The Midst of Life and Death

The idea of death was terrifying throughout all lands, and many tried everything they could to delay it and even prevent it altogether. Widespread beliefs that the supernatural has been haunting the living for years is seen across societies and cultures, and there have been multiple supposed occurrences, such as ghost activities, and more. All of these created the superstitions that everyone knows today, like black cats are bad luck. This all links with Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, as the most common celebration of the dead.

The act of either celebrating or warding off the dead has been seen across many civilisations throughout history. One example of this are the many ancient rituals that occurred during the shift between summer and winter. Many of these were rooted in winter usually being associated with the cold, dark and death because that was when most living things would die. Many different cultures and religions also feature death within them, usually in the form of Gods or angels with death being regarded as a powerful force well respected. Examples include the Norse God, Hel, or the Hindu Goddess Kail. However, over time, death would become synonymous with the idea of evil and monstrous.

The true purpose of Halloween is to repel the ghosts that cross over to this world, as the boundary between the dead and the living are thin. The earliest occasion of what we would now call Halloween was Samhain, originating from Celtic culture over 2,000 years ago. The name came from a powerful demon of Hell. During Samhain it would be common to dress in costu

mes and light bonfires. This was then incorporated with Feralia (a similar holiday in the Roman Empire), which was to honour the dead. Through the years this would become westernised and was influenced by Christiancy. Today, different cultures have their own variation, Mexico has ‘Day of the Dead’, China has ‘Tomb Sweeping

Day ', to name a few.

Another way death was told in different cultures was through horror myths. These included Bloody Mary, Hookman, and the Slenderman in more recent times and often featured repulsive characters and grotesque things happening to innocent people. Their popularisation contributed to the idea that death is scary and that many deaths that can’t be solved are causes of supernatural activity. These were the ways that humans could explain the unexplainable before science could have been involved, however these stories never vanished and are still told today.

Demira Govind 11F