Your Tomb Or Mine

A green-skinned vampire holds open his black and orange wing shaped cape from behind a flower laden grave stone on a purple background with yellow text over the cape wings.

Halloween is a celebration held on October 31st each year in many different countries around the world. The word Halloween or Hallowe’en comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows’ Eve, the evening before All Hallows’ Day or All Saints’ Day.  This Christian celebration honors all saints and is celebrated on November 1st, thus Halloween or All Hallow’s’ Eve is the day before that celebration. Modern celebrations of Halloween include dressing up in costumes, walking from house to house (known as trick-or-treating), and going to social events or parties. Another tradition is carving jack-o-lanterns, which are carved faces or designs on pumpkins, turnips, or other root vegetables.

Commonly associated with Halloween are “thing that go bump in the night” like ghosts, goblins, and vampires. The last of these is a folklore creature that sustains itself by biting its victims and sucking their blood. Vampires exist in nearly every culture and were popularized by Irish author Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel entitled Dracula. Most recognize vampires as fictional entities, but some still buy into the existence of the chupacabra—an American monster that attacks and drinks the blood of livestock.