  Horror/Scary
This week: Samhain Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week:
"Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts.
Covens of witches with all of their hosts.
You may think they scare me. You're probably right.
Black cats and goblins on Halloween night.
TRICK OR TREAT!" ~from the movie "Halloween" |
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For many modern people, October 31 is a night of wearing costumes, eating sweets, and making mischief. The tradition we know as Halloween has become mostly a night for children to have fun, but its roots go back to a much more serious and meaningful celebration. The ancient Celtic harvest festival of Samhain (pronounced Sow-een) marked the beginning of winter and may have also been considered the beginning of the new year. It was the time when harvest was completed, cattle were brought home from the summer pastures, and the animals to be slaughtered for meat were chosen.
The ancient Celtic people handed down most of their traditions orally, through songs and stories. Most of what we know about them comes from what others, such as the Romans and Christian monks wrote about them. Celtic reconstructionists try to recreate the ancient rituals as closely as they can, but we may never know if we have the complete picture.
Samhain (~November 1) was one of four Gaelic festivals marking the seasons. The others were Imbolc (~February 1), Beltaine (~May 1), and Lughnasadh (~August 1). Samhain was the transition between the light and dark halves of the year. In spite of portrayals of "devil worship" in some horror movies and stories, Samhain was not a time of evil. The Judeochristian concept of "Satan" was not known to the ancient Celtic people. Because of its association with winter, Samhain was a time to reflect on and honor the dead. Modern pagans set places for ancestors and other honored dead at Samhain meals.
Samhain and Beltaine were seen as the two times when the veil between this world and the Other World were the thinnest, leading to stories of the dead returning to walk in this world at those times. This may be the origin of the association of Halloween with ghosts and spirits. Of course, evil spirits as well as good ones may have crossed the veil. Many of the traditions now associated with Halloween may have come from older practices used to ward off evil spirits. People dressed in costumes and animal skins in order to confuse the less friendly spirits. Turnips and other round vegetables were hollowed out and carved into lanterns with faces and other images that might scare the spirits away. Since pumpkins are a New World fruit, Jack-O-Lanterns were not made of pumpkins until European people migrated to the Americas.
The Christian church celebrated November 2 as a day to honor the saints, All Hallow's Day. The night before was known as All Hallow's Eve, which was shortened into Halloween. The origin of trick or treating is not completely known, but it may have been derived from a practice called souling. Poor people would visit the houses of wealthy neighbors and receive cakes called soul cakes in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners’ dead relatives.
In Scotland and Ireland, young people took part in a tradition called guising, dressing up in costume and visiting the houses in their communities. They would sing a song or perform a "trick" in order to be given a treat, usually fruit, nuts, or coins.
The modern version of Halloween has been the setting for many horror stories and movies. If you use it in your stories it might be fun to set them in an earlier time or place and incorporate the original traditions.
~.~.~.~.~
"When the riddled fields are gathered and gleaned
From the shadow of a killing freeze
And twilights fall to copper moons
That dance with barren trees
When comes the final harvest home
Beneath the silver light
When weary feet tread that dusky road
Jack O'Lantern walks the night"
~From "The Four Jacks" by Emerald Rose |
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Something is wrong at the Caldwell's Farm this Halloween, something very, very wrong...
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Horror/Scary: October 18, 2017 Issue [#8553]
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