Halloween traditions and their history

Halloween is a special holiday filled with many fun aspects and traditions. Carving pumpkins, dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, witches and black cats are some of the first things that come to mind when one thinks about Halloween. But, the history of Halloween is one that is broad, mysterious and full of lore. The origins

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,

35 Most Haunted Places in the World

While some haunted houses may seem a little hokey — filled with actors dressed as ghouls, goblins, and mad scientists — many places around the world have well-earned reputations for being actually haunted. Some of these spots are shrouded in mystery, with creepy legends about them passed down through the centuries. Others are much newer,

Are There Ghosts and Witches in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow?

Ac­cord­ing to Sara Mas­cia, Ex­ec­u­tive Di­rec­tor of The His­tor­i­cal So­ci­ety, Inc. of Tar­ry­town and Sleepy Hol­low, there have al­ways been ru­mors about “spooky peo­ple and spooky hap­pen­ings” in our two vil­lages. In the 18th and 19th cen­turies, towns­peo­ple were very su­per­sti­tious, and any­one who was dif­fer­ent was con­sid­ered to be a witch. The Chron­i­cles of

Deep Merseyside tunnels ‘haunted by dwarves and witches’

There have long been legends surrounding deep caves in St Helens Crank Caverns, formerly Rainford Delph Quarry, is an abandoned cave system to the north of St Helens. Due to the sheer size and darkness of the tunnels, urban legends and myths have been dreamed up by adults and kids alike. The legends range from

The Legend Of Witches Flying On Brooms Explained

Witches flying through the air on brooms is an iconic image associated with Halloween. But how did the two — witches, brooms — become associated with one another? It’s hard to say, since both have folklore reaching back hundreds of years. Most trace the origin of Halloween to the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, a

Salem Tour Guide Recalls Spooky Encounter at Town’s Oldest Burial Ground

Life as a tour guide in Salem, Massachusetts has got to be quite the adventure. Even the mainstream history of that town is chock full of witches and evil spirits, and folks coming to visit are more likely to be looking for the spooky stuff than simple stories of maritime imports and hardworking colonists. For

Woman Discovers ‘Witch’s Well’ In Forest

New Jersey has its fair share of supernatural occurrences, from haunted lakes to tales of the Jersey Devil. This wooded area in Mount Holly, Burlington County is home to the legendary Witch’s Well. Officially, the “Witch’s Well” is an old pump house, but local legend holds that it was once a well that had big

Witches and Walpurgis Night

In modern British and American popular culture, Halloween is the night most associated with the nocturnal activities of witches and the souls of the dead. But in much of Europe the 30 April or May Eve, otherwise known as Walpurgis Night, was another moment when spirits and witches were thought to roam abroad. The life

The Easter Witches of Sweden

Today’s lighthearted Easter tradition traces its roots to the witch trials and conspiracy theories of the 16th and 17th centuries. Ah, Easter. The time for egg hunts, bunnies, and… witches? As folklore scholar Fredrik Skott writes, Easter witches are, in fact, a longstanding Swedish tradition. Skott traces the idea of the Easter witch to the