Historical and cultural backdrop

Origin of Halloween

On 31^st of October we are celebrating Halloween or Hallows Eve. Nowadays kids go from house to house, dressed in fancy costumes and to demand “trick or treat”. The commercial and pop-culture picture of Halloween is merely a faint memory of its ancient origins.

Halloween or Hallows Eve was originally called “Samhain”. It was part of the Celtic Circle of the Year and had utomst importance as the New Year’s festival. Samhain marked the beginning of winter and in a way was also recognized as a harvest festival to thank the Gods for the – hopefully – bountiful harvest of the last year. The Celts believed that on this evening the gates to the underworld were wide open and an exchange between the living and the dead occured. The beginning of winter announced a dark and scary time.

Christan All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day

On 1^st of November, Christians around the world celebrate All Saints’ Day, which – on 2^nd of November – is followed by All Souls’ Day. They were first celebrated as feasts around the 4th century in honour of Christian martyrs. In modern times on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day Christians visit the graveyards to honour their dead forefathers in general as well as the Saints in particular. It is not a coincidence that the Christian holiday is on the same day as the Celtic festivities. In history, cultures and traditions often interacted with and influenced each other.

The scariest folk- and fairytales for Halloween

In this post I have collected a couple of scary stories for you. Do you dare reading them?

Russian Fairy Tales

The Dead Russian Mother

The Dead Mother (Russian Fairy Tales) by W. R. S. RALSTON

Marya Morevna

In this story Maya Morevna and Prince Ivan encounter Koshchei the Deathless – a demonic character from many Russian folk tales.

Marya Morevna (Russian Fairy Tales) by W. R. S. RALSTON

The Brothers Grimm

The Juniper Tree

THE JUNIPER-TREE (Grimm’s Kinder und Hausmärchen) by The Brothers Grimm

Little Red Cap / Little Red Riding Hood

LITTLE RED-CAP [LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD] (Grimm’s Kinder und Hausmärchen) by The Brothers Grimm

Bengal Folk-Tales

The Ghostly Wife

Let me admit in advance: the Bengal story is certainly not related Halloween as such, yet it is scary enough to make it on my list. Enjoy!

A Ghostly Wife (Folk-Tales of Bengal, 1912) by Rev. Lal Behari Day

Tales from the Norse

The Old Dame and her Hen

THE OLD DAME AND HER HEN (Popular Tales from the Norse) By SIR GEORGE WEBBE DASENT

Want to read more?

The Celtic Circle of the year

The Celtic Circle of the year knows four days that mark the most important festivals of the year.

• Samhain (1^st of November, beginning of winter)
• Imbolg or Saint Brigid’s Day (1^st of February, beginning of spring)
• Beltane (1^st of May, beginning of summer)
  At the beginning of the post, I mentioned Beltane – The Beginning of Summer. It takes place on the 1st of May, the day after the magical Walpurgis Night.
• Lughnasadh (1^st of August, beginning of autumn)

Tales about Immortality

• The theme of dead walking among the living is strongly connected to another common idea in folk- and fairytales: the idea of Immortality, which is portrayed in countless stories around the world. Read more about in in our “Best Tales about seeking Immortality and Immortal beings“
• The longest day of the year is Midsummer. It was also celebrated since in ancient times and therefore a lot of folk tales were spun around it. Hence, I have collected the Top 5 Summer Solstice and Midsummer Tales.

Further readings

If you are not scared enough yet, I have some more suggestions for you to read:

• Dracula by Bram Stoker – by now a classic with many modern interpretations and perfect to scare you out of your wits.
• Go to Creepy Fairy Tales on snowwhitewrites.com and enjoy their suggestions.