Animal Spirits in Halloween History

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Ginny on behalf of Expert Village and I'd like to tell you a story. Come travel back in time with me as we explore the brief history of Halloween. The Celts believed that the spirits of the dead would often take on the form of animals and wonder the earth causing trouble and damaging crops. Witches, fairies, demons and ghosts also were out cause mischief and destruction during this evening. The ancient Celts also believed evil spirits could come back as black cats and that witches could turn themselves into black cats for easier traveling. At the beginning of the vigil of Samhain the villagers would put out the hearth fires and any other light in their homes and assemble on a hill or in the open where the Druids or priests would build a sacred fire. The people made their homes dark so that they would look deserted and the spirits would be fooled into thinking that the homes were empty and therefore, not cause damage or destruction to their homes or to their crops. It is easy to see how this practice leads to the thought of deserted haunted houses. Stay tuned for history of Halloween chapter three."