Why Do Witches Wear Pointy Hats? The History Behind the Costume

America’s obsession with witches is older than the country itself. At first, it was rooted in fear, fueling false accusations of witchcraft, including those that led to the Salem witch trials. Beyond the courtroom, witches have been a steady presence in American culture through folk legends and local lore, fairy tales, Halloween traditions, and eventually,

Lookback: History of Halloween

Halloween is celebrated every year on October 31st. Today, Halloween is a time where people dress up in costumes, go trick or treating, carve jack-o-lanterns, tell ghost stories, and watch scary movies. Where did these Halloween traditions start? It is believed that Halloween’s origins are with the Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts were a

If You See a Spider on Halloween, You May Want to Think Twice About Killing It

Human beings need to participate in some really funky mental gymnastics to feel special. Take holidays. for instance. You don’t see a family of beavers huddling around a fire in the wintertime exchanging gifts while they sip warm beverages and munch on ginger snaps. It’s probably because they’re too busy building dams with their tails

Why are black and orange the traditional Halloween colours?

Whether you celebrate by taking your kids trick-or-treating, attending a costume party, or watching your favourite scary movies, Halloween is a beloved holiday associated with candy, mysterious creatures, and spooky events. But how much do you really know about the holiday that takes place on October 31? Have you ever wondered why people across the

The Historical Halloween Cake That Reveals Your Future Spouse

ON ONE RECENT TUESDAY NIGHT, I texted my friend Katie and asked her to come over to make some fortune-telling flatbread. When she showed up, wary but game, I explained a bit more. We were going to bake a dumb cake. The name, by the way, isn’t meant to describe a poorly-thought-out pastry. Instead, it

THE DEATH AND REVIVAL OF HALLOWEEN POSTCARDS

When you feel a nip in the air and notice the leaves turning shades of red, yellow, and orange, Halloween is around the corner. Soon, groups of pint-sized ghouls and goblins will be lining up at your doorstep declaring “Trick or Treat.” It’s hard to believe that our fun-filled Halloween originated from the 2,000-year-old Gaelic

Why Owls Are a Spooky Symbol of Halloween, According to Folklore Historians

Owls perch themselves on branches and hoot into the great outdoors on any given night, but these animals also play a big role when it comes to being spooky symbols of Halloween. According to Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist and ancient historian and professor in the classics department at Stanford University, owls have always had

9 Places That Celebrate the Wonder of Masks

Halloween isn’t the only reason you might want to cover your face. Nothing speaks to the spirit of Halloween more than a good mask: ghoulish or hilarious, frightening or realistic. But masks obviously have a long, long history beyond recent Halloween traditions. Cultures all over the world, past and present, have used meticulously crafted representations