From pagan gods to Christian saints, the changing roles of witches and some of history's most famous sorceresses, to why we carve pumpkins and go trick-or-treating, you'll find out the secrets behind spooky season.
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History of Halloween
THE HISTORY
Spooky Season • Say the word Halloween and it conjures up images of pumpkins, hauntings, witches, and children hoarding candy. But where did it originate?
Folk customs
The Ancient Witch Religion • Before the coming of Christianity, was there a pagan religion that tied Europe together? And has it survived in an unbroken line to this day?
Aradia, the witch messiah
The Horned God
Religion of the Celts • Celtic paganism spanned a thousand years and the entire European continent, yet is little known today. Who were the mysterious worshippers in those dark forests?
Influence on Christianity
Samhain • Halloween may have largely replaced it, but Samhain is still one of the most important festivals in the Pagan year
Ghostly Goings On • The core aspects of Halloween, such as reverence for the dead, divination rituals, warding off evil, and celebration of harvest, are universal. In fact, cultures from all over the world have similar festivities
Día de Muertos
The Season of Hallowtide • Hallowtide, a time of year when the dead have access to the world of the living, is an ancient tradition that millions still celebrate
Indulging in the graveyard
Relics or spooky skeletons?
THE WITCHES
Why Witches Come Out on Halloween • The ancient festivals honouring the dearly departed weren’t always the province of witches – so how and why did they first come to be associated with Halloween?
The Dawn of the Witch • In the ancient world magic was a part of everyday life, but as cultures grew and new religions emerged, the idea of witchcraft and those who practised it became twisted and demonic
Hecate: Goddess of witches
Magic in the ancient world • Magic has been present since the earliest human cultures
The Ghoul Next Door • Revered and feared in villages across Europe, cunning folk and their magic were part of everyday life until a new move against witches led many to their deaths
Why witches were usually women
15 Most Notorious Witches • Meet the individuals whose status of witch – whether true or not – have helped shape the folklore of witches
The witches that inspired film and TV • As well as offering a valuable social insight to the past, witches and witch trials have also inspired characters and plots in modern entertainment
James VI and the Witches • After personal experience of black magic – or so he thought – James VI of Scotland waged a vigorous war against witchcraft
The King’s Idol • Meet the man who James VI saw as his intellectual equal
A Continent Gripped by Conspiracy • Scotland wasn’t unique in the persecution of witches, but the role played by the crown was without equal
The Witch Redeemer • Not everyone supported the idea of witch hunting
Witch Hunting • The witch hunters of early modern Europe and America saw thousands tortured and sentenced to death, but what was a witch hunt and why did this notorious practice happen?
Witch hunting worldwide
WHO WERE THE WITCH HUNTERS?
Are you a witch?
THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS
Terror on Pendle Hill • During the reign of the Witch Hunter King, power, superstition and family feuds plunged the picturesque area of Pendle into turmoil that would prove most deadly
Fact or Fiction?
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot
The Witch’s spellbook • Witches have recorded their spells and...
