Spirits, Spells & Sweets

Almost everything you know about Halloween is wrong.

There was never an ancient god named Samhain. The first jack-o'-lanterns were carved from turnips, not pumpkins. And that poisoned trick-or-treat candy is essentially an urban legend.

This is the real history of Halloween, followed from a cold Gaelic festival and a Christian season of the dead, through turnip lanterns and soul cakes, to the neon-and-plastic candy holiday of today.

Every claim is marked plainly as documented, contested or debunked, so you always know how solid the ground is beneath your feet.