Halloween The Macabre And Occult

The quintessential symbols of Halloween fall into three major categories –

• Symbols of death include graveyards,
• Ghosts, ghouls, skeletons and
• Haunted house

Symbols of evil and misfortune are witches, goblins and black cats. Symbols of harvest are pumpkins – Jack O lanterns, scarecrows, com shocks and candy corn.

Macabre and occult side of the Halloween makes witch a popular motif in costumes and decorations during the festival.

It is widely believed that on the eve of Halloween, spirits travel back to earth as they went away to heaven afterlife. Scary costumes modeled on spirits, ghosts and witches are symbolical to stave off the evil spirits when they travel to earth. It is a kind of romancing with the spirits. This is reflected in the custom Trick-or-treat during Halloween.

Children dressed up in costumes depicting witches, ghosts, devils and monsters go door to door in the neighborhood asking for treat. Treats are usually money and candies. Spirits of the dead return to the earth on 1^st November.  Some of these spirits are supposed to be mischievous and evil and can bring harm upon those who don’t treat them.

Since the spirits are coming back to earth, people wear masks to protect themselves. People change clothes to that of the opposite gender so that the spirits are led to believe they are their own kind and they would not take them to their otherworld with them at the end of the night. This is how the custom of wearing masks and costumes during Halloween originated.

Skulls are also part of the Halloween witch costumes; it reminds the human race that we have limited time to live on this earth. The image of skull brings to light the aspect of death all of us have to eventually meet.

Witches find a place in a haunted house along with trolls, goblins and ghouls. Popular as flying in the moonlit sky, they haunt the graveyards too. Walkthroughs in spooky Haunted house, Halloween maze with witches, ghosts, witch cackles, doll rooms, clowns, jungles, hanging skeletons, vines, wolf howls, pirates, fire spewing dragons , crawling spiders, wolf howls and even aliens are also part of Halloween. It is a rage in many communities and a huge attraction. It really brings the community together. McKamey Manor is by far the scariest "haunted house" there is. It started in San Diego and now also in Alabama and Tennessee. Nobody has made it through without asking for it to be over.

The above gives reasonable background on why customs and motifs based on witch, devils, and monsters rule the roost as central theme during the Halloween.