You put a lot of effort into creating ghoulish Halloween costumes based on various scary creatures, decorate the house with monstrous props, and send out Halloween invites featuring an array of ghosts, goblins and the like. You craft those spooky ghouls and goblins on Halloween party invitation cards. But what’s the truth behind these scary beings that fascinate us so much around Halloween time?
In this article we’ll take a look at the origins of two of Halloween’s most popular characters – ghosts and vampires.
1. The Ghost
Ghosts are among the most popular of all the many spooky denizens of the Halloween season. But how did they come to be associated with it?
The origins of the Halloween festival stretch back thousands of years, to ancient Celtic times. The Celts celebrated the festival of Samhain on what is now Halloween night, and believed that at this time of the year, the veil between the physical and spirit worlds opened, and ghosts would return to visit (or torment) living humans.
Since the ghosts were perceived as hostile, the Celts made efforts to drive them away, lest they cause illness among the populace, and damage to their crops. They accomplished this by painting their faces to scare the spirits off, a practice that later became associated with Halloween masks. The traditional Halloween jack-o-lanterns made from carved vegetables also originated as a means of driving away evil spirits.
Although belief in ghosts is much less predominant these days, they remain firmly associated with the Halloween festival, and no Halloween party would be complete without a ghost or two to decorate the yard or party invites!
2. The Vampire
Like ghosts, vampires are a staple part of Halloween imagery. It isn’t known if the Celts believed in vampires, but they are a part of the mythology of other cultures, and were believed by some to have inhabited the earth for as long as humans.
Belief in vampires originated in eastern Europe, and gradually spread to other countries. The modern figure of the vampire dates back to the 19th century, when they became a staple of the horror novels that were popular during this time, and the story of Count Dracula (published by Bram Stoker in 1897) became particularly well known. With the advent of the movie industry in the 20th century, the popularity of vampires in the general culture grew even more, with vampires regularly appearing in Hollywood films.
Since then, as some of the most well known supernatural creatures, vampires have become associated with Halloween, which is after all a celebration of the supernatural. Vampire costumes
So if you’re ever stuck for Halloween decorating or costume ideas, just throw in a few ghosts and vampires, and you can’t go wrong!
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