Explore the history and traditions of Halloween, and find out which monster you are!
This tradition, especially popular among children, involves dressing up in costumes and going door-to-door in their neighborhood, usually after sunset. At each house, they ask for sweets, snacks, or a small gift by asking, "Trick or treat?"
The tradition has its roots in the medieval practice of "souling," where the poor would go door-to-door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2). It became mainstream in the United States in the 1950s, and has remained a popular Halloween custom.
Halloween is synonymous with costume parties. People of all ages dress up in costumes, often as characters from popular culture or classic Halloween figures like witches, vampires, or ghosts.
The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. The wearing of costumes at Halloween may come from the belief that supernatural beings, or the souls of the dead, roamed the earth at this time.
This is the practice of carving a scary or funny face into a pumpkin, hollowing it out, and placing a light inside to illuminate it.
The tradition comes from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, which became an integral part of Halloween celebrations.
This is a game often played at Halloween parties where apples are placed in a tub or a large basin of water, and participants try to grab the apples only using their teeth.
This tradition is thought to have originated from the Roman invasion of Britain. The Romans brought with them the apple tree, a representation of the goddess of fruit trees, Pomona. When the Romans incorporated celebrations of Samhain with their own, bobbing for apples became part of the festivities.
Haunted attractions are entertainment venues designed to thrill and scare patrons with a variety of methods, including gruesome and frightening themes or sets.
The origins of the haunted house date back to 19th-century London, when a series of illusions and attractions introduced the public to new forms of gruesome entertainment. In the U.S., haunted houses became popular during the Great Depression, and have grown into large-scale attractions that include hayrides, corn mazes, and more.
Ghost stories and scary tales are a big part of the Halloween tradition, often told at parties or before bedtime on Halloween night.
This tradition dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, where it was believed that the veil between this world and the next was thinnest and that the departed could return to earth. Telling tales of ghosts and spirits helped explain the unexplainable in the world around them.
Horror films and Halloween go hand in hand. Every October, there's an uptick in horror movie viewing as people get in the Halloween spirit.
Horror as a genre has been popular in film since the beginning of cinema. However, Halloween-themed films and the tradition of watching horror films during the Halloween season became more prominent with the release of Halloween by John Carpenter in 1978.