Origin of Costumes
How did the practice of wearing costumes at Halloween
develop? The early origin of costumes is repulsive. On the evening of
October 31st, the Druids, who were the occultic priests and teachers of the
Celts, ordered the people to put out their hearth fires. The Druids built a
huge new year's bonfire of oak branches, which they considered sacred. They
burned animals, crops and human beings as sacrifices to their sun god Muck
Olla and Samhain, their god of death. During this diabolical ceremony the
PEOPLE WORE COSTUMES made of animal heads and skins. They then practiced
divination, looked for omens in the struggle of the victims sacrificed in
the fires, jumped over the flames or dashed through them, danced and sang.
All of this was done to frighten the evil spirits away.
According to Man, Myth & Magic, volume 1, page 68, "The
guisers went from house to house, singing and dancing. Their bloodcurdling
masks and grotesque costumes may have been meant to keep evil at bay, or
more likely, were visible representations of the ghosts and goblins that
lurked in the night..."
In the 11th edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, volume
12, page 8578 it states, "It was the Druids belief that on the eve of this
festival (November 1st, Celtic New Year) Saman, lord of death, called
together the wicked souls (Spirits) that within the past twelve months had
been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals." Saman would then send
these evil spirits to attack people on the eve before the November 1st
celebration. The only way these people could escape was by assuming
disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves. (See Christianity Today,
October 22, 1982, p.32). It seems to me that these "evil spirits" must also
have been stupid spirits if they could be fooled by such a masquerade.
Sadly, the fools were the superstitious idol worshippers who refused to
glorify the true God. As a result they became "vain in their imaginations,
and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans 1:21).
As you can see, gross looking costumes have their source
in demonism and because of this I want to "...cast off the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light." (Romans 13:12).
TRICK OR TREAT
Now, just by chance if you had forgotten to dress up or
could not fool the demons by dressing in animal skins or other disguises,
there was a way to exorcise them. You were to set out a TREAT of food and
fruit, and provide the wandering spirit with shelter for the night. If the
demon was satisfied with your TREAT, it was believed that they would not
TRICK you by casting an evil spell on you causing havoc.
I came across a shocking account of Trick or Treat
written by a former witch, Irene Park. She says, "...the Druids in Ireland
would go through the neighborhoods and countryside on the eve of October
31st to collect offerings to Satan. They would carry lanterns, bags of
money, and canes with very sharp points on the ends (currently known as
leprechaun staffs, good luck horns, or fairies' wands). At each house, they
would demand a specific amount. If the household would not or could not give
the offering (penance or treat), the Druid would use the cane to castrate
the male human or one of their prize animals." (From; Seven High Pagan
Masses and Halloween by Irene A. Park; page 1)
In later years James Napier says, in his book, Holidays
of Legend, Irish farmers went house to house begging for food for their
ancient gods. Good luck was promised to all who donated but threats were
made against those who would not give. There is absolutely nothing in Trick
or Treat that honors the Lord that I can see.
Considering the origin of Trick or Treat, I quit giving
out candy. I have no desire to reenact Druidic practices. It seems to me
that is exactly what you are doing when you give out goodies on Halloween.
Participating in occultic worship rituals certainly does not glorify God.
JACK-O-LANTERNS
Jack-O-Lanterns, what is their significance? The World
Book Encyclopedia, 1977 edition, volume 9, page 24-26 says, "The apparently
harmless lighted pumpkin face of `Jack-O-Lantern' is an ancient symbol of a
damned soul."
According to an article I read by Dr. John MacArthur, Jr.
according to folklore "Jack-O-Lanterns were named for a man called Jack, who
could not enter heaven or hell. As a result, he was doomed to wander in
darkness with his lantern until judgment day." With this in mind, people
began to hollow out pumpkins and turnips, placing candles inside to scare
evil spirits from their houses.
