For a festival started by the ancient Celts to show respect for the dead and the rebirth of the natural cycle, Hallow E'en has done pretty good for itself.

Called Halloween now, this holiday was known as Samhain (pronounced SOW-in, SOW-ween or SAV-en, depending on what part of Europe you're in). This time of the year marked the end of the Celtic year and the begining of the new year, begining on November 1st. On this special night the veil that separates the world of the living & the spiritworld would thin & souls from both sides could intermix. Many a traveler on a back road would fear that spirits would ferry them off to the here-after or make general mischef like the bands of kids that break windows & egg houses now.

Bon fires would be set just outside of villages to attract ghosts & the souls of loved ones who had passed on that year. The fires would attract the bad spirits away from peoples homes & warm the good spirits during the chilly October night. These bon fire are also where bats come into the decor of the holiday. When you have a large gathering of people all around a source of heat, you attract mosquitos. Those mosquitos attract bats who eat them. So you can just picture a giant fire in the middle of the night, a gathering all around it & bats fluttering about it.
Offerings to the departed of the past year are offered in the form of small breads & cakes. Other offerings are made to the less than benign spirits as well, to keep them from doing nasty things to you & your property. As time went on children would move from house to house asking for offerings for the spirits. This was the birth of Trick of Treat.
In some parts of Ireland the children would carry with them a makeshift, white wooden horse . The children would demand that the home owners make an offering to Macalla (pronounced Muck-Olla). Those who refused were warned that Macalla would ruin their crops & sour their cattles milk. The practice of handing out candy came from similar bands of childern that would travel from house to house for offerings of 'soul cakes'. These cakes were later replaced with candy.
The ancient Celts would dress in animal skins and heads during Samhain. This is rumored to be the origin of dressing up in costumes on Hallowe'En. Others believe that we dress up to fool wandering spirits, out for the holiday, so that they don't recognise us & take us back to the spiritworld with them.
In the southwestern United States and Mexico the festival of Des Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated by parades and elaborate altars dedicated to the dearly departed. You can learn more about this great holiday at this Dia de Los Muertos Website.
Jack O'Lanterns, those orange, glowing, globular specters have been around for centuries. The tradition of carving these happy little squashes was started in Ireland (birthplace of Halloween)..where there were no pumpkins. The first Jack O'Lanterns were carved out of turnips. The smelly vegatables were called Turnip Ghosts & carried by children as they wandered from house to house asking for an offering of food for the dearly departed..later to become Trick-Or-Treating.
Jack O'Lanterns also served a dual purpose. On the one hand, thier frightening faces were intended to frighten off any evil spirits that would decide that night was a good time to annoy you. On the other hand, the warm glow of the candle inside was meant to warm the tired spirits of loved ones whom decided to pay your home a visit that special night.
Legend has it that a rather cunning & nasty drunk named Jack was approached by the devil, who was after his soul. Jack agreed to give up his soul if the devil would join him for a drink. The devil agreeed, but seeing as Jack had no money, he asked the devil to change himself into a coin so they could pay for the drinks. The devil transformed & Jack snatched him up and placed him into his pocket next to a little crucifix. Jack made the devil agree not to bother him for a whole year. The devil agreed & was released. The next year, the devil appeared before Jack as he relaxed at the base of an apple tree. Jack was ready to go with the demon but asked if he could have a bite to eat before they made the long walk to the netherworld. Jack had his eyes set on an apple hanging high inthe branches of the tree. The devil ran right up the tree to get the apple so Jack couldn't stall anymore, but as the devil was getting the apple, Jack took out his knife & carved a cross onto the trunk of the tree. Jack made the devil agree to leave him alone for another year. Once the demon said OK, jack released him. Well, eventually jack passed on while snacking on a turnip. When jack approached the gates to Heaven, St. Peter told him that he was too nasty & coniving to get into Heaven. So Jack entered the horry neatherworld, where the devil was waiting for him. To Jack's surprise the devil didn't want him in his backyard either. So the devil condemed Jack to walk the earth till Judgement day. Jack asked for something to light his way and give him warmth at night as he trudged about the world. The devil took Jack's turnip, hollowed it out with his claw & dropped a coal from one of the neatherworlds furnaces into it. With that the devil sent jack on his miserable way with his little lantern lighting his way, to be known as 'Jack O'Lantern' for all eternity.
This myth, which varies with each telling of it, was a good way to explain the phenomenon of fox-fire & ghost lights seen out on open feilds at night. Later on, children would carve out their own Jack O'Lanters for Samhain. Once Europeans made it to the New World they found the indigenous pumpkins were much easier to carve than turnips.
The urban myths about razor blades and poisons being hidden in candy given to children on Halloween are both true & false. Yes there were a few cases where children were killed by hidden agents of death in their candy & apples on Halloween in the 70's & 80's. However these deaths were caused by the children's own families placing the poisons in their Halloween stashes.
Read more about this urban myth & others at Snopes.com.
Hey! Want to see some Jack O' Lanterns? Well, then go here and see just some of the autumnal creations I've done.
Games on Hallow E'en night usually involve divination of the future. One such game involves children huddled about a fireplace with a peice of lead or wax, the safer of the two by far. The wax is held over the flames until it's just about to melt. The wax is then held over a bowl of water & a single drip is droped into it. The shape the drop of wax makes once cooled in the water indicates the future profession of the individual who driped it.
You can learn more about this most holy of all holidays by jumping into the History Channel's Halloween Page!

Some handy places to learn more about this superior hoiday.


Your stop on the web for old fashioned Halloween games, costumes and party hosting.
With a dash of Edgar Allen Poe tossed in for good measure!
Hey, let's get right to the truth about this holiday. This site has the complete history, from Jack O'Lanterns to Turnip Ghosts!

As I've said on the regular links page, 'This is the reigning king of all holidays...shame Australia doesn't have it yet.'


This page is the mecca for Jack O'Lantern artists looking for a tip, a lesson, an idea!

Just what the title says. Halloween ideas from yesterday!

This site is dedicated to all things Halloween. If you need recipes, crafts, music, sounds, Icons, ect from Halloween, go here!
The Beistle Company has been the staple Halloween decoration source for generations! They have that 'classic' feel!

And for the history of the Beistle Company, here's your source!
The History of the Beistle Comapny on Spookshow.com

Yahoo has a whole section of their on-line warehouse of links devoted to PTA's favorite holiday. How thoughtful.

How those south of the Boarder celebrate this grand day.


Snopes.com Urban Myth Archive

Halloween & other urban myths are right here.

This man is the best Hallowe'En artist hands down. No one can even come close.

A very cool site with detailed instructions on how to make insanely different Jack O'Lanterns. I reccomend the 'fire pumpkin'!

This is a book from the early 80's that's pretty much impossible to find now.
It was written by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by the great artwork of Marylin Hafner.
Click right here to download the entire book in PDF format.
You will need to view it.

Please do not redistribute these images without our permission.

All materials on the Paradox Tulpa Arts webpage are created/copywritten/protected by Juston DeCristofaro.