Fangtastic Facts 1) Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas.
2) The owl is a popular Halloween image. In Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.
3) The first Jack O’Lanterns were actually made from turnips.
4) Because the movie Halloween (1978) was on such a tight budget, they had to use the cheapest mask they could find for the character Michael Meyers, which turned out to be a William Shatner Star Trek mask. Shatner initially didn’t know the mask was in his likeness, but when he found out years later, he said he was honored.
5) According to Irish legend, Jack O’Lanterns are named after a stingy man named Jack who, because he tricked the devil several times, was forbidden entrance into both heaven and hell. He was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.
6) The Guinness World Record for Heaviest Pumpkin is held by Mathias Willemijns from Belgium and his 2,624.6-pound pumpkin.
7) Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.
8) Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.
9) “Souling” is a medieval Christian precursor to modern-day trick-or-treating. On Hallowmas (November 1), the poor would go door-to-door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for soul cakes.
10) Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.
11) Scarecrows, a popular Halloween fixture, symbolize the ancient agricultural roots of the holiday.
12) Halloween was influenced by the ancient Roman festival Pomona, which celebrated the harvest goddess of the same name. Many Halloween customs and games that feature apples (such as bobbing for apples) and nuts date from this time. In fact, in the past, Halloween has been called San-Apple Night and Nutcrack Night.
13) According to tradition, if a person wears his or her clothes inside out and then walks backwards on Halloween, he or she will see a witch at midnight.
14) Halloween is thought to have originated around 4000 B.C., which means Halloween has been around for over 6,000 years.
15) A child born on Halloween is said to have the ability to talk to spirits.
16) The original name of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's famous book was Count Wampyr.
17) The average bag of candy that one child will collect on Halloween contains about 11,000 calories.