What a tragedy. John 3:16
makes it clear that no one has to be outside of heaven..."For God so loved
the world (mankind), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should NOT perish, but have everlasting life." It is also
clear that if any individual refuses to trust Christ as Savior he is
condemned already (John 3:18 & 36). There is no
wandering. It is either Heaven or Hell depending on whether you have trusted
Christ as your Savior (John 14:6; Romans 10:9-13;
Ephesians 2:8-9).
There was another purpose for Jack-O-Lanterns according
to author Owen Rachleff. "The candlelit pumpkin or skull... served as a
beacon for the sabbat and as a signal to mark those farms and homes that
were sympathetic to the Satanists and thus deserving of mercy when the
terror of the night (Halloween) began." (The Occult Conceit; page 190).
Moving on, we come to cats and their connection with
Halloween.
BLACK CATS
In the 1959 edition of World Book Encyclopedia, under
Halloween it was noted that Druid priests believed that cats were once human
beings but were reincarnated as punishment for evil deeds. Because of this
they held cats sacred and involved them in their idol worship of October
31st and November 1st.
Druids believed "the cat was sacred and...that cats had
once been changed (from being human & reincarnated) into that form as
punishment for evil deeds." (The American Book of Days, by George Douglas)
"Even after Christianity spread to Europe...oxen were
sacrificed on October 31st...and in medieval Europe, black cats [were]
chosen as victims in the belief that they were witches in disguise [and]
were burned on that day (Halloween)." (The American Book of Day, third
edition by Hatch)
It is plain to see that cats, particularly BLACK CATS
were thought to represent EVIL. Further, they were a symbol of
REINCARNATION. I have an article in my file which says The Humane Society
will not release black cats around Halloween for fear that they will be
mistreated or sacrificed. Their decision, in my opinion, is a wise one.
BOBBING FOR APPLES
In A.D. 43 the Roman Empire was in solid control of the
Celtic people. As a result of this control the idol worshipping Romans
introduced another ceremony honoring their false gods to the already
demoniacal Druid New Year's celebration. It was in honor of their goddess of
fruit trees. They would try to grasp fruit, floating in water, without the
use of their hands. This is the origin of BOBBING FOR APPLES according to
the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Associated Press quote, October 16,
1977.
SUMMARY OF HALLOWEEN'S HISTORY
That gives you a brief historical background of
Halloween. Is there any doubt that the day is occultic? I do not believe we
have lost that influence in our day. It is probably the only day that you
allow the devil, witches, ghosts, skeletons and perverts in your house. Why
then? Why honor Satan the demon of death at all.
Deuteronomy 32:16-17 tells us that God is provoked when demons
are honored and not him..."They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods,
with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils,
not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up..."
The Lord God is THE GOD of The Ages. He is before all else. We would be wise
to heed Paul's admonition in I Corinthians 10:20
where he says he does not want us to fellowship with demons or pagan
practices in any way. "The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they
sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have
fellowship with devils."
THE WITCH
What would Halloween be like without WITCHES. Let me
share with you some material I found in An Illustrated History of
Witchcraft, by Peter Haining. He states, "The witch is, without doubt, one
of the most enduring figures in superstition and literature. Whether
portrayed as an aged crone astride a broomstick off on some mission of evil,
or else a young girl dancing naked with her companions in a wooded grove,
she can be found in carvings of antiquity or the columns of today's
newspapers...since the Middle Ages, (writings have) shown her as an enemy of
humanity, a solitary being able to compact with the Devil to work all manner
of supernatural powers."
The oldest known illustration of a witch dates back to
the pre-Columbian times and shows the goddess Tlazolteolf naked, wearing a
pointed hat riding a broomstick.
The first famous witch in history is the Witch of Endor.
