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Hints & Humor
Quotes, Humor, Helpful Household Tips, Famous Sayings, Thoughts,
Interesting Facts, History, Fun Quizzes
Halloween Superstitions & Traditions
Jack-O-Lanterns, carved from pumpkins, originated in the United States. According to Celtic folklore, a farmer named Jack was banned from Heaven and hell, so roamed purgatory and carved a lantern from a turnip to light his way. The Irish sometimes carved faces or designs into gourds, placed candles into them, and used them to light their homes. Now we use them to light our porches for trick-or-treaters.
Trick-or-treating may have evolved from the Celts, who believed they could ward off evil spirits by dressing up in ghoulish costumes. Baked soul cakes were often left out as offerings for spirits and ghosts. Some wanted ancestors to visit, others wanted to appease spirits and be left alone.
If you trap a snail on a dish on Halloween, you will see the first letter of the name of the person you will marry, in the snail slime.
Ring a bell on Halloween night to keep the evil spirits away.
Sleep with an apple under your pillow on Halloween night and you will dream of your future spouse.
Witches are considered to be evil old women who wear pointed black hats, travel on broomsticks, stir magic potions in caldrons, and live in dark and solitary houses. Originally, she was a pagan goddess called “the crone” who symbolized wisdom and the changing of the seasons.
Broomsticks, considered to be a witch’s mode of travel, were actually used by poor old women as walking sticks.
To meet a witch on Halloween, walk backward while wearing your clothes inside out.
To ward off evil spirits who may want to enter your home, walk backward around your house counterclockwise three times, right before the suns sets on Halloween.
Orange and black are traditional Halloween colors. The orange represents
the colors of fall and the harvest. Black represents end of life,
the transition from autumn to winter, and the end of the growing season.
It is considered a blessing to have a Halloween birthday.
People born on Halloween are thought to have the gift of second sight,
and have good luck follow them throughout their lives.
It is believed that Owls can live near ghosts. So if you see one near
your house it could be haunted.
Sources: triviasharp.com, Linda Sarhan’s A-Z of Halloween Superstitions (holidappy.com)
What Will You Be for Halloween?
Popular Halloween costumes for kids in 2026 feature breakout pop-culture trends, such as K-Pop Demon Hunters, video game favorites (Minecraft & Roblox), and classic superheroes. Of course, witches are always popular, as are princess and Barbie.
Popular costumes for dogs and cats: Pumpkin is the most popular, along with caped superheroes, bat, witch, hotdog, bumblebee, cat, and ghost.
Kids were asked: What will you be for Halloween? Here are some original responses.
"A cute baby wolf, but spooky, NOT SCARY..” - requested by a 9-year-old who expected a store to carry it…
"A scary rectangular prism…" (Requested by a 4-year-old)
"A murderous banana with a machete..."
"Pants..." (Just a pair of large denim pants)
"A marshmallow… NOT toasted."
"A pile of dirt..."
"I'm a double witch" (when asked to wear a jacket over a witch costume)
Adult responses to this question:
"My 5-year-old son is going to be a platypus, his reason: because it is the only mammal that lays eggs. Then my daughter had to be a half-hatched platypus…””
"My son wanted to be a smoke detector.”
"My 7-year-old daughter and her best friend are going as mailboxes this year - the kind in front of people's houses, not the blue post office kind. My daughter's mailbox is of course, pink. Because who doesn't have a bright pink mailbox?"
"Last year, my son (then age 5) was determined to be an electric eel for Halloween because it’s his favorite creature. I couldn’t find one for sale ANYWHERE, so I bought supplies and made one myself.”
"My 5-year old daughter would like to be a bloody eyeball this year. She even drew a nice picture of herself wearing the costume. "
"We had a trick-or-treater who was Jake from State Farm last year."
"My nephew was a city of Boston recycling can. By choice…"
"One of my second grade students wanted to be a Panera Soufflé."
