Fact or Treat Halloween Trivia

Halloween is almost here. Soon ghosts, goblins and ghouls will be knocking on doors looking for their share of yummy treats. Why not wow them with your Halloween knowledge – perhaps a Fact for a Treat, rather than a trick! Check out these fun and interesting historical Halloween facts.

• Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.

• Jack O’Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.

• The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.

• The fear of Halloween is known as Samhainopobia.

• There really are so-called vampire bats, but they’re not from Transylvania. They live in Central and South America and feed on the blood of cattle, horses and birds.

• Halloween is on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday, honoring the dead. Halloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve and dates back over 2000 years ago.

• Owls are associated with Halloween because, in Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches. To hear an owls call meant someone was about to die.

• If you see a spider on Halloween, it is considered a good luck, as it means the spirit of a loved one is guarding you.

• The 1978 blockbuster, Halloween, was only made in 21 days on a very limited budget.

• The largest pumpkin ever measured was grown by Norm Craven, who broke the world record in 1993 with an 836 lb. pumpkin.

• The first known mention of trick-or-treating in print in North America occurred in 1927 in Blackie, Alberta, Canada.