I Samuel 28 relates how King Saul went to her
in an effort to get in touch with the dead prophet of God, Samuel. He needed
advice on how to defeat the Philistines. He should have known better because
Exodus 22:18 prescribed being a witch as a
capital crime, punishable by death. Again Deuteronomy
18:9-14 warned that God's children were to have nothing to do
with the OCCULT. Even in the New Testament (Revelation
21:8 Galatians 5:20 KJV) lists the practitioners of witchcraft as
being excluded from God's kingdom. Dr. Luke wrote about what people did
about their occultic involvement when they came to know Christ as their
Savior in Acts 19:18-19, "Many that believed
(in Christ) came, and confessed (their former evil practices) and showed
their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books
together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of
them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver." (A piece of silver was
a day's wage back in that day. By today's standard that could have been
as much as 1/2 million dollars.)
WHAT WITCHES BELIEVE
"Contemporary witchcraft is so diverse and eclectic that
it is extremely difficult to accurately identify and define" according to
Craig Hawkins (Christian Research Journal, Winter/Spring 1990, page 12). In
fact you can't accurately say ALL witches believe such and such. But you can
give general guidelines relating to their beliefs.
First, witches would have you believe witchcraft is
different from Satanism. In a minor sense they are partially correct.
Satanism is the rebellion against and reversal of Christianity. A practicing
witch put it this way, "Satanism is basically a reversion and perversion of
Christian symbolism."
Witchcraft, on the other hand is not a reaction to
Christianity but pagan worship of the Mother Goddess and her consort the
Horned God. Witches (Wiccans) claim they don't even acknowledge Satan. But
a former Alexanderian Wiccan witch clarified this by stating, "as I got to
the higher degrees I learned that the name of the horned god was Lucifer. I
learned that the sign of the second degree was an inverted
pentagram...symbolizing the horns of Satan." (Quote from Devil Worship: The
Rise of Satanism, by Jeremiah films)
Though witches like to make a distinction between
themselves and Satanists, there really is NO DISTINCTION biblically
speaking. They might play little word games masking the connection between
Lucifer and Satan but the power behind Satanism and Witchcraft is the
same-Satan, (formerly called Lucifer before his rebellion against God ) and
his demonic hords.
When the Bible makes reference to witchcraft it means
anyone who is involved in some form of the occult. The word occult comes
from the Latin meaning secret, hidden, or esoteric (private; understood only
by a few) knowledge or practices.
There are THREE CATEGORIES OF THE OCCULT...
1. DIVINATION -- Seeking to know the past,
present or future by astrology; horoscopes; channeling; tarot; etc. This can
include animal or human sacrifice.
2. SORCERY or MAGIC(K) -- Seeking to
control or manipulate reality for ones own purposes. This can include animal
or human sacrifice to accomplish that end.
3. SPIRITISM -- Seeking to communicate with
the dead or other entities through a medium.
Generally speaking, it is accurate to say that those who
practice witchcraft hold the following four beliefs.
ANIMISM -- The belief that all objects
(rocks, trees, wind, plants, mountains etc.) are alive and have a soul.
PANTHEISM -- The belief that everything is
divine (god). Divinity is inseparable from and immanent in everything such
as nature and humanity. In fact we are divine or gods.
POLYTHEISM -- Belief in many deities
(gods). They also believe in multi-levels of reality.
WHAT WITCHES DO
At this point I should tell you that there is great
diversity within occult & satanic groups. Witches and occultists disagree
among themselves as to what constitutes a witch. But researchers find that
there are several distinguishable categories into which occultists fit.
1. DABBLERS -- They are experimenting or
playing around with the occult.
2. ECLECTIC or SELF-STYLED OCCULTISTS --
They have moved from the dabbling stage into deeper involvement. They are
developing their own individualized occultic religion and developing
personalized beliefs and practices.
3. RELIGIOUS OCCULTIST -- These people
openly belong to an official occult group. Their group is often tax exempt
and is protected by the first amendment. They deny involvement in any
criminal activity and seek to present their beliefs as a legitimate
religion. Lori Cabot (official witch of Salem, Mass.) heads the Temple of
Isis. There is the Church of Circle Wicca; The Witches International Craft
Association and numerous others.
