19 Spooky Halloween Facts We Bet You Didn’t Know!

Taking a cue from Jack Skellington and the rest of Tim Burton’s characters… Halloween is hands down the best holiday of the year (maybe second to Xmas?… Dependable). But, have you ever thought of where Halloween came from? Why do kids ring people’s doorbells and beg for candy? Who came up with the idea of dressing up as someone you’re not? And how come we all love the idea of being scared out of our minds!

Halloween has some pretty weird facts attached to its name. And we bet you don’t know most of them!

19 Spooky Halloween Facts

1| More Irish than St. Patty’s

Ireland is typically believed to be the birthplace of Halloween. Unlike St. Patricks day, Hallows Eve is dated back to Ireland and the Celts.

2| Festival for the Dead aka Leave Treats for Hungry Spirits

Halloween comes from a Celtic festival for the dead called “Samhain.” Irish Celts believed the ghosts of the dead would roam the Earth on this day, so people would dress up and leave “treats” out on their front doors for the roaming spirits.

3| Nice Pumpkin Norm…

The largest pumpkin ever measured was grown by Norm Craven, who broke the world record in 1993 at 836 lb. That seriously is the size of a Walrus!

4| Old as Dirt

Halloween is thought to have originated around 4000 B.C. Which means it has been around for over 6,000 years.

halloween witch

6| You say Witch like its a bad thing…

The word “witch” comes from the Old English “wicce” which means “wise woman.” In fact, wiccan were highly respected people at one time. According to popular belief, witches held an important meeting on Halloween night.

7| Witches at Midnight

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.

8| Halloween Town

Salem, Massachusetts is the self-proclaimed Halloween capital of the world.

haunted house

9| Dance and Treat!

Did you know people use to dance for treats on Halloween?! Trick or treaters in medieval times would go door-to-door asking for treats and in return would dance, sing, or pray.

10| Bone Fires

During the Halloween celebration, bonfires were lit to ensure the sun would return after the long winter. Often Druid priests would often throw the bones of cattle into the flames and, hence, bone fire became bonfire.

11| Dressing up wasn’t about being sexy or scary… It for a disguise!

Dressing up as ghouls and other spooks originated from the ancient Celtic tradition of townspeople disguising themselves as demons and spirits. They believed that disguising themselves this way would allow them to escape the notice of the real spirits wandering the streets during Samhain.

12| No Teen Spirit

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. LAME!

13| Not Soo Pumpkin-y

Jack-o’-lanterns were once made out of turnips, beets, and potatoes — not pumpkins.

14| Jack O’ Lanterns

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.

halloween pumpkins

15| Halloween Fear is Real

Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween. This fear can also present it’s in these other types of phobias like Phasmophobia which is the fear of ghosts; wiccaphobia, the fear of witchcraft; and the fear of darkness, hyctophobia.

16| Meow

Black cats get a bad rap during this time of year because they were once believed to be protected their master’s dark powers.

17| The Black Cat

Black cats have become so associated with witchcraft powers that animal shelters have taken steps to protect these felines by not allowing them to be adopted on around this time of year.

18| Fake or Real?

It isn’t out of the norm to see some crazy good decoration for Halloween, especially when it comes to blood and gore. But, there have been a few accounts of people actually seeing dead bodies. This exact thing happened to a postman when he saw a really realistic looking “dummy” dead on the ground. He later found out it was an ACTUAL body!

19| Sweet Tooth

Did you know that Americans will buy 600 million pounds of candy on Halloween? Want to know more interesting facts about Halloween Candy?

haunted house utah

Join us at Castle of Chaos! Do you think you’re brave enough?