The Ashland Library will present “Halloween Nation. Behind the Scenes of America’s Fright Night,” a hybrid event for teens and adults on Saturday, Oct. 9, 1 to 2:15 p.m. A leading authority on Halloween, Lesley Bannatyne traces our onetime children’s holiday-turned-adult- carnival from its origins in northwestern Europe through its recent explosion in popularity in the States. Drawing on research from her latest book, “Halloween Nation. Behind the Scenes of America’s Fright Night,” Bannatyne looks at everything from the holiday’s popularity with Victorian Americans, its incarnation as a children’s holiday, and its transformation into a holiday for everyone—from horror fans to giant pumpkin growers to whole towns—to discover what makes Halloween so fascinating for so many people.

“So much that’s been written about Halloween has been about the holiday’s history or about how to decorate, cook, and costume for it (guilty, all counts), but there’s not been much written about what it is today, who makes Halloween, and why,” writes Bannatyne in the book’s introduction.

Bannatyne’s books will be available for purchase and signing. For more information and to register to attend online, visit bit.ly/3A8ojSp.