Halloween Party

Haloween is the night for ghosts and goblins, witches and black cats, haunted houses and the rattling bones of skeletons. Halloween is party time, some say, that the headless horseman rides through the streets, his great sword flashing in the night.

Halloween Party Supplies

Zombie Theme Party
Vampire Theme Party
PSI Theme Party

Each October 31st, people almost everywhere celebrate Halloween. In the United States, children dress in Halloween costumes, they go from house to house, calling "Trick or Treat." And woe to the person who cannot find some Halloween candy or cookies, an apple, or even a penny for the callers. In some places, bonfires blaze against the sky. At Halloween parties people duck for apples. Halloween pumpkins are carved and placed in windows to leer out at people.

Skeleton toy
Halloween Decorations

Long ago many people really believed in ghosts and witches. To protect themselves and to frighten away the ghosts and witches, they built bonfires. Some wore costumes, some carried torches, and some danced around fires, hoping to scare away the "evil spirits." Many of these customs are part of our Halloween.

In England over 2,000 years ago, the Celts held a ceremony called Samhain, which meant "the end of the summer." The Celts believed that at Samhain the ghosts of the dead came back to earth. Bonfires were set ablaze to frighten these ghosts away. The Druids, who were priests of the Celts, held strange rituals. They offered human sacrifices to the gods in thanks for the harvest and for protection from the ghosts.

Halloween Door Cover

Many years later, the Christians continued some of the customs of Samhain, but they changed it to a different holiday. They set aside November 1st to honor all the saints in the Christian faith. They called the day All Hallows Day or All Saints Day. The evening before was All Hallows Eve, which later was shortened to simply Halloween. They celebrated this evening with bonfires, costumes, and talk of ghosts and witches.

Bat Lights

In Ireland, they told a story about poor Jack. He was not allowed to enter heaven because he was too wicked. The devil would not have him either because Jack had played tricks on him. So, Jack was forced to wander over the earth forever, carrying a lantern. The Irish on Halloween made "jack-o-lanterns" by carving out turnips or potatoes and placing a candle inside. Today, for Halloween we carve them out of pumpkins.

Halloween Banners

In England, children beg for "soul-cakes" on Halloween. This custom began a long time ago in England, and was brought to the United States by the English settlers. In America, it was changed to "Trick or treat, money or eat." The children in England beg in different ways. Some say: Soul! Soul! for a souling-cake! I pray you, good missus, a souling-cake,

Halloween Party Supplies
Halloween Glow Lights

In another part of England, the children call:
Soul! Soul! for an apple or two!
If you have no apples,
Pears will do.
If you have no pears,
Money will do.
If you have no money,
God bless you!

Children in Scotland play a Halloween game. They go out to the fields, close their eyes and pull up a cabbage. The type of cabbage they pull is supposed to determine the kind of person they will marry. A cabbage with a close white head means an old husband. If there is dirt on the roots, the child will marry someone rich. The children then bring the cabbages home and hang them above the door.

Bloody Door Curtain

Halloween was not celebrated much in the United States until the late 1800's. Today it is one of our favorite holidays. There are Halloween parties with prizes for the best costumes. Treats are given and sometimes tricks are played. Even though there are no ghosts or witches, it is still fun to be frightened on this one night of the year!

Scary Halloween Storytelling

For the older & braver crowd! You need a good story teller and a dark room for this one. The story teller tells of an old man who lived in an old house on the hill. No one ever knew what became of him but eventually many body parts showed up around there. As the story teller tells of the body parts, pass these yucky suggestions around in separate boxes so the guest can reach in and feel them!

Use some of these props to enhance your Halloween story telling:

Sticky Glow Eyeballs
Bloody Fingers
Eyeballs - Peeled grapes
Bones - Carrots
Brains - Crumbles tofu
Intestines - Wet spaghetti
Fingers - Cheese sticks

Spider Rings
Mini Spiders
Straw Bale
Liver - A canned peach
Skin - Oil a flour tortilla
Teeth - Un-popped popcorn
Tongue - Slice of bologna
Hair - Corn silk