Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31st, is widely regarded today as a night of costumes, candy, and spooky decorations. Yet beneath the modern festivities lies a deep well of history and lore that links the special event to séances, ghostly visitations, demons, and witchcraft rituals. The night’s roots stretch back thousands of years to ancient pagan customs, where the boundary between the living and the dead was believed to grow thin. Over time, this liminal atmosphere transformed Halloween into an evening steeped in the occult and the supernatural.
The ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”) marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter—a time when darkness dominated and death seemed closer. Celebrated from October 31st to November 1st, Samhain was seen as a moment when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest. People lit bonfires, wore disguises, and left out offerings to ward off or appease wandering spirits. This belief in a “thin veil” directly inspired later Halloween traditions. It is no coincidence that séances, ghost stories, and spirit communication became staples of the season. Samhain’s influence made Halloween a time when people expected supernatural encounters, whether benevolent or sinister.
By the 19th century, spiritualism—the practice of communicating with the dead—had gained enormous popularity in Europe and North America. Séances, often held in darkened rooms with candles and a medium, became a staple of Halloween gatherings. Victorians saw Halloween as an especially potent time for such rituals, believing that the dead could be more easily reached on this night than any other. Parlor games, such as using talking boards (early forms of Ouija boards), pendulums, and table-tipping sessions, often occurred at Halloween parties. While some treated these as entertainment, others believed they were genuinely contacting the spirits of the departed. In rural areas, Halloween divination games—especially those concerning love or marriage—echoed ancient pagan customs but were now cloaked in spiritualist practices.
Halloween’s ghostly reputation also comes from the idea of the season as a time of transition. In folklore, ghosts are souls that have unfinished business, and Halloween provides the perfect backdrop for stories about them. Graveyards, abandoned houses, and crossroads were considered haunted places where spirits gathered on All Hallows’ Eve. Even today, ghost tours, haunted houses, and horror films dominate Halloween culture, preserving the idea of the night as a gateway for spectral encounters.
Alongside ghosts came darker entities. Folklore from Ireland, Scotland, and parts of England depicted demons, goblins, and malevolent faeries roaming freely on Halloween night. People carved grotesque faces into turnips or pumpkins to scare off these beings—an early precursor to the modern jack-o’-lantern.
Christianity later overlaid these beliefs with warnings about demonic activity. Medieval clerics warned that witches and demons used Halloween to enact spells or tempt souls. Thus, Halloween became not only a festival of the dead but also a time of caution against infernal forces.
Halloween has long been associated with witchcraft, both feared and celebrated. Folklore held that witches gathered for sabbaths—ritual meetings of magic—on Halloween night. Spells cast on this night were believed to be especially powerful due to the heightened energy of the season. Historical records from Europe show that certain herbs, charms, and incantations were specifically prescribed for Halloween spells, whether for protection, love, or fortune-telling. Even in the New World, early colonial settlers retained superstitions about witches flying on Halloween and hexing crops or livestock. Today, modern Wiccans and pagans often view Halloween (or Samhain) as one of their most sacred sabbaths, using it for ritual magic, honoring ancestors, and divination. The blending of fear and fascination with witchcraft has thus endured into the present day.
Although most people today experience the pumpkin day as a secular celebration with costumes and candy, its older, darker associations linger. Haunted attractions, Ouija boards, and the popularity of horror media reflect our enduring fascination with spirits, demons, and witches. For some, Halloween remains an authentic time for rituals and ancestral reverence. In this way, Halloween is more than just a night of fun—it’s a living echo of ancient customs. Whether one believes in ghosts or not, the night continues to be seen as an open door to the unseen, a space where the boundaries blur and the imagination roams free.
Halloween’s connection to séances, ghosts, demons, and witchcraft spells is not merely superstition but a tapestry woven from centuries of cultural practices and beliefs. From Samhain’s sacred bonfires to Victorian séances and modern pagan rituals, the night of October 31st has always been more than candy and costumes. It is, and always has been, a time when the hidden world feels closer, when the mysterious beckons, and when the ancient rhythms of the supernatural still echo in the dark.
