The origins of Halloween go back as far as 800BC. The Irish Celts celebrated Samhain at the end of October to celebrate the end of the summer season, to give thanks for the season of harvest and to honor the dead.  The Celts believed that the souls of the dead could return to roam freely among the living in search of a living body to possess, usually a black cat.  To discourage the spirits, villagers would dress up in costumes and walk around hoping to frighten them away.  They would also make bonfires to encourage the sun to return the next year.  The villagers would keep an ember from the bonfire for good luck and take it home in a turnip with a scary face carved on it.  The scary face was carved to protect them from the spirits on their walk home.

All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints Day, originated from the Catholics.  All Saints Day was created for saints who did not already have a day to honor them. The word “hallow” is an old word for “saint.”

Later on, All Souls Day was created to honor all faithful Christians, not just saints.  On this day, people would go from door to door to ask for “soul cakes” and, in return, they would pray for their dead relatives.

Halloween in North America flourished after early immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought with them traditions of Samhain, All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day.  They would carve jack-o-lanterns, tell ghost stories, dress up in scary costumes and go from door to door begging for treats.  Halloween is celebrated all over the world, but not to the extent that it is in the United States and Canada.

Today, Halloween is definitely an American tradition and is only rivaled by Christmas in terms of retail sales.  Most Americans hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, dress up in scary or funny costumes and go to costume parties.  It’s definitely the best holiday of the year!

Halloween and vampires, like peas and a pod. What would Halloween be without our Dracula movies, without “Interview” and “Lost Boys”. But how about Halloween vampire legends and myth’s?

One very old myth is the placing of millet or poppy seeds at the grave site in order to keep the vampire busy all night long counting seeds rather that preying on relatives.

It was believed that the causes of vampirism were: being born with a caul or tail, excommunication, improper burial rituals, being born out of wedlock, dying before baptism, dying of unnatural causes, and of course, being bitten by a vampire.

Evidence that a vampire was at work in the neighborhood included: death of livestock, death of relatives, exhumed bodies, having growth of fingernails and hair or having blood on the mouth or a ruddy complexion on a corpse. If a vampire was suspect, graves were opened (3 years after the death of a child, 5 years after the death of a young person, and 7 years after the death of an adult).

It was believed that vampires could be destroyed. To kill a vampire, one might drive a stake through the heart followed by decapitation or dismemberment. They would also place garlic in the mouth of the corpse. Other methods included exorcism and throwing holy water on the vampire.

During the 18th century in Eastern Europe, there was a major vampire scare. Even government officials got involved in the hunting and staking of vampires.

One of many famous cases of vampirism occurred when a father died while haying. It was reported that he was attacked by a vampire years before. Shortly after his death, people began dying. It was believed that he had returned to prey on his neighbors.

Vampire Bats
Bats have long been associated with the supernatural, mainly because they are creatures of the night. When the Spanish Conquistadors came the Central and South America, they observed the feeding habits of vampire bats (which do not exist anywhere else in the world). They immediately recognized the similarity between the feeding habits of vampire bats and mythical vampires. It wasn’t long before bats became associated with the vampire legend.

Wondering what these women have planed for Halloween, probably a Halloween costume party. With those costumes I am sure they are going to draw plenty of attention. Their are lots of great sexy costumes available for teens to adult, in the coming days I will post some additional costume idea pic’s to give you further ideas.

Into beading? Why not buy some Halloween beads and create some fun “gothic” jewelry for the big event! Halloween is a great time of year for kids crafts and these beads fit the bill just perfectly! You could make some super creepy bracelets or necklaces for sure.

Have you ever made beaded crafts for Halloween? If so please share your experience below.

Horror movie clip from the late 60’s early 70’s – Christopher Lee is the “Prince Of Darkness” Dracula. During the sixties the Hammer movie studio put out a huge amount of classic horror movies. My favorite were always the “dracula” movies, Lee played the part about six or seven times and then vowed never to play Dracula again.

He is such a talented actor I think he will also ways be remember for his early work, of course he is still get’s great role (recent star wars movies, LOTR, Bond movies and others).

Horror friends video clip spoof found on youtube.com, creative and fun! Please share this video with others by bookmarking this page (links below).

Halloween Guy

As Halloween begins to draw near scary poems are a way to spark the imagination. I have been looking for some excellent sites to share with you for Halloween and am pleased to link to bedtime.com

Bedtime.com has several scary poems on it’s site that are very creative and not overly shocking. They are perfect for Halloween, chilly evenings at home and anyone who loves the macabre.

One poem titled I am the night starts off with the lines:

I am the night.
I am darkness at it’s bluest.
To me there is sheer delight in the shadow of the night
No need to insist, for the night I exist.

It is a great poems and one that should be shared with all If you have a favorite Halloween website please feel free to leave a comment below with the address for all to share.

~ Halloween Guy

Pretty amazing carved pumpkin I would say, the picture above was taken from the following website. If your into carving pumpkins around Halloween stop by and check out these amazing scary pumpkins and are truly works of art.

Being a professional chef for twenty some years I have carved plenty of pumpkins in my day. However none have looked this amazing! Each years when my wife and I carve our jack o lanterns we save the seeds and roast them in the oven, they make a tasty treat around Halloween. Of course it is important to have the right carving tools when carving your pumpkin at Halloween and remember to take your time and don’t rush yourself.

I like to take a printed piece of paper with my pumpkin pattern on it and then I simply “poke through” the pattern with an old pen to create an outline for my design. This works well and gives you a better idea of what to cut and where. Of course the most important part of carving a pumpkin is to have fun!

~ Halloween Guy

2007 Lahaina Halloween Party

The town of Lahaina has celebrated Halloween now for years with a street celebration that included a costume contests, parade and even a karioke party as well. Of course no Halloween party would be complete without trick or treating for the young ones which will also take place.

Over the last few years the celebration in Lahaina has become quite large, so large in fact that officials thought about shutting the party down this year. However in the end they decided that the party should have some organization and that people would show up regardless.

You can view pictures from the 2006 event here.