Fear is a four letter word

Black cats get a raw deal on Halloween. People always say they bring bad luck with their crossings, but on a night of fun and frights the assertion comes through tenfold in such a way that owners of black cats have to keep them indoors to prevent them from being harmed.

Nearly everyone puts out a carved pumpkin when the sweetest and scariest night of the year grows near, but few know why past that they have always done it. As it happens, some say the candle illuminating the pumpkin wards away evil spirits and demons, hence its placement at the entrance of a home.

On the subject of spirits, some believe the dead feel closer to the world of the living than usual on Halloween night. The belief likely stemmed from Halloween sharing a date with one of the Days of the Dead, the Latin American holiday in which the spirits dead relatives are said to temporarily return.

The final resting place of hundreds can only elicit fear and for good reason. Just underfoot lie the dead, commanders of fear and respect since the dawn of time, on a night where even children seek strange and frightening things to thrill them. “Night of the Living Dead” made sure the yearly fear of strange sounds in cemeteries received a face: zombies.

One of the older superstitions about Halloween night involves the solicitation of witches by way of wearing clothes inside out and walking backwards. Why someone would want to meet a witch on a night like that remains a mystery to all but those who met their witches, and they will not give their reason for searching.