What do #Zombies and #Snickers Have in Common on #Halloween?

I love Halloween. I love everything about it: the costumes, the treats, the decorations, and trick-or-treaters. But most of all, I love the scariness that goes along with Halloween, which evokes images of fog-laden cemeteries or a full moon with eery, wispy clouds drifting over it to cast a ghostly light over the land. I instantly hear the telltale piano notes of the theme to the movie, Halloween, and I become all giddy like a little girl.

Halloween, even more-so than Christmas, makes me feel like a kid again. I just love it. And here's some interesting facts and trivia about Halloween that you may not have known:

• The first Jack O'Lanterns were carved from turnips.
• Zombies were the #1 choice of costume in 2011.
• Do you have an intense fear of Halloween? Well then, you have Samhainophobia. BOO!
• Half of kids prefer to receive chocolate candy for Halloween, with Snickers being the #1 favorite chocolate treat. So invest in some chocolate for your trick-or-treaters.
• Trick-or-treating evolved from an ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.
• An old tradition says that if you want to see a witch on Halloween, put your clothes on inside out and walk backward.
• The word "witch" comes from the Old English wicce, meaning "wise woman." In fact, wiccan were highly respected people at one time. According to popular belief, witches held one of their two main meetings, or sabbats, on Halloween night.
• Speaking of witches, in Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.
• Ever wonder how the Jack O'Lantern got its name? Legend says that a stingy man named jack tricked the devil so many times that he was forbidden to enter both heaven and hell. Jack was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.

31 Days of #Halloween - Holiday Trivia

The month of October is my favorite month, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. And since I write paranormal tales of romance, I thought it would be fun to have a month of Halloween-related posts. Stick around and have some fun. There might be a prize or two in the offing, as well as some fun quizzes, trivia, and perhaps even a true story or two about ghosts. As always, feel free to share your own stories.

Halloween Holiday Trivia

1. Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.
2. Jack o’ Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.
3. Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!
4. Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
5. Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.
6. The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
7. Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.
8. Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.
9. Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.
10. Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the Roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.
11. Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.

Come back every day in October for something else related to October and Halloween!