Halloween History Trivia And Fun

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Halloween Time Is Fun Time

Every Fall I look forward to the coming of Halloween. Ever since I was a small child Halloween has always been one of my most favorite holidays.

I really enjoy all the spooky Halloween toys and decorations and seeing how elaborately some of the houses and yards are decorated for the season. I have to say that one of favorite things about Halloween are the clearance sales the next day. I usually get myself some cool and plenty of Halloween candy. My husband and I throw a big Halloween party every year so it is fun to stock up on stuff for the following year's party.

I hope that you like Halloween as much as I do and that you will enjoy this page dedicated to having fun during Halloween!

Interesting Halloween Facts and Trivia 

In Mexico the people do not observe Halloween, instead they celebrate a festival called The Day of the Dead.

Pumpkin growing can actually be a big money maker. "Biggest Pumpkin" contests are held at many festivals and the winning prize has been known to be as high as $25,000!

Christmas is the only Holiday that is more popular and generate more spending as Halloween. Overall we, in the US, spend more than 4 billion dollars each Halloween season on candy, decorations, costumes and throwing parties.

The very first year that Halloween was celebrated city-wide in the US was 1921 in Anoka, Minnesota.

Over 36 million Trick-Or-Treaters, including about 92% of children under 12, hit the streets and sidewalks of America every Halloween.

About 1/2 of adults will dress up in a Halloween costume and nearly 2/3 of adults will at least participate in Halloween activities.

In America about 86% of the people decorate their homes for Halloween.

More than 10% of American pet owners actually dress their pets up for Halloween fun.

This one is important! 90% of parents surveyed confessed to sneaking treats from their children's Trick-Or-Treat bags! (Kids, count that candy!)

The amount of candy corn made in one year (most of it being for Halloween) comes out to around 9 billion candy kernels!

Trick Or Treat! 

How Did the Practice of Trick or Treating Get Started?

Trick or Treat!

Where did the practice of dressing up in scary costumes and going door to door for treats originate? No one knows for sure how Trick-or-Treating first got started, but it is certain that it was a very long time ago.

Back in ancient times some cultures, including the Druids and the Celts, tried to appease the spirits by placing gifts of food and other items outside their doors. It is said that some of the children would dress up in costumes so they would appear to be spirits in order to sneak in and steal the gifts and treats.

trick or treat! Another possible origin for Trick-or-Treating may be the old practice of "Souling" observed by some ancient Christians. Participants would go from door to door asking for soul cakes (small pieces of bread) in return for promising to pray for the givers family members who have passed away.

Would you like to know how Halloween came to be? Why do we celebrate it in the way that we do?

At True Ghost Tales we have loads of great Halloween stuff. Learn about the origins of Halloween.

Vintage Halloween Postcards 

Here is a great collection of vintage Halloween postcards. Click the thumbnails to see the full size images:







The Halloween Jack-O-Lantern 

The first Jack-O-Lanterns were actually carved from turnips, gourds and potatoes. The custom originated in Ireland hundreds of years ago. Stingy JackThe Irish people (Celts) carved their Jack-O-Lanterns and placed small candles inside them as a way to ward off evil spirits and especially a character known as Stingy Jack.

Stingy Jack, according to their mythology, succeeded in tricking the Devil so that the Devil could not lay claim to his soul. When Jack died he discovered that he was also blocked from entering heaven. Jack was forced to wander in the darkness, trapped forever between heaven and hell. The Devil brought Jack a burning ember from the fires of hell. Jack carved out a large turnip and put the ember inside of it to fashion a light with which he could see.

Later, when the Irish immigrated to America, they began to use pumpkins to carve their Jack-O-Lanterns. The pumpkin was much larger and easier to carve and could hold a bigger candle.

Pumpkin Carving Photos 

Obama-lantern by mrgarin

Obama-lantern

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater... by Јerry

Peter, Peter Pumpkin...

HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST 24 by Free Flower

HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CO...

HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST 18 by Free Flower

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HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST 28 by Free Flower

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HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST 25 by Free Flower

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HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST 19 by Free Flower

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HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST 20 by Free Flower

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HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST 22 by Free Flower

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HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST b by Free Flower

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HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CONTEST 23 by Free Flower

HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN CO...

pumpkin eat pumpkin by jazonp

pumpkin eat pumpkin

Pumpkin Carving Videos 

Great ideas for your Jack-O-Lantern

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Wall Street Pumpkin Carving - ...

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Pumpkin Carvings

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Pumpkin Carving

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Why I Didn't Enter The Pumpkin...

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Pumpkin Carving

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Extreme Pumpkins - Pumpkin Car...

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Interesting Jack-O-Lantern Design

Dressing Up In A Halloween Costume 

Over the years Halloween costumes have become more and more elaborate and detailed. The days of cutting eye holes out in a sheet are all but gone. Today, the different choices of styles and characters is almost unlimited.

Previous generations had much simpler costumes. Sometimes our parents bought us a costume from a store, which was often just a plastic face mask. However, most parents actually created costumes for their children out of clothing, make-up and things they had around the house.

I thought it would be interesting to show you some of the old vintage Halloween costumes from yesteryear.

