admission event was organized by Albergue SCM and sponsored by the Macau Foundation. DB