4. INTRA-GENERATIONAL OCCULTIST -- These
are clandestine (secret), family religions that pass their occultic
practices from one generation to another. This category of occultists seems
to be well organized, very secretive and are often very dangerous.
For the most part, wherever you find witchcraft you will
likely find nudity because many of their rituals are performed "skyclad" (in
the nude). Witches practice divination, that is the attempt to obtain
information regarding the past, present or future through occultic methods
like astrology, channeling (inviting a spirit to possess your body), tarot
cards, crystal balls, etc.
Magic is a cornerstone of witchcraft. When I speak of
magic I am not talking about "slight-of-hand." I am talking about invoking
or attempting to invoke an invisible force (demons) for use in influencing,
manipulating, or controlling a given situation to accomplish ones own will
in a situation.
Then there is the common practice among witches and
occult followers of "drawing down the moon." The high priestess of the coven
usually stands "skyclad" with arms outstretched to the sky and calls down
the goddess or invites the goddess to possess them. In response, the high
priestess will often enter a trance state and become the voice of the
goddess. During this time she functions as the goddess incarnate (goddess in
the flesh) within the magic circle. Whatever she says is supposedly directly
from the goddess.
Witches and coven members practice many immoral and
perverted sexual practices as a part of their rituals. These rituals are
often accompanied by alcohol and drug use.
It is obvious that God does not want his children to have
anything to do with witches or witchcraft. I believe we should "Abstain from
all appearance of evil." (I Thessalonians 5:22)
Certainly that would include dressing like a witch, wizard or sorcerer.
DRACULA
Another classic Halloween character is COUNT DRACULA. If
you watch you will see a number of these black caped, fanged toothed
monsters running around this Halloween. But if you want to have your socks
knocked off read DRACULA, A Biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431-1476, by
Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally. Dracula was a real person. He was
maniac monster, the Hitler of his day. During his six year rule it was
estimated by a reliable source that Dracula massacred 100,000 men, women and
children. And how did he impose death? Let me quote Pope Pius II who tells
how he killed 40,000 of his political foes shortly before 1462. "He killed
some of them by breaking them under the wheels of carts; others, stripped of
their clothes, were skinned alive up to their entrails; others places on
stakes, or roasted on red hot coals placed under them; others punctured with
stakes piercing their head, their navel, breast, and what is even unworthy
of relating, their buttocks and the middle of their entrails, and, emerging
from their mouths..." No one was excluded, not even babies. Dracula
decapitated, cut noses, ears, privates and limbs. On one occasion he even
nailed the turbans on the heads of some Turks because they refused to remove
them in his presence. On one occasion he saw a man poorly dressed walking by
his home. He called the man into his presence and said "Your wife is
assuredly of the kind who remains idle. How is it possible, that your shirt
does not cover the calf of your leg? She is not worthy of living in my
realm. May she perish!" The man protested, saying that he was satisfied with
her. Dracula said, "You will be more satisfied with another, since you are a
decent and hardworking man." His wife was fetched and immediately impaled on
a stake. In the meantime the new wife was introduced and carefully shown
what happens to a lazy wife. The document says "Consequently the new wife
worked so hard she had not time to eat." Let me relate one last atrocity of
this warped, demonic inspired madman. Dracula devised a plan to rid society
of the burden of all the countries beggars, sick, old, lame and poor. He
invited them all to a feast. Little did they know that it would become a
house of horror for them. He fed them well and got them drunk and then made
his personal appearance and asked them..."Do you want to be without cares,
lacking nothing in this world?" Naturally they all said yes! Dracula then
ordered the palace boarded up and set on fire. No one escaped. Dracula was a
demon possessed madman. I do not want my child associated in any way with
such a degenerate reprobate, do you?
Would you let your child dress up like mass murderer Jim
Jones? Would you dress your child like cult murderer Charles Manson? How
about mass child killer, pedophile John Wayne Gacey? Of course not. Then why
let them dress up like some pervert of old like Dracula or any other
ungodly, demonic or distasteful character.
