The darkest days of the year are upon us. Of course, I’m talking about Halloween. Here are some crazy and fun facts you may not have realized about the candy, ghosts, and jack-o-lanterns galore.
1. The first Jack O’Lanterns were made of turnips. As someone who is not a fan of vegetables, a smiling turnip actually does seem a little scary. Below is an example of what I’m talking about:
2. Halloween actually originated in Ireland. So basically Notre Dame should be enjoying it harder than any other college, amirite?
3. In Alabama, it’s illegal to dress up as a priest. I guess they can do one thing right.
4. Samhainophobia is a fear of Halloween.
5. Trick-or-treating didn’t become a thing until the 50s. It was probably a combination of ancient Irish traditions and a celebration of the end of WWII sugar rationing.
6. October 30 is National Candy Corn Day, aka the best day ever.
7. It is predicted that there will be a full moon on October 31, 2020.
8. During the ancient Irish festivals, Druid priests would throw the bones of cows into large fires to ensure the sun would return (#permacloudprobz). Over time, the phrase “bone fire” became “bonfire”, so that’s something to think about the next time you’re roasting marshmallows.
9. Animal shelters will not allow people to adopt black cats around Halloween for fear that the cats will be abandoned or sacrificed.
10. Daylight savings time was extended through Halloween so that candy companies could sell more candy. They literally manipulated time to make more money.
11. There are dozens of cases each year of customers in haunted houses seriously injuring employees because they are so scared.
12. Halloween is the second highest-grossing holiday after Christmas—$1.9 billion is spent on candy alone.
13. Highwood, IL set the record for most pumpkins lit at one in 2011, with 30,919 pumpkins. Damn.
14. Around the time of Halloween, upwards of 1,200 haunted houses are open.
15. Notre Dame is supposedly haunted by several ghosts: George Gipp, the football player, Father Sorin, and a tribe of Patawatami Indians on whose burial grounds Notre Dame might have been built.