The SECRET History of HALLOWEEN (Ep 182)

Did you know the origin of Halloween traces back to the pagan origins of Samhain, a festival with deep Samhain history. To understand Halloween history, one must understand these ancient beliefs and Irish folklore. 

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
So herewe are, the spookiest day of the year,
and I feel like I would be remiss
if I didn't add a little something,something to your Halloween vibe.
Did you know that Halloween's roots
twist back to the ancient Celtic festivalof Samhain around 2000 years ago,
when druids in Ireland and Britain markedthe end of harvest

(00:22):
and the start of the darker winter season.
They believe spirits roam freeor through the entire winter season.
But even more so on this oneparticular night.
They light bonfires to ward off thespirits, and people disguise themselves
as ghouls to blend in and not be noticedby the invading phantoms.

(00:42):
Fast forward to the eighth century,when Christians plop All Saints Day
on November 1st to Christianize the paganholdouts,
making All HallowsEve land on October 31st so
the pagans can still have their bonfireparties Speed.
Up to the 1800s in America,Irish immigrants
bring over their Celtic traditionof dressing up in costume,

(01:06):
where it matches with the Victorian erafixation on ghost stories
and explodesin the candy fueled chaos by the 1920s.
And this day certainly has a historyof living up to its creepy beginnings.
Starting somewhere around the 16thor 17th century,
we have the legend of the SunkenBells of Thirlmere

(01:28):
where a bride in the Cumbriaarea of northern England is drowned
the night before her wedding dayby either her fiancé or a rival suitor.
Whatever the case, the bellsthat would have been rung during her
nuptial feast, an old traditionmeant to ward away evil spirits and bless
the new union, are reported to still beheard ringing each October 31st,

(01:53):
along with the clatter of dinnerfeast dishes and phantom candlelight.
Then there is the Headless Horsemanof Crebilly,
a legend dating back to the 19th centuryin Northern Ireland.
The story goes that one Squire O'Hara
gets decapitated in a freak horse mishap

(02:14):
and that now he haunts the midnighthour of both Halloween and New Year's Eve,
looking for vengeance,with stories of the ghostly squire
causing people to crash and leavinghoof prints as proof.
On a more historical note, October31st of 1837 is the day
the Monmouth Steamship, an overloaded boatcarrying Native Americans

(02:38):
during the Trail of Tears, collideswith another boat on the Mississippi,
drowning 200to 300 people in the cold water.
I'm sure that probably birthedan angry spirit or two.
This is also the day when, in 1926,
Harry Houdini dies of complicationsfrom an appendicitis.

(02:59):
And despite a $10,000 reward offered
by his wife Bess, try as she might,
she was never able to contact herbeloved Harry from the other side.
And last but not least,the reason that trick or treating
is not nearly as fun todayas it was 50 years ago,
the 1974 case of the Candy Man,Ronald O'Bryan, poisoning his eight year

(03:24):
old son Timothy, with cyanide laced PixyStix while trick or treating in Houston,
chasing a $40,000 insurance payout,
fueling a poison candy paranoia
that persists to this day,with absolutely nothing to back it up.
But that little tour through Halloweenhistory brings us up to today,

(03:46):
where I would loveto take this opportunity from all of us
here at The InBetweento wish you a happy and freaky Halloween.