Samhain Superstition and Lore

Come with me
All Hallow’s Night
We’ll frighten everyone in sight
Such pranks, for once,
are justified
And fun and frolic amplified.

– From an early nineteenth-century Halloween postcard (Silver Ravenwolf, Halloween)

Merry Meet All,

Samhain is nineteen days away!! Today we will look at some cool superstition and lore about Samhain. Most lore and superstition derives from the fears and beliefs of the European peoples.

It was believed that ringing a bell on Samhain drove away evil spirits.

If you bury animal bones in front of your house on Samhain, it will keep evil away.

If you light a white candle and set it in your windowsill, the candle guides your ancestors and lost spirits. A black candle will keep malicious spirits away.

Lighting a turnip candle and setting it on your front doorstep will protect your home.

If you hear footsteps following you on Samhain, the spirit may be a forerunner or a spirit following you home.

An old folktale from Appalachia was that owls flew down chimneys to eat the souls of the dead.

If bats fly out early on Samhain eve, it is a sign of good weather.

If you see a spider on Samhain, the spider is the spirit of a dead ancestor.. so do not harm it.

Scarecrows are a common sight in a farmer’s field. In Finland, the scarecrow is called Pellon Pekko, or “Little Peter of the Field.” The burning of scarecrows may have originated with the practice of burning a wicker man (Druid).

The word “ghost” is an ancient Germanic word “geist”. It originally meant an ancestore that was invited to celebrate Samhain.

Vampires are another mainstay of Samhain/ Halloween. I am not talking about the vampires of Anne Rice or Twilight. The real vampires never sparkled. They suffered from a disease known as porphyria, they lacked blood and suffered from an iron deficiency. Vampire blood cells are unable to produce hemoglobin, vampires do not have a ticking heart. So vampires feed on the living to get blood.

If you go to a crossroads at Samhain eve, you might hear about the most important things that will happen to you during the next twelve months.

To ensure you will have a fertile crop next spring, circle your fields with a lighted torch on Samhain eve. (England).

On Samhain eve, do not look at your shadow in the moonlight, or you will be next to haunt a graveyard. (England)

It is a bad idea to go hunting on Samhain or you might wound a lost spirit.

Children who are born on Samhain will be protected from spirits and be blessed with the second sight. (rural America.)

So there you have it. Some lore and superstition about Samhain. Up next is information about ghost lights and Samhain traditions.