12 Bonkers Halloween Facts That Are All Treat And No Trick

Halloween is a holiday that is celebrated on the night of October 31. It is believed that on this night, ghosts and witches come out to haunt people. People dress up in costumes to scare them away. They also decorate their houses with spooky decorations. Many people believe that Halloween is derived from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. This was a festival to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed that on this night, the spirits of the dead came back to haunt the living. To ward them off, they would dress up in costumes and light bonfires. Today, Halloween is celebrated all over the world. In some countries, such as the United States, Canada, Ireland, and Britain, people celebrate it by dressing up in costumes and going trick-or-treating. In others, such as Mexico and France, people celebrate it by having parties where they dress up in costumes and eat food that is associated with death, such as skulls and bones. No matter how it is celebrated, Halloween is a holiday that is enjoyed by people of all ages.

Do you love Halloween? Cracked sure do! It's a favorite holiday of the year. But even if you're not a huge fan of the spooky season, we guarantee you'll find these crazy facts about Halloween absolutely bonkers. From candy to costumes, there's always something intriguing about this holiday. So sit back, relax, and get ready to have your mind blown by some seriously wacky Halloween trivia!

12

Halloween can be traced back to the Celtic festival of Samhain, where the dead were said to return to earth. To appease the spirits, the Celts would don animal skins and offer banquets of food. Centuries later, people decided to dress as the ghosts themselves and perform antics for food and drink. CRACKED.COM — Source: Time

11

Children used to visit houses souling, and ask for food, money, and booze. In 1000 A.D. November 2nd became known as All Souls' Day, where the poor would go to the homes of the wealthy and promise to pray for the homeowners' dead relatives in exchange for pastries. CRACKED.COM — Source: History

10

Community based trick-or-treating was a response to Halloween becoming too violent. During the Great Depression, Halloween mischief stopped being good natured pranks and often devolved into vandalism, physical assaults and sporadic acts of violence. CRACKED.COM — Source: History

9

Trick-or-Treating abruptly stopped during WWII, since sugar rationing meant fewer treats to hand out. THIS STORE IS PLEDCED TO CONFORM TO THE SUGAR RECULATIONS OF THE U.S. FOOD ADMINISTRATION Your Sugar Ration, is 2 lbs. per month SUGAR 2 lbs. SUGAR SUGAR So you can add literally taking candy from babies to the list of reasons to hate Nazis. CRACKED.COM — Source: History

8

The term trick-or-treat can be traced back to a Peanuts comic strip. PEANUTS TRICKS OR TREATS MONEY OR EATS! KNOCK! KNOCKI. w WHAT?! It's impossible to know when people adopted the term, but trick-or-treat showed up in pop culture in 1951 with the Peanuts. A year later, Disney came out with Trick or Treat, featuring Donald Duck and his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. CRACKED.COM — Source: History

7

One woman in 1964 made special treat bags full of ant poison, steel wool, and dog biscuits for kids she deemed too old'' to be trick-or-treating. ANT BUTTONS REG.U.S. PATENT OFFICE KILL ANTS and ROACHES DESTROYS WHOLE COLONIES OF ANTS IN THEIR NESTS Kills. Hies. The Original BUTTONS 4 Many ANT Bottle GOOD KILL HOUSEKEEPING Insects: Cap. POISON Mice REGULDRAT.ORE Insecticide 25 HARRIS PRODUCTS CO_Inc P.O.ROX 4. MIAMI BEACH. FLA She claimed the goodies, wrapped in tinfoil, were just a joke, but authorities weren't laughing and had her committed. CRACKED.COM — Source: NY Times

6

Paranoia surrounding tainted candy can likely be traced back to the Tylenol murders of 1982. Acetaminophen laced with cyanide was sold on store shelves and killed 7 people in Illinois, but the perpetrator was never caught. CRACKED.COM — Source: PBS

5

A Japanese crime ring in the 80's called the Monster with 21 Faces threatened to lace candy with cyanide before they hit the shelves, lest they be given a large ransom. They actually did poison packs of cookies and candy, however the only death came from the chief of the Shiga Prefecture P.D. who killed himself for failing to stop the crime ring - who were never caught. CRACKED.COM — Source: History

4

The U.S. put a man to death in 1984 for poisoning his own 8 year old son with cyanide-laced Pixie Stix. No one saw him put the poison in the candy, but he did take out a hefty life-insurance policy on the boy prior to his death. CRACKED.COM — Source: History

3

It's not poison candy or ghosts and demons that will get you on Halloween night, but drunk drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drunk drivers account for nearly half of all Halloween fatalities. CRACKED.COM — Source: Automotive Fleet

2

A dead body was ignored for several hours because people thought it was a Halloween decoration. The body of a 42-year-old woman in Delaware hanged from a tree, fully visible by passing cars on a busy road, after an apparent suicide. One witness said, It looked like something somebody would have rigged up. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Guardian

1

An 8-year-old girl, wearing a black costume, was shot by her cousin after being mistaken for a giant skunk. She survived, but the cousin was in deep trouble since you can't just go firing off into a residential neighborhood. To address the offense, the police chief met with the district attorney of... Beaver County. Oh, come on! CRACKED.COM — Source: ABC

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