1. Carving Pumpkins comes from a Celtic tradition.
Jack-o-lanterns are believed to have originated in Ireland in the 19th century. The Irish carved faces into turnips as a way to ward off evil spirits. When some Irish immigrants moved over to America they brought the tradition with them but soon found that pumpkins (which are native to America) were much better for craving. Below is a picture of a traditional Jack-o-lantern from the Museum of Country Life in Ireland (which if you ask me is by far scarier than anything we have today!)
2. The name ‘Jack-o-lantern’ comes from the legend of Stingy Jack.
The story of Stingy Jack is an old Irish legend of a man who tricked the Devil into buying him a drink. The tale goes that Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him and convinced the Devil to transform into a coin to pay for their drinks. But instead of handing over the money, Jack kept the money and placed it in his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from transforming back. When Jack did eventually free the Devil he made him promise that he would leave him alone for a year and that when Jack died, he would not lay claim to his soul.
When Jack eventually did die he was turned away from heaven for having spent so much time with the Devil. So Jack went down to hell but the Devil, who was still pretty annoyed with him, wouldn’t let Jack in there either. The legend says that Jack was given a burning lump of coal which he placed inside a carved out turnip, and was left to wonder the earth forever.
3. Halloween began as a Pagan festival
Halloween was thought to have come from an ancient pagan festival called Samhain which marked the end of the harvest season. Around the 9th century AD the Christian festival of all saints/all souls day was moved to November 1st by Pope Gregory IV. The festivals eventually merged into what is now Halloween. There is evidence that suggests the festival of Samhain could be around 4,500 years old.
4. In the 20th century apple bobbing was a divination game
The game was seen have supernatural powers. It was believed that once you caught an apple you should peel it and move the peel twice around your head. Then if you threw the peel over your shoulder it would land in the shape of the initial of your true love.
5. Halloween has inspired some pretty odd ‘spooky’ world record attempts
In 2011 a group of people in Virginia, USA broke the record for the largest number of people in one place all dressed as vampires. There were 1,039 vampires present overall. A year earlier the world’s largest gathering of zombies met in New Jersey, USA with an even more impressive total of 4,093. Also in 2010 a group of people set the record for longest scream by a crowd. The scream lasted 60 seconds and was led by singer Ozzy Osbourne.