The History of Halloween

Dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating are popular Halloween activities, but few probably associate these lighthearted fall traditions with their origins in Samhain, a three-day ancient Celtic pagan festival.

As early as the 13th century, the Catholic Church linked cats to Satan.

How Irish immigrants brought the Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins (originally turnips) to America.

A Halloween apple was once a powerful symbol of fertility and immortality. In Europe and the early years of America, girls used apples and apple peels to divine their romantic destiny.

To see into the future, young women held mystical meals.

Why is it that the United States and so many other countries celebrate the holiday, but Australia does not?

Halloween in early 19th-century America was a night for pranks, tricks, illusions, and anarchy.

Halloween costumes from the first half of the 20th century were terrifying. Here's how Halloween became more family-friendly.

How Walt Disney inspired the world’s scariest Halloween tradition.

The origins of trick-or-treating, a relatively recent phenomenon.

It’s hard to overstate just how much the movie critics of the day loathed Hocus Pocus.

Instagram helps, but we’ve been dressing up dogs and cats for a long time.

The elusive history of a cursed phrase.