The Synergy Project Magazine - October 2020

to be evil (Jemison, 2014).
Witches are a more common
myth discussed in history classes
in America today mainly due to the
Salem Witch Trials of 1692. From
the 14th through the 19th century,
older women were targeted as
witches. During stressful times that
lacked modern scientific discovery
and was extremely patriarchal
tended to associate unexplainable
crimes to women in the country
(“History of Halloween”, 2019). In
order to detect a witch-- which still
ties to the characteristics of witches
we visualize today-- there is a
sense of dark magic, devil worship,
brooms, cauldrons, and pointy,
countryside hats. Thousands of
innocent women were burned,
staked, and executed for witchcraft
around the globe (“History of
Halloween”, 2019). In Islamic and
African countries, women are still
executed for sorcery (Moyssen,
2018). Black cats in European
history have been associated with
bad luck and witches. Often they
were killed with their witch owners,
unfortunately (“Misconceptions
about Black”, n.d.).
In 1831, Mary Shelley’s book,
Frankenstein shaped the spinoffs
of Frankenstein and general
zombies. In the novel, mad scientist
Victor Frankenstein made this
creature from an experiment
after the death of his mother
(“Frankenstein”, 2020) Shelley’s
inspiration most likely from the
pre-Islamic Arabian religion that
discusses zombie-like creatures
(“History of Halloween”, 2019) and
from her love of Greek mythology.
George Gordon Byron’s 1816 work
about the greek god Prometheus
certainly was fuel for her novel
as well (“The Prometheus Myth”,
n.d.). Another common creature,
the werewolf, dates back to
Ancient Greece and Indo-European
mythology (“Werewolf”, 2020).
Many were turned to werewolves
due to a curse as punishment to
their malicious persona. Full moons
were temporary triggers whereas
bites and scratches were more
permanent. Like witches, during
high-stress situations, there was a
want to assign blame for the cause
of stress (“History of Halloween”,
2019). Other tales from around
the globe that are similar to the
creatures mentioned that I suggest
reading about are Thailand’s
Krasue, the Latino ghost tale of La
Llorna, and the Australian folklore,
“Fisher’s Ghost”.
Modern Halloween in America
has turned into fun parties
dressing up as favorite characters,
puns, and still the traditional
monsters we have celebrated for
decades and there are far more
treats than tricks. In fact, roughly
9 billion dollars are spent on
Halloween in America each year,
roughly 2.6 billion dollars are from
candy purchases alone (Finney,
2019). The Celts still celebrate
their own traditions and England
celebrates Guy Fawkes Day. The
modern holiday has slowly been
spreading to nations like East Asia,
Japan, Europe, Philippines in the
eastern hemisphere for economic
benefits. Other countries like
South Africa and the Middle East
see it as a very western holiday
and do not choose to celebrate
it (“History of Halloween”, 2019).
Hispanic countries in Latin America
celebrate Día de Los Muertos
in many similar ways but they
focus on honoring their deceased
relatives much more; Graves are
decorated, sugar skulls are made,
stories and prayers are shared
and altars are created for the dead
(“Day of The”, n.d.).
The ancient traditions
from the Celts, the Christians,
and Pagans are to thank for what
makes Halloween the holiday
it is today. The Victorian Age of
writing is also to take credit for
ghouls and creatures they have
normalized. With the Coronavirus
this year, the holiday will undergo
many changes for people and
may even create new trends or
traditions for later generations. We
may see many drive-by trick-ortreating
parades, more bowls left
out with individually packed treat
bags, and masks of course. It is an
opportunity to spend time with
family and maybe even revive the
customs of honoring the deceased.
Regardless, the holiday can still be
celebrated in a spooky, enjoyable
way as long as you make the most
of it.