40 Halloween Facts
1) The first Jack O'Lanterns were actually made from turnips.
2) Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.
3) The owl is a popular Halloween image. In Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.
4) The largest pumpkin ever measured was grown by Norm Craven, who broke the world record in 1993 with a 836 lb. pumpkin.
5) Scottish girls believed they could see images of their future husband if they hung wet sheets in front of the fire on Halloween. Other girls believed they would see their boyfriend's faces if they looked into mirrors while walking downstairs at midnight on Halloween.
6) Halloween was influenced by the ancient Roman festival Pomona, which celebrated the harvest goddess of the same name. Many Halloween customs and games that feature apples (such as bobbing for apples) and nuts date from this time. In fact, in the past, Halloween has been called San-Apple Night and Nutcrack Night.
7) Mexico celebrates the Days of the Dead (D'as de los Muertos) on the Christian holidays All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2) instead of Halloween. The townspeople dress up like ghouls and parade down the street.
8) Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.
9) In 1974, eight-year-old Timothy O'Bryan died of cyanide poisoning after eating Halloween candy. Investigators later learned that his father had taken out a $20,000 life insurance policy on each of his children and that he had poisoned his own son and also attempted to poison his daughter.
10) According to tradition, if a person wears his or her clothes inside out and then walks backwards on Halloween, he or she will see a witch at midnight.
11) Teng Chieh or the Lantern Festival is one Halloween festival in China. Lanterns shaped like dragons and other animals are hung around houses and streets to help guide the spirits back to their earthly homes. To honor their deceased loved ones, family members leave food and water by the portraits of their ancestors.
12) Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred
festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.
13) Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was one of the most famous and mysterious magicians who ever lived. Strangely enough, he died in 1926 on Halloween night as a result of appendicitis brought on by three stomach punches.
14) Dressing up as ghouls and other spooks originated from the ancient Celtic tradition of townspeople disguising themselves as demons and spirits. The Celts believed that disguising themselves this way would allow them to escape the notice of the real spirits wandering the streets during Samhain.
15) In 1964, Helen Pfeil of Greenlawn, NY was arrested for handing out arsenic laced treats as a prank on teens she deemed too old for trick or treating.
16) The tradition of adding pranks into the Halloween mix started to turn ugly in the 1930's and a movement began to substitute practical jokes for kids going door to door collecting candy.
17) World War II caused sugar rationing, which stalled trick-or-treating for a number of years.
18) In 1970, a five-year-old boy Kevin Toston allegedly ate Halloween candy laced with heroin. Investigators later discovered the heroin belonged to the boy's uncle and was not intended for a Halloween candy.
19) The Village Halloween parade in New York City is the largest Halloween parade in the United States. The parade includes 50,000 participants and draws over 2 million spectators.
20) In Alabama, it is illegal to dress-up as a priest.
21) In 1950, Philadelphia-based trick-or-treaters traded in a sweet tooth for a sweet action. In lieu of candy, residents collected change for children overseas and sent it to UNICEF. Subsequently, the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program was born.
22) In Hollywood there's a $1000 fine for using silly string on Halloween.
23) According to legend, if you see a spider on Halloween, it's actually the spirit of a loved one watching you.
24) In the UK white cats are thought to bring bad luck, not like black cats in the US.
25) Many shelters don't allow black cats to be adopted around Halloween for fear that they may be tortured or sacrificed.
26) Due to safety concerns, trunk-or-treating was introduced in 2000 as an alternative to hitting the pavement for candy on Halloween night. Cars are parked in a circle at a school or church parking lot, with event-goers decorating their open trunks and dressing in costume in order to hand out treats.
27) In 2010, Belleville, Illinois, became the latest city to ban trick-or-treating for kids over 12. Teens can face fines from $100 to $1,000 for going door-to-door. (although according to officials, more often than not, over-age Halloween-goers are just given a warning).
28) The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
29) Many people still believe that gargoyles were created by medieval architects and stone carvers to ward off evil spirits.
30) Casper the friendly ghost first appeared in a series titled "Noveltoons" in 1946.
31) CSI: NY had an episode titled "Boo". This episode aired on October 31, 2007 and took place in Amityville.
32) William Shakespeare was the author of the poem "The Witches Spell", a fun Halloween poem. The Witches' Spell by William Shakespeare A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. 2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd. 3 WITCH. Harpier cries': 'tis time! 'tis time! 1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go; In the poison'd entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone, Days and nights has thirty-one; Swelter'd venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i' the charmed pot! ALL. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble. 2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. ALL. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble. 3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf; Witches' mummy; maw and gulf Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark; Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark; Liver of blaspheming Jew; Gall of goat, and slips of yew Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse; Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips; Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-deliver'd by a drab, Make the gruel thick and slab: Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, For the ingrediants of our caldron. ALL. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble. 2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon's blood, Then the charm is firm and good.
33) No matter how scary your local haunted house is, it probably can't top the Haunted Cave in Lewisburg, Ohio. Measuring 3,564 feet long, the Guinness World Records has named it the world's longest haunted house. Even spookier: It's located 80 feet below ground in an abandoned mine.
34) Trick or treating comes from the Middle-Age practice of the poor dressing up in costumes and going around door to door during Hallowmas begging for food or money in exchange for prayers. The food given was often a Soul Cake, which was a small round cake which represented a soul being freed from Purgatory when the cake was eaten.
35) The Ouija Board ended up outselling the game of Monopoly in its first full year at Salem. Over two million copies of the Ouija Board were shipped.
36) Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
37) Witch comes from the word 'wicce', an old English word that means 'wise woman'. Witches, or wiccan were once very respected. They held one of the two main meetings on Halloween.
38) When the movie Halloween was made in 1978, the mask that Michael Meyers wore was actually a Star Trek mask of William Shatner. The producers of the movie were on a tight budget.
39) Anoka, Minnesota and Salem, Massachusetts have called themselves the Halloween capital of the world.
40) According to Irish legend, Jack O'Lanterns are named after a stingy man named Jack who, because he tricked the devil several times, was forbidden entrance into both heaven and hell. He was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.
Comments
Post a Comment