How The Belief In Halloween Spirits

For many, many years, Halloween has been associated with
witchcraft and evil. Satan's one night of the year to claim

several rumours that some households were handing out
harmful or poisonous treats to children. Today many parents

souls for Hell has been the belief of the church and pious
individuals Halloween began as a pagan festival that

accompany their children while trick-or-treating or organize
private Halloween parties.

celebrated nature and its gifts. It was believed that on
this one night the boundaries between the living and the

Now, kids go from house to house, saying this phrase and

dead were compromised and Halloween spirits could walk the
earth.. In an effort to appease the Halloween spirits,

receiving a ton of sweet treats. People travel from
neighbourhood to neighbourhood for sweet fare. Tricks are

people would leave offerings of food and drink on their
doorsteps. These Halloween customs were thought to protect

more a part of the fun of the night than a slight against
any one person. If a neighbour is not participating, they

their harvests for another year. This was also the time for
a practice called "souling."

turn out their porch light so children will know not to
approach. Of course there are those mischief makers that egg

Souling involved food in exchange for prayers. During the

houses and cars, but most neighbourhoods celebrate Halloween
without incident. Even the adults get involved in Halloween

celebration, poor people would take to begging for food from
neighbours. This food was granted in exchange for prayers by

customs with fog machines and costume parties.

the receivers for the souls of dead family members. As
Halloween customs were was passed down, the begging became

In an effort to scare people, tales of the undead have been
immortalized in books like Frankenstein and Dracula. Movies

food left for these poor individuals who would continue to
pray for the dead. Eventually, children were sent from house

brought us Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers,
and the Scream guy. People love to be scared, but so much of

to house to receive food or bits of money for the family.

the fiction has been confused with fact that Christians have
been led to believe that the practice of Halloween is evil

In some countries, the wearing of masks and receiving of
gifts is still called "souling." Small food items or money

for their children. Basically, children know what we tell
them.. There are people who practice earth religions like

are still received by children. Trick or treating is one of
the modern, American Halloween customs. The first-ever

Wicca and those who profess to be Satanists. They derive
their greatest influence and media coverage on this night.

recorded Halloween celebration in the United States occurred
in Anoka, Minnesota, in 1921. That was the start of

Even those groups have been made gorier than they actually
are through film and books. Our children will learn that the

trick-or-treat, Halloween costume parties, and a series of
activities depicting the essence of the celebration.

practice of dressing up and receiving candy is not evil from
the knowledge that we obtain. Spirits are not roaming the

When it first started, trick or treating was just that. If a

streets looking to take over their bodies or mess with their
minds. In fact, for little ones, it is essential that we not

homeowner didn't provide treats, the costumed person (one of
the most popular Halloween customs is dressing up) would

expose them to the scarier side because they could be
traumatized by it and fear the fun side of Halloween.

perform some trick. This could be playing a prank on them or
egging the house. In some countries, this is a part of the

Christians have nothing to fear from Halloween as long as
the truth is told. While there are groups who practice magic

mischief of the Halloween spirits. Any Halloween spirit that
didn't receive food was also likely to do something to the

(the jury is still out) and contact with the dead, they
don't have exclusive rights on Halloween. They practice

person of the house. It was in the year 1970 that the
trick-or-treating tradition started to wane because of

their crafts all year round and not just this one night of
the year.