Here is a detailed description exploring some real examples of historical Halloween rituals and spells that people actually practiced, especially in Europe and North America. These customs date back centuries and blend elements of paganism, folk magic, and early Christian traditions.
Apple-Peeling Love Spell (Scotland & Ireland)
One of the most widespread Halloween traditions in 18th- and 19th-century Scotland and Ireland involved apples, which were sacred in Celtic traditions. Young people—especially women—would try to divine their future spouse’s name using apple peels on Halloween night. How It Was Done: At midnight on All Hallows’ Evening, a young person would peel an apple in one continuous strip, being careful not to break it. Holding the peel in their right hand, they would swing it over their left shoulder. The peel was said to fall into the shape of the initial letter of the person’s future spouse. Why It Was Believed to Work: This practice came from the Celtic idea that Samhain (Halloween) was a liminal night when the veil between worlds thinned, allowing glimpses of the future. Apples, as symbols of fertility and knowledge, were thought to carry divinatory power.
Burning Nuts to Predict Love Matches (England & Ireland)
Another popular Halloween custom from the 17th through 19th centuries was the burning of nuts to divine the faithfulness of lovers. This was often done at communal gatherings on All Hallows’ Eve. How It Was Done: Two nuts would be selected, each representing a person (usually the person performing the spell and their lover or crush). They were placed side by side in a fire or on a hot grate.If the nuts burned quietly together, the couple was destined for a happy marriage. If the nuts popped or rolled apart, it foretold a stormy or doomed relationship. Why It Was Believed to Work: This ritual symbolized how a relationship would fare under “heat” (passion, stress, or time). The behavior of the nuts in the fire was seen as a direct mirror of how the people would act in marriage.
Mirror Divination to See Your Future Spouse (United States & Britain)
By the 19th century, immigrants had brought Celtic and British Halloween customs to America. One particularly striking ritual involved mirrors and candlelight—a practice both spooky and romantic.How It Was Done: At midnight on all Hallows’ Evening, a young unmarried woman would stand alone in a dark room with a single candle lit. She would gaze into a mirror while combing her hair or eating an apple. Tradition said that the face of her future husband would appear over her shoulder in the reflection.In some versions, if she were to see a skull instead, it meant she would die unmarried. Why It Was Believed to Work: Mirrors were often seen as portals to the supernatural. Combined with Halloween’s liminality, it was believed one could glimpse beyond time and space to see their fate.
Guarding the Threshold: Salt and Iron at the Doorstep (Celtic & British Isles)
In the Celtic tradition of Samhain—the precursor to Halloween—people believed that the dead and malevolent spirits roamed the earth on October 31st. To keep these entities from crossing into their homes, families would scatter salt and iron at doorways and windowsills. Salt was thought to purify and repel evil, while iron was believed to burn or harm spirits and faeries. How it was performed: Families would sprinkle a line of salt across the threshold and place iron objects (like nails, horseshoes, or knives) at key points—especially near the hearth or door. Sometimes the iron would be heated first to “activate” its power. Purpose: This ritual served to block harmful energies or wandering souls from entering the house. It was especially common in rural Ireland and Scotland well into the 19th century.
The Jack-O’-Lantern Ward (Ireland & Scotland)
Before pumpkins, people in Ireland and Scotland carved turnips or mangel-wurzels into grotesque faces. Known as Jack-o’-lanterns, these were originally a protective spell, not a decoration. How it was performed: The head of the household would hollow out a large root vegetable and carve a frightening or grimacing face. A candle, ember, or lump of burning peat would be placed inside. The lantern was then set outside windows, doorways, or along paths to frighten away spirits, demons, or witches wandering on Samhain night. Purpose: It acted as a supernatural scarecrow—a magical talisman to keep away wandering souls and malicious faeries. According to folklore, the lantern also confused evil spirits, making them believe a demon already occupied the house.