Paul's admonition in II Corinthians
6:14-17 certainly applies when it says "...What fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness...what communion hath light with
darkness? And what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?...Come out
from among them and be ye separate." I no longer celebrate Halloween because
of Halloween's heroes and I have only looked at two. Frankly, I am appalled
by stories like the one that appeared in the Milwaukee Sentinel, September
24, 1982. It told of a Waukesha man that decapitated his wife. Yet, we let
our children go to Ghosts' Manors on Halloween like the one pictured in the
Milwaukee Journal, October 22, 1982 showing a blood spattered victim in a
bathtub (staged thankfully). What are we telling our children if we accept
that kind of scene on Halloween and yet it makes our blood run cold and our
stomachs turn any other day?
What harm could there be in Halloween? Halloween can be a
dangerous and harmful day and here are some reasons why.
HALLOWEEN EMPHASIZES VIOLENCE AND DEATH
I well remember how this point was driven home to me. I
stopped at a restaurant one afternoon on January 6, 1988 to pick up a bite
to eat before my next appointment. I stopped at the paper box outside the
restaurant and bought a newspaper on my way in. As I was waiting for my
lunch to arrive I came across Ann Landers. The title of her column was
"Parents must tackle violence." The parent wrote, "I heard something today
that made my hair stand on end. I hope you will deal with it in your column
because it is a symptom of a problem that warrants deep concern. Last
October, the teacher of a fourth grade class asked her students to write a
short essay on what they would like to do most to celebrate Halloween.
Eighty percent of her 9 year-olds expressed the wish to `kill somebody.'
Where do children get such ideas? I believe it is fair to say that they get
them from movies on TV. What are we going to do about this love of violence
among the young? Frankly, it scars me to death. I am - Concerned in
California."
This letter hit the nail on the head! All parents ought
to be concerned. Halloween is desensitizing our children by its
glorification of violence, death, mutilation and gore.
Consider for a moment the "Nightmare on Elm Street",
"Halloween", and "Friday the 13th" film series. They are popular viewing
fare at Halloween parties. Who or what inspires these "actors" (I use the
term loosely)? Robert Englund who plays mass murderer Freddy Krueger in the
"Nightmare on Elm Street" series says he draws his inspiration from the late
Ted Bundy, who raped and murdered more than 28 women. Englund told
Slaughterhouse magazine, "I just read an article on Ted Bundy, so a lot of
my imagery is based on him."
At the least, exposure to sadism, sexual violence,
satanism, torture, mutilation and bizarre murders causes our kids to become
calloused to these behaviors. But, Harriet Kozkoff, a public TV producer
told the press, "Entertainment is a powerful socializing agent in
contemporary society. Slasher and horror movies...use violence and sexual
arousal to maximize profits and are an inevitable prescription for
conditioning sexual sadism into our pre-teen, teenage and young adult film
fans."
Psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Radecki said, "Every year film
violence and real-life violence continues to get worse. We must protest and
stop this growing sadism in our homes, schools, and on our streets."
Obviously, the problem is wider than just on Halloween.
But TV programming and video rentals of violent horror films is at its peak
at Halloween.
Halloween is harmful because of its emphasis on violence and
death.
HALLOWEEN EMPHASIZES HORROR AND FEAR
An article in the Milwaukee Journal, entitled "Haunted
House Fun: It could become a nightmare for kids" stated, "It's just for fun,
you know that. But to a young child, a trip through a `haunted house'
created for Halloween could be a nightmare." Psychologist Marvin Berkowitz
of Marquette University said, "Some haunted houses can frighten an adult."
He warned that a child must "go in with the right mental set." He said,
"Make sure they know it's going to be a fun scare, not a real scare." The
article went on to day that even though you do your best to let the child
know this he can be traumatized by such an experience."
