How Much Do You Know About Spooky Season? Test Yourself With These Interesting Halloween Facts
There’s nothing like Halloween to get us into the spooky spirit! Dressing up in the year’s best costumes while participating in some festive activities throughout October can really help set the scene. (Not to mention those fun parties, too.) Though, as you’re getting ready for the holiday, you might want to read up on some fun and totally worthwhile Halloween facts.
Even if you’re the world’s biggest Halloween enthusiast, there may still be a lot you don’t know about the holiday. To help you brush up on your knowledge, we’ve rounded up some spooky and surprising Halloween facts below. With these bits of trivia up your sleeve, you’ll be sure to wow your friends and family while you’re out trick-or-treating or attending Halloween parties. You could even create a fun Halloween trivia quiz to see who really knows their stuff. The winner gets the first taste of the Halloween desserts!
Read on for everything you should know about Halloween.
Illinois produces more pumpkins than any other state.
In 2022 alone, Illinois harvested 630 million pounds of pumpkins. That’s a few too many pounds… our brains cannot comprehend!
Some people used to try to find husbands during Halloween.
It was an official ritual and everything! This was during the 18th century, though, when those who were single tried some pretty interesting methods to find love. Some included throwing apple peels over their shoulders with the hopes of an initial forming wherever it landed… or even lighting a candle in front of a mirror in a dark room, hoping to see the face of their future lover.
Trick-or-treating was once put on pause.
This was due to the sugar rationing going on during World War II, which seemingly made it hard to produce sweets. Though, once the rationing ended, those candy-producing companies did everything they could get it going again.
Candy corn used to be called chicken feed.
The controversial treat (whether you love them or not) have been around since the 1800s, invented by a man named George Renninger. When he first starting selling them, he deemed the candy as “Chicken Feed” but were soon renamed “Candy Corn” after World War I.
The song “Monster Mash” once reached #1 on the Billboard charts.
In 1962, everyone was doing the Monster Mash! That’s the year the Bobby “Boris” Pickett hit the top spot on the official chart.
Harry Houdini died on Halloween.
Kinda crazy when you remember that he was a very famous magician and illusionist. While his death was reported to be caused by health complications, there are some other mysterious claims on the matter…
Approximately 46% of Americans planned to make jack-o’-lanterns in 2023.
According to Finder, that means 154 million Americans planned to carve up pumpkins last year! That number is up from the 44% (then 146 million people) who said they’d be making jack-o’-lanterns in 2022.
Transylvania is a real place.
Transylvania may be famous for its myths about vampires but it’s not a mythical land. It’s actually a region located in central Romania.
There’s a statue of Jason Voorhees (from Friday the 13th) at the bottom of a lake in Crosby, Minnesota.
Diver Doug Klein built the statue and tethered it to the bottom of the water-filled Louise Mine Pit in 2013. Since then, it’s become a popular underwater attraction for other divers.
New York is home to the world’s largest Halloween parade.
The Greenwich Village Halloween Parade takes place every year on Halloween night in Manhattan, drawing thousands of costumed participants and even more spectators.
The word “witch” comes from the Old English wicce, meaning “wise woman.”
Taking it a notch further, “wiccan“were actually thought of in a positive light, with their opinions being highly respected. This probably could have been useful in Salem…
The world’s heaviest jack-o’-lantern weighed 2,684 pounds, 2 ounces.
The pumpkin made its debut at the the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on November 6, 2021. And it wasn’t your average jack-o’-lantern, either: It was etched with a face and other decorations including stars and heraldic scenes.
In Ireland, where Halloween originated, people celebrate by setting off fireworks.
They also eat barnbrack, a traditional fruitcake, and light bonfires to celebrate the holiday, according to Business Insider.
Americans spend more than $100 on Halloween.
In 2023, the National Retail Federation reported that Americans spent an average of $108.24 on Halloween-related items, including costumes, candy, and decorations.
In Germany, it’s tradition for people to hide their knives on Halloween night.
The goal is to prevent returning spirits from getting injured.
People originally carved turnips instead of pumpkins.
Jack-o’-lanterns are believed to have originated in Ireland in the 19th century—but they actually carved turnips instead of pumpkins at the time.
Americans used to celebrate the holiday by sending Halloween cards.
In the early 1900s, before the telephone was invented, Halloween cards were about as popular as Christmas cards.
Stephen Clarke holds the record for the world’s fastest pumpkin carving time.
He did it all under 16.47 seconds. Do you think you can do it faster?
There’s a reason why black and orange are associated with Halloween.
Orange signals the harvest of autumn, while black is a symbol of darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.
Scarecrows symbolize the ancient agricultural roots of the holiday.
That’s right! Greek farmers created the first scarecrows that look like people to protect their crops. Crows being the primary culprit is how the name originated.
Pumpkins are classified as a fruit, not as a vegetable.
Basically, anything that originates from the likes of a flower is technically a fruit.
Halloween originated from an ancient Celtic festival.
The origins of Halloween date back 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated on October 31 on the eve of their new year, according to the History Channel. The Celts believed that the dead returned to earth that night, and so they lit bonfires and donned costumes to ward off the ghosts.
Irish immigrants brought Halloween to the U.S.
During the mid-1800s, a flood of Irish immigrants fled from the potato famine to the U.S., bringing the tradition of Halloween with them.
Jack-o’-lanterns were inspired by an Irish legend.
According to the History Channel, the name jack-o’-lantern is rooted in an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack who fooled the devil and in turn was forced to walk the Earth with only a burning coal in a hollowed turnip to light his way. The Irish began to call him “Jack of the Lantern,” and then just “Jack o’Lantern.”
The most lit jack-o’-lanterns on display is 30,581.
The City of Keene, New Hampshire holds the Guinness World Record for the most lit jack-o’-lanterns on display (a whopping 30,581). Keene was the original record holder in this category and has broken the record eight times since then.
Trick-or-treating has existed since medieval times.
Trick-or-treating was inspired by the medieval English tradition of “souling,” which involved children going door-to-door on All Souls Day, offering prayers for residents’ deceased loved ones in exchange for food.
Trick-or-treating was also inspired by a tradition called “mumming.”
In the middle ages, people began practicing a tradition known as mumming, in which they dressed up as ghosts and demons, and went door-to-door performing songs and scenes from plays in exchange for food and drink. This custom is believed to be an antecedent of trick-or-treating, according to the History Channel.
Candy wasn’t given out to trick-or-treaters until the 1950s.
Halloween simply wouldn’t be the same without those fun (and king!) size candy bars to sweeten the day. But there was a time when trick-or-treaters didn’t receive candy at all, but rather pieces of cake, fruit, nuts, coins, and little toys, according to the History Channel. It wasn’t until the 1950s, when candy makers began to promote their goods for Halloween, that candy became a staple on the trick-or-treating circuit. These days, one quarter of all the candy sold in the U.S. each year is purchased for Halloween.
Pop-culture has a big influence on Halloween costumes
Halloween looks can be silly, funny, or cute, and according to the Visual Capitalist, in 2023, the top Halloween costumes for adults were:
1. Barbie
2. Princess
3. Spider-Man
4. Witch
5. Fairy
Reese’s Cups are America’s favorite candy.
There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s—especially on Halloween! According to CandyStore.com, Reese’s Cups were the top candy last year, followed by M&Ms and Hot Tamales.
Circus Peanuts are America’s least favorite candy.
Circus Peanuts have always been divisive, but according to CandyStore.com’s top 10 worst Halloween candies lists, more people hate it than love it. Consumers voted Circus Peanuts the worst Halloween candy in the country in 2023, leading the charts for a second year in a row.
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