Halloween is approaching - I was wondering is it different from any other night of the year when it comes to the paranormal? Are hauntings more prevalent on this night of the year, is it a myth or does magic really happen on this particular night?

I'd be glad of your input.

Reg

All Hallow's Eve is supposed to be the night that the spirits are able to move around more freely. The whole reason that the costumes and treats came to be was that the people reasoned if they dressed like ghouls, then they would not be attacked by the dead. And they left food on their front steps so that the dead would eat that and leave the living alone.

Found this:
Samhain. All Hallows. All Hallow’s Eve. Hallow E’en. Halloween. The most magical night of the year. Exactly opposite Beltane on the wheel of the year, Halloween is Beltane’s dark twin. A night of glowing jack-o’-lanterns, bobbing for apples, tricks or treats, and dressing in costume. A night of ghost stories and séances, tarot card readings and scrying with mirrors. A night of power, when the veil that separates our world from the Otherworld is at its thinnest. A “spirit night”, as they say in Wales.


All Hallow’s Eve is the eve of All Hallow’s Day (November 1). And for once, even popular tradition remembers that the eve is more important than the day itself, the traditional celebration focusing on October 31, beginning at sundown. And this seems only fitting for the great Celtic New Year’s festival. Not that the holiday was Celtic only. In fact, it is startling how many ancient and unconnected cultures (the Egyptians and pre-Spanish Mexicans, for example) celebrated this as a festival of the dead. But the majority of our modern traditions can be traced to the British Isles.


The Celts called it Samhain, which means “summer’s end”, according to their ancient twofold division of the year, when summer ran from Beltane to Samhain and winter ran from Samhain to Beltane. (Some modern covens echo this structure by letting the high priest “rule” the coven beginning on Samhain, with rulership returned to the high priestess at Beltane.) According to the later fourfold division of the year, Samhain is seen as “autumn’s end” and the beginning of winter. Samhain is pronounced (depending on where you’re from) as “sow-in” (in Ireland), or “sow-een” (in Wales), or “sav-en” (in Scotland), or (inevitably) “sam-hane” (in the U.S., where we don’t speak Gaelic).

rest of article

Mischief night...

I love Halloween, but don't really know if that particular night adds to the paranormal....We all know that it's supposed to frighten us, so our minds may be double timing to see something...There are so many hauntings going on, that I would like to believe that this one night adds to all who want to experience the paranormal....I'm in before dark with the kids, so my chances are nil....

...and I bet you cause quite a bit of mischeif too



One of my favorite halloween stories... I got this from Pumpkin Nook

History of the Jack O'Lantern

The Irish brought the tradition of the Jack O'Lantern to America. But, the original Jack O'Lantern was not a pumpkin.The Jack O'Lantern legend goes back hundreds of years in Irish History. As the story goes, Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up the apple tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. The Devil was then unable to get down the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the Devil down.

Many years later, when Jack finally died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was too mean and too cruel and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about forever in the darkness between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. For that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his "Jack O'Lantern".

On all Hallow's eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack O'Lanterns. In the 1800's a couple of waves of Irish immigrants came to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O'Lanterns.

Always! xx

Probably my favorite time of the year, and holds so many great...and less than innocent...memories for me, but do I think that makes the 31st any more prevalent with regards to paranormal? Not IMO.

Thanks for this - very interesting, we used to carve out turnips too, because in the early 80's in the UK pumpkins weren't as prevalent as they are now, halloween is definantly growing here.

I might even tell this story about Jack at our Halloween party.

I had no idea where the costumes came into it - thanks Glorybebe.

No problem. A superstition turned into a bit of fun for kids of all ages! Maybe why so many of us like Halloween is that we can be wahtever we want for one night. Reality is suspended just a touch and we can enter our dreams. Or maybe I am just tooo fanciful! LOL

In Australia there is no halloween.
It's the month of the horses, yes we have holiday because of racing horses.

No Halloween!? OH! It is one of the most poplular holiday here, right after Christmas.

I don't think it's any different from any other time, it's just that more people are more aware on that night and therefore a little more receptive than normal and more likely to experience something if in an active area.

That brings up an interesting thought. So, if people are a little more receptive, and expect to experience more paranormal instances, could we be the ones who actually bring them over?

I dont think Halloween is any different than any other night, but we have been programmed to be scared on that night. From what I know, the most active times are during the waning and full moon..JN-

Possibly could draw attention but then (IMO) they are co existing everywhere around us anyway...the difference is between whether the conscious awareness is great enough to notice or not. Halloween tends to be one night where people are thinking or actively seeking in that direction

Halloween is just the same as any other day for me, except I get to dress up at work for it.

It's the time of year where Aliens, Entities etc. could stroll freely anywhere.
Ha.ha.ha. + lol.

Last Halloween me and my buddiesdid Ouija Board in the most haunted place I've ever lived ... and we got jack. Nodda. Other times we got tonnes and tonnes of stuff going on and that particular night all the ghosts were out haunting kids I guess. I dunno. Wasn't the most haunted night of the year that night.

LOL At least you got Jack, hes pretty cool....

Peter Underwood did a calendar of cyclic hauntings for his book, Ghost Hunter's Guide, and he found more cyclic hauntings (hauntings that happen on a regular basis, such as the same day every year or once every fifty years or the night of the first snowfall, etc.) on Halloween than any other day. The second most haunted day was Christmas Eve.

I feel sorry for Australia! For me, Halloween has always been just a pure fun holiday. You get to play dress up, even when you're an adult if you want to, and it's atmospheric and spooky and on top of all that there are those cute little miniature candy bars! You all know, by the way, that Halloween candy has no calories because the calories are too scared of the ghosts and things.

I've lived in Aus my whole life and I haven't seen anyone, except highly religuos families, who didn't celebrate Halloween, but yes, it isn't usually promoted as Halloween but a holiday because of horses, but luckily the Horse Flu is here so they might focus more on Halloween!

P.S. poor horses...

Did you know that some people hide razors and needles and other sharp objects in Halloween candy? True story.

I thought that was an urban legend, if it is true though, it's really horrible - I'd change the word "people" to psycho....

It is called an Urban Legend but on several sites I have visited it has called it true by investigating further and everything. So in other words it is true.

Your right Kar-zid...This was happening quite a few years ago..In some of our neighboring towns the kids were finding straight pins and razor blades in their candy..It hasn't happened here in awhile, but it stays in the back of our heads. The kids are not allowed to open any candy until they get home, and then it's gone through with a fine tooth comb...By the time we hand the candy to them it's in bits and pieces...

I'm pretty sure thats the most logical answer. It was a superstition we brought to life!

No problem... I ran across that story a few years back and I love to pass it on to everyone around this time of year.

Maybe its just a night to scare the evil spirits but over the years the americans wrecked it!! Shock Horror!

I don't think so

NOT!!!! Also we cannot scare evil spirits..

Of course we can! Just keep asking them how much tartar sauce they want on their Krabby Patties and start laughing all the time like Spongebob, after a while they will run off screaming in horror. Really works. Maybe...