Fun Halloween Facts: How Much Do You Know About This Haunting Season?

It's never too early to start the celebration if Halloween is your favorite holiday.

In light of this, we're here to celebrate all that is associated with the colors black and orange with this assortment of fun Halloween facts that we've come up with that you're going to find completely intriguing (and terrifying).

Fun facts for Halloween

Halloween was first celebrated 2,000 years ago

According to History.com, the history of Halloween originated from the ancient Celts who lived in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France. 

They held a holiday called Samhain on October 31, which fell one day before the Aztec, Toltec, and Mayan societies celebrated Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. 

It was the first day of winter, the day before their new year, and the day when people thought that the dead had come back to life.

Fun facts about Halloween history

Jack-o'-lantern comes from the Irish legend of Stingy Jack

Stingy Jack asked the devil to join him for a drink but refused to pay for it. Thus, he persuaded the devil to turn himself into a coin and keep it close to a silver cross in his house. 

If Jack left him alone and did not claim his soul after a year, he would release the demon, he said. 

Jack deceived the devil a year later, but this time, God prevented him from going to hell. With a blazing coal inside a turnip that had been cut, Jack was sent off into the night.

The custom of making homemade lanterns out of turnips, beets, and potatoes originated in Ireland and Scotland and later extended to the United States, where pumpkins were used.

The meaning behind black and orange

Halloween fun facts about the colors

The Library of Congress states that black and orange are the colors associated with Halloween because the ancient Celts thought that black represented the "death" of summer and orange symbolized the fall harvest.

You can read more about it in this article: “Why are orange and black the Halloween colors?”

Chicken feed was the previous term for candy corn

Candy corn didn't originally get its name because it tastes like chicken feed, despite the opinions of many people. George Renninger, the invention's creator, named it "Chicken Feed" and decorated the box with a colorful rooster as corn was the main ingredient used to feed chickens.

Trick-or-treating was once postponed

This resulted from World War II's sugar rationing, which reportedly made it difficult to produce sweets. Nonetheless, those candy-making businesses made every effort to restart operations as soon as the rationing ended.

Trick or Treat?

Halloween candy sales in America would fill six Titanics

Americans go through almost 600 million pounds of sweets in a single Halloween week, or two pounds of candy each person. 

Vox's data wizards estimate that the amount of Halloween sweets in one large mound could fill six Titanics!

Women used to play Halloween games to know their future husbands

Originally, Halloween was connected to romance rather than Valentine's Day. According to The New York Times, Halloween festivities in the early 20th century frequently exploited women's desire for romantic relationships. 

In one game, she had to chop off the skin of an apple and throw it over her shoulder; the peel that landed there was supposed to represent her future suitor's initials.

Another fun fact about Halloween

Transylvania is a real place

Although Transylvania is well-known for its vampire legends, it is not a mythological place. It is, in fact, a region in the center of Romania.

A city in South Carolina changed its name to "Halloween"

Conway, South Carolina changed its name to the "City of Halloween" in 2022. Even though it only goes by that name in October, it celebrates Halloween with a parade, lots of decorations, and costumes galore.

Several Americans pretend not to be home on Halloween

Fun facts Halloween

When trick-or-treaters ring the doorbell or, for that matter, pass out candy, some Americans refuse to respond. Moreover, one in five Americans, or 21% of respondents claimed that they don't spend Halloween night at home, according to a 2021 YouGov survey.

Halloween was once known as “Black Halloween”

Halloween used to be a night for pranking, before costumes and trick-or-treating.

The pranks soon got out of control, and in 1933 vandals destroyed millions of dollars' worth of property across the United States, earning the holiday the name "Black Halloween."

Popular Halloween costumes

Fun facts about Halloween costumes

Halloween costumes may be goofy, humorous, or adorable. The Visual Capitalist reports that in 2023, the most popular adult Halloween costumes were: Barbie, princess, witch, fairy, and Spider Man.

Related:

• Best spooky Halloween costumes

• Best Halloween costumes from movies

The word "witch" comes from the Old English wicce

The word "witch" comes from the Old English wicce, which was actually regarded as a favorable term that means "wise woman".

“The Conjuring” is based on true life events

The Conjuring film

The terrifying film, which centers on a family who moves into a mansion in Burrillville, Rhode Island that is haunted by ghosts, is based on the actual case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators. 

Reese's Cups are America's favorite candy

Eat a Reese's in whatever way you like; it's Halloween! CandyStore.com reports that Reese's Cups were the top candy, followed by M&Ms and Hot Tamales.

Pumpkins were not carved in the past; turnips were

Turnips were originally carved by the Irish and Scottish as a means to remember deceased souls. They discovered that carving pumpkins was far simpler after moving to the United States, and the rest is history.

Related: Why do we carve pumpkins on Halloween?

The record for the quickest pumpkin carving

The record for pumpkin carving

Most people carve pumpkins for fun, but in 2013 competitive pumpkin carver Stephen Clarke broke the Guinness World Record by finishing his masterpiece in 16.47 seconds. 

The pumpkin needed to have ears, eyes, mouths, and noses to be eligible.

Halloween isn't Day of the Dead (and vice versa)

Although Halloween has been associated with the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), this is not the case. 

The more than 3,000-year-old Mexican event is a time to pay tribute to departed family members. However, it shouldn't be connected to Halloween customs like costumes and candy.

Day of the Dead

Halloween postcards used to be a thing

Over 3,000 Halloween postcards were mass-produced between 1905 and 1920. Before the phone became the primary means of contact, people sent Halloween greetings to each other through the mail for years.

Europe doesn't celebrate Halloween like the U.S.

Even though immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought Halloween to the US, the rest of Europe didn't start celebrating the festival until decades later. 

Although several European nations now celebrate the holiday, it hasn't become as commercialized as it has in the United States.

Fun facts on Halloween in Europe