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Haunt Your House!

Haunt Your House
Party Kit
Includes over a dozen items to turn a house into a spooky haunted house of fun. Great for parties! Comes with: (3) Door Decorations, (8) Spooky Eyes, (12) Ghostly Footprints, (1) Spider Web, (3) Inflatable Halloween Heads, (1) Halloween Sound CD, (1) "Popping Pad" Sheet, (3) Hanging Ghosts, PLUS a booklet of spooky haunted house ideas!

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Halloween Facts, Myths, and Strange Customs. Did You Know...?

I've come across some interesting cultural Halloween facts and information that I found quite intriguing. For instance, do you know what the difference is between a witch and a warlock? Or are you aware that fairies are part of this spooky night's celebrations? Have fun reading some of the unique and fascinating Halloween customs that were (and in some cases still are) practiced around the world that are close to or involve the mystical night of October 31st.

An Irish Halloween - Photo: wikipedia.org

Witches, Warlocks, and Wizards... Oh My!

When we think of witches, we typically think of a female that has been gifted with supernatural powers. Warlocks though, according to historic Christian traditions, are said to be the male equivalent of witches, and instead of brooms, they are believed to ride on pitchforks. In Scottish traditions, the term warlock simply meant a male wizard or witch. However, the word "warlock" is believed to be derived from the Saxon word "wær-loga", which means deceiver or oath-breaker. Many modern Wicca practitioners avoid this term and/or find it offensive, for good reason, and just use the term male witch.

What's Familiar About That Cat?

It has always been believed that a witch keeps a special animal companion called a "familiar." A familiar, however, isn't just your ordinary flesh and blood animal... it is purportedly an animal-shaped spirit who willingly serves their owner in a variety of roles, such as spying on enemies or even bewitching them. The most well-known of these spirit-animals is the black cat, although less-common animals are also used, such as owls, dogs, wolves, crows, and ravens. Black cats were the most popular as they were believed to be shape shifters. Because of this, people alleged that witches could transform themselves into these cats by reciting a spell and then were able to travel about doing evil things unnoticed. In any case, can you imagine having a cat that listens to you? Definitely a myth!

Tell Me A Fairy Tale

In some cultures, fairies (also spelled Faeries), are associated with the coming of All Hallows Eve. In Ulster, Northern Ireland, for example, people believed that fairies were fallen angels. So, in order to protect their children from potential harm, parents would place a mixture of oatmeal and salt on the children's heads. Certainly something every child looked forward to.

A Candle Lights The Way

In Ireland, it has been the custom to light a candle on Halloween night for each deceased relative in the room in which the person's death occurred. Another Irish tradition is to place lighted candles on each window sill. Why? Well, it seems to be one of two reasons (or perhaps it's both) - the candles supposedly keep evil spirits out of the house, while at the same time, helping departed souls find their way home.

It's Punkie Night!

There has long been a fun tradition that children follow on the last Thursday in October within the Somerset villages of Chiselborough and Hinton St George. This tradition involves carving out beet lanterns from mangel-wurzels, a type of beet known locally as a punkie.

As the story goes, one day a group of men headed out to go to the annual Chiselborough St Luke's Day Fair, which had been drawing people from the local area since 1529. While there, the men got a tad bit drunk. Apparently, being so intoxicated, they had a hard time finding their way back home.

The wives of these gentlemen got impatient and somewhat worried waiting for them, so they carved out punkies to use as lanterns in order to help light their way while they were out looking for their wayward husbands. The men, with alcohol fueled imaginations, saw these shimmering lanterns and mistook them for "goolies" (the restless spirits of children who died before they were baptized), and fled in terror. This provided plenty of laughter to the womenfolk. In the years that followed, it became the custom for the local children to carve out their own punkie lanterns and parade through the villages while singing the following sing-song verse:

It's Punkie Night tonight.
Give us a candle, give us a light,
If you don't, you'll get a fright.

How Commercial Can We Get?

Very, it seems. We all know that Christmas is the #1 most successfully commercialized holiday... Halloween is #2! Halloween is reported to be a $7 billion industry and would you believe $2 billion of that comes from the sale of candy?

Why Orange and Black?

Have you ever wondered why orange and black are the primary colors for Halloween? Well, it seems that orange is the color that represents the fall harvest, and black represents the approaching darkness of winter.

The following two facts aren't tied in with Halloween, but because they are related to witches - who are associated with this holiday - I thought they were interesting bits of history to include here.

Who Was Anna Goddi?

Anna Goddi was the last person to be executed in Europe for being a witch. She was hanged in Switzerland in 1782.

The Salem Witch Trials

The famous Salem Witch Trials lasted a little over a year - between February 1692 and May 1693. It all began in the small town of Salem Village, Massachusetts (although trials were conducted in a variety of towns across the province: Salem Village, Ipswich, Andover, and Salem Town).

Two young girls (Betty Parris, age 9, and her cousin Abigail Williams, age 11) began to exhibit strange behavior: throwing fits, contorting their bodies, throwing things about the room, and uttering strange sounds. Because of this, the two girls were soon branded as witches.

When they were confronted, the townsfolk demanded to know who had "bewitched" them. The girls accused their neighbors as being witches, which quickly exploded into a large and frenzied witch hunt throughout Salem Village. Over 150 of innocent villagers were accused of witchcraft and taken to "court." Within the space of one year, twenty-nine people of the capital felony of witchcraft, and nineteen people were sentenced to death and hanged. Contrary to popular belief, no one was "burned at the stake," although one man was crushed to death with stones while the courts tried to get him to confess to practicing witchcraft.

You can read more about the history of the Salem Witch Trials at Wikipedia.org.

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