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4         8 Creepy Things To Know About Halloween






          8 Creepy Things To Know

              About The History Of

                        Halloween



                       By Brandi Neal


          Halloween is the second favorite holiday of
          millennials, according to The Harris Poll, and
          the folklore surrounding the modern-day
          spooktacular celebration of costumes and candy
          just might make the hairs on the back of your
          neck stand up. Creepy things to know about the
          history of Halloween include a celebration of
          communicating with the dead, witches turning
          into cats, wearing masks made from dead
          animals, and more. According to Live Science,
          the day we now celebrate as Halloween has its
          roots in pagan customs dating back more than
          2,000 years.
                 "Halloween marked the Celtic New Year
          and was originally called Samhain, which
          translates to 'summer's end' in Gaelic," Live   without questioning why it's part of celebrating  don disguises so they would be mistaken for
          Science reported. Because pagans didn't have    Halloween.  The story behind the Jack-o-       spirits themselves and [be] left alone," Mental
          the technology to document their traditions on  Lantern is actually pretty creepy.             Floss reported.
          social media, facts about the fall festival are        Mental Floss reported that the tradition
          sparse, but many stories have been passed down  of carving Jack-o-Lanterns is based in Ireland, 5. Witches Transform Into Black Cats
          by word of mouth and live on in folklore.       though it began with turnips instead of
                 "There was a belief that it was a day    pumpkins. Legend has it that a man named       Black cats have become so synonymous with
          when spirits of the dead would cross over into  Stingy Jack trapped the devil, and said he would  Halloween that, in order to protect the felines,
          the other world," folklorist John Santino told  only let him go if the devil promised Jack he  most animal shelters won't allow adoptions of
          Live Science, adding that Halloween gave        would never go to hell. The devil agreed, but  black cats on Halloween, according to  The
          people a safe way to play with the concept of   Jack failed to consider that not going to hell  Spruce.  The myth that relates black cats to
          death, engage in supernatural activities, and   didn't mean he would go to heaven either.      witches goes back to the Middle Ages — despite
          dress up in ways that were not socially                Jack ended up in what is known as       this legend being totally false, many people still
          acceptable the rest of the year.                purgatory in some religious traditions, and he  fear black cats, and they tend to be the most
                 Halloween is a very different holiday in  was condemned to roam the earth as a ghost for  overlooked pets in animal shelters.
          2019, but its ancient roots still inform the way  all of eternity. "His old friend, the devil, gifted  Once the most worshiped creatures in the
          we celebrate. The creepy things to know about   Jack a lump of burning coal, which Jack carried  animal kingdom thanks to the Egyptians, the
          the history some of your favorite Halloween     around in a carved-out turnip to light his way,"  popularity of cats began to decline in the Middle
          traditions might give new meaning to your All   Mental Floss noted. "Locals began carving      Ages, according to Today I Found Out, because
          Hallow's Eve celebration.                       frightening faces into their own gourds to scare  people started to associate them with witches.
                                                          off evil spirits such as Jack of the Lantern."        As a massive and irrational fear of
          1. Supernatural Energy Informs                                                                 witchcraft washed over Europe at a feverish
                                                          3. Bats Bring Ghosts                           pace, stray cats that were often tended to by old
          Fortune Tellers
                                                                                                         women who were feared to be witches. Single,
                                                          OK, I am not a fan of bats, and have actually  elderly women were accused not only of
          In Celtic traditions, Halloween, or Samhain as it
                                                          dealt with trying to get one out of the house on  witchcraft, but also of being able to actually
          was called, was a day when the line between the
          living and the dead was blurred, according to   more than one occasion.  What I didn't know,   transform themselves into black cats. Side note:
                                                          according to Live Science, is that Medieval    I have a black cat, and I have never once used
          History.com. On this day each year, Celtic
                                                          folklore suggests that bats might have been    him to transform myself into a black cat — as
          priests known as Druids were able to
                                                          letting spirits into my house. Um, no thank you!  far as you know
          communicate with the spirit world and bring
                                                                 "One myth was that if a bat was spotted
          back fortunes for the coming year.
                                                          flying around one's house three times, it meant                        (Continued on Page 5)
                 "For a people entirely dependent on the
                                                          that someone in that house would soon die,"
          volatile natural world, these prophecies were an
                                                          Live Science reported. "Another myth was that
          important source of comfort and direction
                                                          if a bat flew into your house on Halloween, it
          during the long, dark winter," History.com
          reported. "To commemorate the event, Druids     was a sign that your house was haunted because
                                                          ghosts had let the bat in."
          built huge sacred bonfires, where the people
          gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices
                                                          4. Costumes Help People Blend In
          to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the
          Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of    With Spirits
          animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell
          each other’s fortunes."                         Multiple sources cite that the origin of the
                                                          Halloween costume actually has a practical
          2. Jack-o-Lanterns  Ward Off Evil               purpose — to blend in with spirits. During
          Spirits                                         Samhain, Celtic people believed there was a
                                                          heightened ability to communicate with the
                                                          spirit world, and not everyone thought that was
          If you stop and think about it, craving a face on
                                                          a good idea, so they tried to blend in with them
          a gourd, putting a candle in it, and setting it out
                                                          instead.
          on your porch is pretty weird. However, it's
                                                                 "To fake out the ghosts, people would
          something most people have always done
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