Halloween Dump. Required Reading.

Concerned about the ethical implications of Halloween? TheResurgance.com isn't, claiming that the holiday is no big deal. I agree.

Still worried? Maybe you've heard that Halloween was a Pagan holiday (or maybe that's what you like about it). Well, the Catholic origin of Halloween is actually very well-documented and you can read an nice explanation of it, here. 

 Here's the fun part:

"More Masses were said on All Souls Day, and artistic representations were devised to remind everyone of their own mortality. We know these representations as the “danse macabre”, or “dance of death,” which was commonly painted on the walls of cemeteries and shows the devil leading a daisy chain of people–popes, kings, ladies, knights, monks, peasants, lepers, etc.–into the tomb. Sometimes the dance was presented on All Souls Day itself as a living tableau with people dressed up in the garb of various states of life."

 Halloween. Medieval Church Style.

As a medievalist, let me tell you a simple rule of thumb: if someone says that a modern-day practice dates back to Pagan rituals they are probably wrong. We wrote about this a few years ago.

Witchcraft? Never happened. Read our old post on this subject and rest easy. Witches only existed historically as an accusation thrown at politicians. It dates back to the inquisition, the Templars and the poor Druids.

Like being scared? I do. It's fun. Go to this classic page from Listverse.com and scroll down to #3 where you can listen to a rare recording of an exorcism. Not for the squeamish.

Mental Floss has a good article about why black cats are considered bad luck which includes the story of a monstrous feline called a "Cat Sith." (My wife's cat is all the proof I ever needed.)

And for my fellow losers IT workers, here's a comic detailing appropriate costumes for our profession.