Vocabulary

MonsterActions Ghost appears and disappears Vampire drinks blood, sleeps in coffins Witch flies on a broom Werewolf transforms at full moon Mummy wears bandages Pirate attacks and steals from ships Zombie comes back from death

Scary story

THE TALE OF JACK O'LANTERN One version of the story says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen, when he met the Devil, who claimed it was time for him to die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting the Devil with a chance to bedevil the church- going villagers chasing him. Jack told the Devil to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods (the Devil could take on any shape he wanted); later, when the coin/Devil disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who had stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack had closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped.

Ghost story

Well, I've been seeing ghosts since I was five The first that I've seen was when I was five, but it wasn't a ghost - it was an angel. I saw many landing from the sky to our house's roof. I told my parents, but of course who would believe a five year old! I kept seeing strange things over and over after that. At age ten, it got stronger...they started talking to me. I wasn't scared at all, as I communicated with them. Then, they started writing stuff to me on the walls. I told dad about them, and that's when he started believing me. He kept asking me about things that I couldn't possibly know, and they would write the answers to me on the walls. He told mom that he went to some sort of an expert and they told him that I was "gifted." He asked me if I wanted it to go away, if it was scaring me. I said, "No." Many things happened to me with the ghosts and angels. One of the stories is about a ghost with black clothes - a male ghost that I saw twice. My aunt saw him too, one time, which proves that it's not just me! Once, I saw him by the river when me and my family were out; then I saw him at our house by the stairs. Later, my aunt saw him there, too. I also have a "guardian angel" (that's what I call him) - long story short, he was helping me through it all. I guess he's the reason why I never got scared of all those ghosts...he also helped me get rid of the dark ghost by the stairs!

History and Customs of Halloween

Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or- treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.

Halloeen symbols

Thousands of years ago, the pagans considered most of the Halloween symbols that are commonly associated with witches and wizards or evil entities to be sacred. When Christianity adopted Halloween as one of their own festivals, they started interpreting these symbols as signs of wickedness, devil or associated to Satanism, so that people turn away from paganism and its practices. We are discussing some of these symbols that are still used on Halloween, but the legends of their origin are faded by dust of time. Explore the article to know about the traditional Halloween symbols.

Superstition

Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.