Rowan & Red Thread Protection Charm (Scottish Highlands)
In Scotland and parts of Northern England, the rowan tree was considered a powerful plant for protection against witchcraft and evil spirits. On Halloween, when witchcraft was thought to be at its strongest, people would craft protective charms from rowan wood and red thread. How it was performed: Small crosses or bundles of rowan twigs were tied together with red thread (symbolizing life and protection). These charms were placed over doorways, in barns, or even worn around the necks of children and livestock on Halloween night. Purpose: This charm was meant to block curses, keep witches from “overlooking” (casting an evil eye on) livestock, and protect family members from supernatural harm. The combination of rowan and red thread was considered doubly potent.
Afterthoughts
In all three examples, the rituals share a common theme-liminality. Halloween originated from Samhain, a festival marking the end of the harvest and the start of the dark half of the year. It was a time of transition when the barriers were at their weakest. People believed protective measures were necessary to secure themselves, their homes, and their livestock from unseen forces, spirits, witches, and bad luck. There were people who, during Samhain, performed rituals to contact ghosts, or divine the future-especially regarding love and marriage, which were central concerns for young people at the time.
Apple Bobbing: A Timeless Halloween Tradition, Celts, Samhain, and Apples
Few images are more iconic of old-fashioned Halloween celebrations than a tub of water filled with shiny red apples, children and adults alike laughing as they try to catch one with their teeth, and their arms clearly at their sides to prevent any cheating. This game, called apple bobbing (or “ducking” for apples” in parts of Britain and Ireland), has much deeper roots than a simple party activity. Its origins reach back into the ancient Celtic world and early European folk customs, where apples were symbols of fertility, love, and even divination. Halloween grew out of Samhain, the Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. Apples were one of the last fruits harvested in autumn, so they held a special place in these festivities. The Celts believed that apples were imbued with magical properties—especially concerning love and prophecy. The apple itself was a mystical fruit in Celtic mythology. When sliced crosswise, the seeds form a five-pointed star, which was associated with the “pentagram” — a symbol of life and the hidden mysteries of nature. During Samhain, when the veil between the living and the spirit world was thought to be thinnest, apples were used for games and rituals designed to divine the future.
Apple Bobbing as a Love Oracle
In early Britain and Ireland, the game we now call apple bobbing was not merely for fun. It was originally a form of romantic fortune-telling practiced by young, unmarried people. Here are some historical examples of how it was done: First Bite Marriage: A bunch of apples were set afloat in a tub or basin. Young people would try to catch an apple with their teeth. Tradition held that the first person to successfully bite into one would be the next to marry. Marked Apples: Sometimes apples were marked with the initials of potential suitors. The apple a young woman caught foretold who she would marry. Peel Divination: In related customs, people would peel an apple in one long strip and throw the peel over their shoulder; the shape it formed on the ground was said to reveal the initial of a future spouse. In some cases, young girls would place an apple peel under their pillow, and at night during sleeping would try to see their future spouse in a dream.
These rituals were especially common on Halloween, especially during the night, because it was the time when spirits and otherworldly forces could more easily reveal the future.
From Divination to Parlor Game
By the 18th and 19th centuries, Halloween shifted from a sacred seasonal observance to a more domestic celebration in Britain and North America. Apple bobbing lost much of its mystical edge and became a lighthearted party game. Immigrants from Ireland and Scotland brought the tradition to the United States, where it became a staple of school events and community gatherings around Halloween. While the original fortune-telling significance faded, echoes of its old meaning survived in Halloween lore, especially among those who remembered their grandparents’ stories of “ducking for apples” predicting love and luck. Even today, apple bobbing is more than just a quaint game. The apple retains its old symbolic ties to love, knowledge, and fate. The act of plunging one’s face into water to retrieve it echoes ancient rites of cleansing and challenge. Participating in apple bobbing connects modern celebrants, even unconsciously, to a lineage of harvest festivals, Celtic mysticism, and youthful hopes for romance and good fortune.
Apple bobbing is one of the oldest surviving Halloween customs, rooted in ancient Celtic divination practices and later adapted into Victorian party games. Though now seen as a simple amusement, it once carried serious meanings about love, destiny, and the unseen forces believed to be active on Halloween night. But, many people today frown on apple bobbing from simply being concerned about germs and salava from other people’s mouths released into the water and on to the apples.
