‘Not a devil-worshipping show’ - Promoter defends Halloween-themed events

Party promoter and director of "the Caribbean's biggest Halloween festival - SCREAM," Jhevonte Webster, said the practice of Halloween-themed parties has become more widespread locally due to the "Americanised culture" Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals have grown to love and adopt.

While planning what he said will be one of his largest stagings for the party's third year, he credited the American culture for driving the success of his event.

"We'd think that a lot of Jamaicans shy away from Halloween but depending on the demography, you'll find that it's really appealing. When you present the idea to them, you'd realise how interested people are. The culture is definitely Americanised, but what we do is bring that in and twist it with our Jamaican idea and culture," Webster told THE STAR. He also strongly disagreed that Halloween is a 'pagan celebration'.

"The whole concept of paganism is a Euro-centric concept and it doesn't have a modern meaning as to how we operate. It's just a concept coined by Christians in England against anyone who didn't worship the same god that they worship. But this isn't religious. It's just people having fun. Young people are now educating themselves and live how we want to live, have fun and enjoy life. This isn't a devil-worshipping show; it's an internationally renowned holiday and not supmn specifically going against what a pastor says," he added.

However, Pastor Joseph Williams of the Calvary Evangelistic Church of God, insisted that Halloween is a form of "paganism [that is] distracting and diverting young people from the Church".

"That is definitely not the plan of God and I would never encourage anyone to be a part of that because [Halloween] is definitely a demonic setting that's not of God. We've seen a rise of it where persons are adopting [it], and it's taking over the population of especially our young people who are not spiritually connected, lack knowledge. As a result 'our people are perished' as the word said. And that's where I see the country heading with these new things that we're adopting," said Williams.

He opined that there's nothing that America does that Jamaicans don't gravitate to "and try to run with".

"But that's definitely the plan of the devil - to come and steal the hearts of the young people and keep them away from the church," Williams said, adding that social media also plays a huge role in disseminating these kinds of information. He pleaded to the population to "turn from our wicked ways, be vigilant and know the plans of the enemies and turn to God before it's too late because His coming is near".

SCREAM's narrative, which was derived from the American movie franchise of the same name, is themed annually to fit a thriller type or scary concept. This year's theme is 'Spooky theme park' - an integration of different concepts from different movies. The event is set for October 25 at the UWI Mona Bowl. Webster noted that approximately 2,000 partygoers were in attendance for the inaugural staging, with 3,000 the following year. He said that based on this year's outlook thus far, the organisers are looking to facilitate at least 5,000 supporters. He opined that the "unique" elements of their party is what kept patrons returning each year for more.

"It's different. Overall, the vibe is different, the ambiance, how wi promote it and decorate the venue - it appeals to that young crowd who love experimenting. Dem love different things and concept of things that evoke their personalities. For example, the first staging saw 60 per cent of patrons coming in costumes and about 90 per cent for the second staging. People love guh party but they love the idea of being a part of supmn that's different," said Webster.

For SCREAM 2024, he highlighted some special features that will include a "100 feet of just horror house vibes with a horror house tunnel upon entering the event."