Costume Archives - Tena Stetler

Oct 8th Halloween- Do you Suffer from Samhainopobia?

Do you have a fear of Halloween? Then you suffer from Samhainopobia. I don’t fit in that category! Do you?

This week the focus is on Halloween traditions. We had an absolute blast. My characters being demons, witches, vampires, and faeries livened up the bash. A great time was had by all. Oh, did I mention, I’m a paranormal romance writer and have intimate knowledge of the things that go bump in the night. Bawaawaa!

My point is that Halloween isn’t just for kids, anymore. Today Halloween is attracting adults in a masquerade type atmosphere, much like Mardi Gras. Their costumed antics mock, challenge and tease the mysterious, possible malevolent forces of the night. The otherworld becomes our world on this night of enchanted possibilities and transcendence. Are we reaffirming death as a part of life in an exhilarating celebration of magic for an evening? Or like me, just enjoying the air of celebration on a night the veil between the living and dead is purported to be the thinnest. Every year with the help of my hubby, I decorate our house to the hilt on the first day of October and revel in Halloween décor the entire month.

Did you know Jack-O-Lanterns originated in Ireland? People placed lit candles inside hollowed out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween) holiday. Boy, did we do a role reversal on that aspect of Halloween. Instead of chasing the spirits away, we tend to invite them in. In fact, if you are considering visiting Ireland, you have to check out its newest festival, which celebrates the country as the birthplace of Halloween.

Most present day Halloween traditions are traceable to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Halloween consists of mysterious customs, but each has a history, or at least a story behind it. Take wearing costumes, and roaming from door to door demanding treats. This behavior can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and about, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This is where the practice of trick-or-treating began. To this day, vampires, witches, ghosts, and skeletons are among the favorite costumes. Our Halloween also retains activities from the original harvest holiday of Samhain, such as bobbing for apples and carving vegetables, (pumpkins) as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices for cider associated with the day. Although at my house, hot chocolate is pretty popular, since Halloween almost guarantees the first snow of the year.

Well, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to don my vampire costume, custom fitted fangs and pull up a stool in the shadows of my front door, candy bowl on a stand beside me. I sneakily turn on the fog machine and out of the mist greet the little trick or treaters or scare the bejeebers out of the older ones with bats hanging over head and screeching on my command. Won’t you join me? Happy Halloween!

The next three weeks on this blog will focus on hauntings. Make sure and mark your calendar, you’ll not want to miss them!