Many people all over the world love celebrating Halloween, the 31st day of October. This holiday is fantastic for children because they get to walk house to house for candy dressed up in costumes. However, not many people know much information about where this holiday originated from. The majority of Halloween is celebrated in parts of the Western world with their Halloween traditions being adopted from the Celtic people. The Celts lived 2000 years ago on land that is mainly present day Ireland. They believed that on the night of Halloween, the veil between the spirit world thinned. It was believed that ghosts would return, so people would dress up as animals and evil spirits to scare away the dark entities. The practice of trick or treating was also known as “souling”; the act of asking for candy in exchange for one’s soul. The peasants would also go around asking the houses for soul cakes from the rich families. Halloween was the day that marked the end of summer, the beginning of a cold winter and is still often associated with human death. The Celts’ different cultures remain prominent to this day.

Eventually, the Americans began to adopt the Irish beliefs and ideas about Halloween. Dressing up and going house to house for money or candy became the trick-or-treating norm. This is the original souling practice from the Celtic tradition. In addition, people gathered together during the night and told ghost stories. Now, many young adults and kids celebrate with pumpkin carving contests, handing out candy, going to haunted houses, visiting pumpkin patches and many more creepy/fun events. The spookiness of the tradition still exists even though it is more hidden.

Talking about the horrors of Halloween can be interesting. Some people enjoy hearing different stories about communicating with evil spirits and entities, while others are petrified. They are terrified of the idea that they will not have possession over their own body, but there are different ways people can protect their aura. Additionally, the human body contains its own “energy field” which is impacted by negative energy. There are a numerous amount of bad spirits out on Halloween that are more than capable of stooping to new lows if given the opportunity. There have been various cases of supposed possession that have been recorded all over the world. These cases are not significantly talked about, but still impact us as human beings. Bad spirits can cause significant damage to a person. Some symptoms of possession could be unnatural body movements, speaking in different languages, and contortions. Possession is not a common event that occurs, but can be seen through a variety of horror movies like “The Exorcism” and “The Conjuring.” These are great scary movies to watch during the month of October and remind ourselves to protect our energy!

Halloween has had its share of tragedy. Along with trick-or-treating and haunted house visits, that hide the darkness beneath the holiday. Ronald O’Bryan was a man who gave his eight year old son a Pixy Stix that was poisoned with cyanide. His son threw up on the way to the hospital where he died. The police considered O’Bryan to be a potential suspect because he repeatedly changed his story. He also managed to pass out the candy to some other trick or treaters. He was found guilty of murder and faced the death sentence through lethal injection on March 31, 1984. He also became known as “The Candy Man.” After this event occurred, it triggered widespread fear over candy that was being collected from neighbors’ houses. According to Murderpedia, before he was given the lethal dose, his last words were begging for God’s forgiveness. This brutal murder was shocking all throughout America because it caused everyone to be wary of what candy they and their children were eating.

Halloween can be viewed as a dark day however, the roots of this night go deeper than the evil surrounding it. It started from the Irish’ traditional beliefs to Americans adopting those traditions and celebrating it in the United States. Kids and adults all over the world enjoy celebrating this spooky holiday. When the Candy Man planted terror among many parents and trick or treaters, this prevented kids from possibly enjoying cyanide infused candy. There are certain precautions that must be taken to ensure safety. This is a story that is in the back of many adults and children’s minds while trick or treating, so double checking the candy you eat before it is ingested is required. A lot of the candy that is received through trick or treating is also wrapped. This is a lot safer and decreases the likeliness of ingesting something toxic. Apart from the fright that comes with this holiday, it is a great time to get outside, adore other people’s costumes, and just participate in social activities. Halloween is an enjoyable holiday for kids and adults because it allows them to expand their creativity and express it through clothes or makeup. Halloween is the second most popular holiday after Christmas and is a great time to celebrate with various activities and the community around you.