is for All Saints Day

All Saints day or All Hallows is a Christian holy day that honors the Saints. The day before this celebration is called All Hallows Eve. This solemn celebration is one source for the celebration we call Halloween.

is for Black Cats

There are many images that are associated with Halloween. Black cats have been associated with witches for centuries.

is for Costume

The wearing of costumes for All Saints Day dates back to the Celts. They believed that the souls of the dead came back on All Hallows Eve to roam the earth. The Celts wore masks and Costumes to frighten these spirits away.

is for Dracula

Dracula is character from a story written by Bram Stoker in 1897. In this novel, Dracula is a Romanian count who also happens to be a vampire. Dracula is a favorite costume for trick-or-treaters on Halloween.

is for Eerie

Eerie means weird and is often related to superstitious fear. It is associated with the superstitious happenings on Halloween. Burning a candle inside a jack-o-lantern on Halloween is supposed to keep evil spirits away. If it suddenly goes out, it is an eerie reminders that a ghost may be nearby.

is for Frightening faces

People once believed that they were encounter ghosts if they left their homes on Halloween night. To avoid being recognized, people wore masks when they left their homes after dark. To scare the spirits away, the masks were frightening.

is for ghost

It was once believed that ghosts of the departed would come back to the earthly world on All Hallows Eve. People used to leave food outside their house to keep the ghosts from entering their homes.

is for Halloween

The origins of Halloween goes back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Celts believed the souls of the dead came back on October 31 to roam the earth. They burned bonfires and wore frightening costumes to keep the evil spirits away.

is for Imagination

Halloween is a time of year when people use lots of imagination to conjure up dreadful disguises, spooky stories, and creative costumes.

is for Jack-O'-Lantern

The Jack-o'-lantern is a carved pumpkin. The Celts used to carve turnips to scare away any bad spirits. Some say turnips were placed in windows to scare away the spirit of a particularly bad man nicknamed "Stingy Jack."

is for Kettles

Halloween folk tales tell of witches making magic potions in large boiling cauldrons, or Kettles, that were used especially on Halloween night.

is for Legends

A legend is a story handed down by tradition from earlier times. Many legends are thought to be true. Others have some basis in truth but have grown into pure fiction. The tale of the Dullahan, or headless horseman, has its roots in Irish Legends.

is for Monsters

Some of the monsters that have often been associated with Halloween are Frankenstein, Dracula, mummies, and, werewolves. The werewolf is a monster that supposedly transforms from human to wolf underneath a full moon.

is for nighttime

The days approaching Halloween can be fun, but the real fun doesn't begin until after the sun sets on October 31st. Neighborhoods all across the U.S.A. are filled with costumed children ready for trick-or-treating at nighttime.

is for Orange

Orange and black are the traditional colors for Halloween. No one knows the exact origin, but since orange is a color often seen in fall and black represents the darkness, these two colors have come to represent Halloween.

is for Pumpkin

Pumpkins are used to make Jack-o-lanterns. The hallowed out pumpkin replaced the turnip once used to frighten away the spirit of "Stingy Jack."