I don't believe children should be exposed to such
manufactured traumas. Exposing a vulnerable child can have harmful
consequences that run the spectrum from nightmares to emotional damage. In
fact, Dr. Grace Ketterman, M.D. says in her book, You and Your Child's
Problems, "A tragic by- product of fear in the lives of children as early as
preadolescence is the interest and involvement in supernatural occult
phenomena."
Halloween is harmful because of its emphasis on fear and
horror.
HALLOWEEN EMPHASIZES THE OCCULT
Halloween is harmful because it lures people into the
occult. Many children are introduced to occultic practices at Halloween
parties. I first learned about the occult at a Halloween party as a
teenager. Many kids get their first exposure to occultic horror movies at
Halloween parties. After the initial exposure to the occult some children
are attracted to the occult because of the power it offers them. Others see
it as the ultimate means of rebelling against there parents.
Other things that lure children into the
occult --
1. Black & heavy metal music
2. Fantasy Role playing games
3. Slasher/horror movies & sadistic pornography
4. Reading occult & satanic literature
People who would not ever involve themselves with the
occult at any other time will experiment at Halloween parties with seances,
Ouija boards, levitation, rituals and ritual sex.
Did you know that Devil's Night (the night before
Halloween) is the worst night of the year for ARSON FIRES? In Detroit,
Michigan in 1983, 450 fires were set by pranksters. To add to the trauma,
more personal property is defaced and public buildings damaged at this time
than any other time of the year. Law enforcement officials have told me that
grave yard desecration are becoming a real problem at Halloween.
What about Trick-or-Treat? In Milwaukee, Wisconsin
hospitals x-ray candy received while "begging" to be sure no foreign
objects, like pins or razor blades, were in the goodies.
Malicious Halloween pranks even kill people, like the
lady who had a pumpkin dropped on her car from an overpass. It went through
her window and caused her death.
Let me conclude this section by telling you of a recent
video taped interview that we did with a Wisconsin policeman. He told us of
a woman who had come to them and reported that her two children had been
sacrificed in Satanic Halloween rituals. She was an occult member and wanted
out of the group.
Holloween is a sinister day with occultic roots. As we
move along in the last days an increasing number of people are realizing
that Halloween is a pagan worship day. It is day that honors false gods,
demons and Satan. I have no desire to enter into the worship of false gods
nor honor the devil. I hope after considering this study you will agree and
decide NOT TO CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN. Put Ephesians 5:11
into practice, "...have NO fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove (expose) them."
HALLOWEEN ALTERNATIVES
I have come to believe that Christ is not honored by
celebrating Halloween. I have shared my conviction with my family. As a
result, we have replaced the celebration of Halloween with something
completely unassociated to it. We make it a family night and do something
special together. You can see that I do believe in the PRINCIPLE OF
REPLACEMENT. I believe that Romans 12:21
teaches it. "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
Certainly remove the bad. Explain to your children why
you are not celebrating Halloween any more. BUT then replace it with
something that will glorify God (I Corinthians 10:31).
Be creative. Make what you do more fun, yet honor Christ. Have a harvest
party where you focus on Christ the creator and his provisions for you. Have
a Christian video party. Have a glory gathering where Christian songs are
sung and the word is preached. Get a group together and go from door to door
(not dressed up) and pass out Gospel tracts then meet for a time of
fellowship afterward.
My closing challenge to you is this. Prayerfully consider
what Christ would have you to do. My your desire be that of James, "Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." (James
4:7-8).
[This report is provided by LOGOS for personal research
only. If you want copies for distribution they are available in a tpyeset
magazine format with pictures for a donation of $4.00. Inexpensive pamphlets
are also available for general distribution. A well documented one hour
video that has been distributed nationally by Evangelical Films & Video is
also available.]
If you want further information
leave David Brown a personal message or write --
LOGOS COMMUNICATION
CONSORTIUM, INC.
P.O. BOX 173 - OAK CREEK,WI. 53154