Vintage Halloween Costumes 

Here are some pictures I have collected of old Halloween costumes:

Vintage Underdog Halloween Costume

vintage-halloween-costume-underdog by kentuckyslone

vintage-halloween-costume-casper by kentuckyslone

vintage-halloween-costume-clown by kentuckyslone

vintage-halloween-costumes-children by kentuckyslone

Great Ghost Stories For Halloween 

New Ghost Stories Are Added Here Every Day!

trick or treat!

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Halloween Origins & Traditions 

Halloween has its origins in Ireland. When the Irish people began immigrating to America they brought their traditions and beliefs with them including, of course, the traditions of Halloween.

Halloween PumpkinThe ancient Celts of Ireland held an annual festival know as Samhain. It was a time to celebrate the ending of the harvest. It was also a time when the people believed that the boundary separating the living from the dead was at its weakest, which to them, meant that the dead could interact with the living to cause problems. Much of the traditions that were observed were intended to appease or ward off the dead spirits so they would not harm the living.

Over the years the Halloween holiday became "Westernized", but most of the things we do today to celebrate the holiday still have their roots in ancient Ireland among the Celts.

Some of the most popular activates people like to do around Halloween include; Trick-Or-Treating, Dressing up in costumes, Decorating houses and yards with spooky Halloween stuff, Carving Jack-O-Lanterns, Visiting haunted houses, Building bonfires, Telling or reading ghost stories, and Watching scary movies.


What Is Your Favorite Thing About Halloween? 

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A Family On Halloween 

Here is a spooky fun family out on the town for Halloween 2007.

Gimme Some Candy!


Haunted House Photos 

Mi Casa by Evalia England

Mi Casa

Chez Moi by Evalia England

Chez Moi

Christina's House (1999) by Z-Grade

Christina's House (1...

decrepid house by joey.parsons

decrepid house

Zombie Castle by edenpictures

Zombie Castle

Haunted House by JTHammond

Haunted House

giusto il tempo di una sigaretta by AleBonvini

giusto il tempo di u...

 by AleBonvini

Sezione Lombroso by AleBonvini

Sezione Lombroso

Villa Marchi by AleBonvini

Villa Marchi

Villa Marchi by AleBonvini

Villa Marchi

Villa Marchi by AleBonvini

Villa Marchi

Great Horror Movies From Netflix 

001- Underworld: Evolution

Working together to expose the truth about their bloodlines, vampire warrior Selene (Kate Beckinsale...
002- Saw

Would you die to live? That's what two men, Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Gordon (Cary Elwes), have to a...
003- 28 Weeks Later

In this chilling drama starring Robert Carlyle, the inhabitants of the British Isles appear to have...
004- Saw II

Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) desperately tries to catch notorious killer Jigsaw in this...
005- The Reaping

In the wake of a devastating tragedy that killed every member of her family, Christian missionary Ka...
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Haunted House Videos 

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High-Tech Haunted Houses

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Disney Mickey Mouse-Haunted Ho...

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REAL GHOST ACTIVITY IN A HAUNT...

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My House Is Haunted - A True G...

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Scary haunted house for Hallow...

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Haunted House

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Classic Monster Movies 

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'Universal Classic Monster Mo...

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Name Those B Monster Movies!

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The Monster Mash - B-Movies!

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WIND SQUID Part 3 - Video Game...

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Monster VS Alien Official Movi...

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ATARIX´S MOVIE DISCUSSIONS #7...

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Other Fun Halloween Lenses 

Would you like to know more about the history and origins of Halloween? Or want some ideas for decorating your house or throwing the best Halloween Bash? Check out these other great lenses here at Squidoo:

 

Comments & Feedback 

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Thank you for posting your commentTell us if you believe in ghosts and why. Or just drop a comment on this lens and let me know what you think or suggest something you would like added:

According to most recent Gallup Poll around 32% of people in the US believe in the paranormal. I think much more people than that are believers. What do you think about such things as ghosts, demons, poltergeists and things that go "bump in the night"?

OldGrampa wrote...

I certainly believe in ghosts and I do enjoy reading about them. Can't wait for Halloween!

ReplyPosted January 09, 2009

a_willow wrote...

Hi! Just to let you know: You are one of Graduates from September 2008 Class! :)

ReplyPosted November 06, 2008

JennaFischer wrote...

Hello, nice lens. This omforamtion is more helpful for me. Keep it up.

ReplyPosted October 25, 2008

Spook wrote...

Fantastic lens, never believed in ghosts but you have scared me into it.

ReplyPosted October 21, 2008

awelldressedbullet wrote...

You did an amazing job with your lens, loved it, it really shows the amount of effort you put into it. - Kathy

ReplyPosted October 19, 2008

CoCo08 wrote...

Great lens, Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I really love the pumpkin carving pics you added.

ReplyPosted October 18, 2008

steimannbernard wrote...

wow very professional lens:) you know its very attractive lens and almost all the details are here. colorful and nice to read not so bore.

5 scary ghouls for you! hehehehe

ReplyPosted October 16, 2008

Matthew_Ferry wrote...

Really nice lens..I've got lot's of ideas here for the Halloween.. five tricky stars for you.. ;-)

Matthew Ferry
Life Coach

ReplyPosted October 16, 2008

real_estate_hawaii wrote...

Nice lens, Halloween is fast approaching. Thanks for sharing all those information about Halloween.

ReplyPosted October 15, 2008

The_Homeopath wrote...

I've already offered to buy any peanut M&M's off my kiddos. Yum.

ReplyPosted October 14, 2008

 
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