The Month of Monsters, Mayhem, and Myths…

"Tonight as the barrier between the two realms grows thin,

Spirits walk amongst us, once again.

They be family, friends and foes,

Pets and wildlife, fishes and crows.

But be we still mindful of the Wee Folke at play,

Elves, fey, brownies, and sidhe.

-  Akasha, Samhain Ritual 

As each October ushers in the first chills of autumn, it also brings with it the inevitable turning of conversations to subjects of supernatural happenings, mysterious creatures, and of course the all-important question “what will you be this Halloween?” But amid the thrill of harvest festivals, haunted houses, and costume parties, many people have forgotten that nearly everything we celebrate comes from traditions which are deeply rooted in history dating back to ancient times. The Halloween of today may be very different from what it used to be, but the spooky season is a great opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with how this all came to be.

For us at the Smoking Gun Research Agency, October for obvious reasons has always been one of our busiest community outreach times. We host many events both at our own Research Center as well as with locations throughout the state that invite all ages to learn more about the history and celebration of this season. Many things about this season have become distorted or forgotten entirely as new traditions have been created and older ones have been altered. To try and cover that entire history in one column would be difficult, if not impossible, so over this next month I have decided to focus on this subject in greater depth as there is so much interesting things to learn about Halloween.

Diving into the roots of Halloween conjure up scenes from the past that many would consider dark, negative, or even evil. It is a history filled with terrifying spirits, strange rituals, and even animal sacrifices. But when you venture beyond the veil of mystery that has long covered this past you discover something which is in fact far from the mayhem that it was thought to have been. At its deepest roots, the celebrations that have morphed into what we now call Halloween are about remembrance, about ancestors, and although they hinge on thoughts of death and change, are about more of the ides of cycles and changes than any negative part of death.

The origins of Halloween is found most notably in the Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced "sah-win"), but similar celebrations of ancestors and spirits can be traced back to rituals which took place in ancient Egypt. In these rituals the living would make offerings and hold feasts to honor the spirit realm. If you did not provide an offering, it was believed that the spirits would grow angry, and would visit you in the night. If this sounds familiar to you, than you’re probably realizing that our tradition of trick-or-treat has been around for a very, very, long time.

As popularity and population grew, Halloween celebrations spread quickly around the world. Today it is a major celebration in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom as well as of Australia and New Zealand. Other parts of the world, such as China, Mexico, and India, have celebrations that are similar to Halloween. Wherever the celebrations take place, the main theme is that this time of the year is when the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead are thinnest, and that is what allows spirits to walk among us for this short time.

Other traditions, from the carving of pumpkins, to decorating our homes, to dressing up in costume all have roots in history and have evolved as the celebrations have grown. Perhaps one of the most least known parts of Halloween is that while we celebrate it on October 31st, many cultures celebrate events over more than one day from October 30 to November 2.

In future articles I intend to cover far more of these traditions in more detail, from their origins to their modern version. I invite anyone who has questions that they would like to see answered to contact me, and I will surely include them in following articles. Otherwise, there will be many things to come that I’m sure few people have realized.