Otherworld North East Research Society Journal 01 | Page 27

Journal 2007

Sabbaths (meetings) was held on Halloween. As it was ‘common knowledge’ that witches
rode broomsticks and had black cats and familiars, those iconic images have become
another of our Halloween symbols. Again, it was said that the evil witches would play
pranks and worse during their Halloween Sabbath, perhaps a throwback to the prechristian beliefs about that same night in the calendar.
The custom of “Trick or Treat” seems to have its origins in Ireland, where on All Hallows
Eve peasants would travel from house to house asking for food and other gifts to help in
the evening’s celebrations, with threats made against those that refused to give. At the
time, these demands were made in the name of either the Christian Saint Columb Cille, or
the ancient Muck Olla, said to be a pagan deity, again showing the fusion of the two
religions in local customs. The custom of Trick or Treating (in its present form), seems to
have first been seen in Ireland, and then arrived in America in the 1840s. From there it
spread to Britain, though in many areas of this country it didn’t become a common sight
until the movie ET: The Extra Terrestrial firmly implanted it in the minds of parents and
children in 1982.
Halloween is also thought by many to be a ‘gathering’ of customs from other pagan
ceremonies throughout the year, such as the ‘Baal Fire’ usually held on St. John’s Eve.

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