Whilst the United States has a tradition of Halloween stretching back hundreds of years, the British celebration of All Hallow’s Eve, the night prior to All Hallows’ Day (also known as All Saints’ Day), has only experienced a resurgence of interest in recent years. Now know principally a secular celebration, in Christian tradition Halloween was an important liturgical tradition concerning the remembrance of the dead. The Protestant Reformation, with its rejection of Christian dogma such as purgatory, was instrumental in the diminution of the festival’s importance. With the emergence of Guy Fawkes Night on November 5 from around 1605, the celebration of Halloween, five days earlier, reduced further.
It’s not surprising, therefore, that in the Doctor Who MInd Robber’s survey of 1960s Doctor Who we could find no references whatsoever to Halloween. What we did stumble upon was Journey into Terror, also known as Episode 4 of the 1965 story The Chase. As an adult the episode appears extremely tacky, although to a five or six year old child it would undoubtedly be a source of nightmares. Journey into Terror chronicles the TARDIS crew’s adventures in a Haunted House. Although the Doctor and his companions are in a 1996 fairground attraction the Doctor believes them to be in dark recesses of the human mind. Count Dracula, Frankenstein and the Grey Lady all reside in the house and are impervious to the extermination attacks of the Daleks. Vicky goes missing and a facsimile robot of the Doctor is made by the Daleks. Join us for this photo essay of the Doctor’s journey through a world of horror. Happy Wholloween!

The Daleks are pursuing the Doctor and his crew in their time machine. The Doctor informs his companions that the Daleks will be closer to them after the next landing

The TARDIS lands in an old mansion of a house. The Doctor deduces that they are somewhere in Eastern Europe

On disembarking from the TARDIS the crew are immediately subjected to strange phenomena. A bat swoops down on Barbara and Vicki
- Iain feels a shiver up his spine as a ghost passes through him

Unknown to the Doctor and his crew, the Haunted House is actually part of a fairground display for the 1996 Festival of Ghana. Such was the fear of China in the Sixties that this African state had been annexed by China

Barbara tells the Doctor that they could repair the Ship’s time mechanism, and retrieve Vicki, if they all work together

The robotic replica of the Doctor is produced. The Daleks clearly have bad sight as they believe that the replica is indistinguishable from the original

The Doctor and his companions view the TARDIS scanner. Outside there’s swampy terrain which would be difficult for the Daleks

As the credits begin to roll the audience are shocked to learn that the next episode is entitled “The Death of Doctor Who”
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
What great pictures. I feel black and white film adds to the Halloween spirit. It just bleeds film noir and is so beautiful to watch! Also don’t forget to come see the 1st episode of “A Seat on a Train” which released today in honor of this horrific holiday!!! Check it out at http://www.aseatonatrain.com If you love “The Twilight Zone” then come take “A Seat on a Train!”
Thanks for your comment and I’ll check out your link.