12 Fun Facts About Hall Of Eves... Halloween
1. Super Sized... No matter how scary your local haunted house is, it probably can't top the Haunted Cave in Lewisburg, Ohio. Measuring 3,564 feet long, the Guinness World Records has named it the world's longest haunted house. Even spookier: It's located 80 feet below ground in an abandoned mine.
2. With their link to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a precursor to Halloween) and later to witches, cats have a permanent place in Halloween folklore.
3. Money Bags... From its vampy costumes and sweet treats to macabre household decorations, Halloween is big business. So big, in fact, that it's the second-largest commercial holiday in America—only Christmas surpasses it in sales. According to the National Retail Federation, consumers spent $5.8 billion on Halloween 2010, and by 2015, that figure jumped to nearly $7 billion.
4. Heart in Hand.. In 1950, Philadelphia-based trick-or-treaters traded in a sweet tooth for a sweet action. In lieu of candy, residents collected change for children overseas and sent it to UNICEF. Subsequently, the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program was born.
5. The Illusionist ... A working magician from the age of 17, Harry Houdini (née Ehrich Weisz) became America's favorite magician and a world-renown legend for his daring escapes. It was only fitting, then, for this master trickster to die on October 31, 1926—from a ruptured appendix.
6. Dressed to Thrill... Americans are more ready than ever to get into the Halloween spirit. According to the National Retail Federation, 64% celebrated the holiday in 2015, and they spent an average of $74.34 per (adult) person on candy, costumes, and decor
7. Dear Mr. Postman ... Although the cards may be ghoulish, the sentiment is sweet—according to Hallmark, Halloween ranks as the sixth most popular card-giving holiday, with 20 million cards sent each year. Christmas comes in first place, with a whopping 1.5 billion cards sent each year.
8. No Teen Spirit... In 2010, Belleville, Illinois, became the latest city to ban trick-or-treating for kids over 12. Teens can face fines from $100 to $1,000 for going door-to-door (although according to officials, more often than not, over-age Halloween-goers are just given a warning).
9. The owl is a popular Halloween image. In Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.
10. Because the movie Halloween (1978) was on such a tight budget, they had to use the cheapest mask they could find for the character Michael Meyers, which turned out to be a William Shatner Star Trek mask. Shatner initially didn’t know the mask was in his likeness, but when he found out years later, he said he was honored.
11. Dressing up as ghouls and other spooks originated from the ancient Celtic tradition of townspeople disguising themselves as demons and spirits. The Celts believed that disguising themselves this way would allow them to escape the notice of the real spirits wandering the streets during Samhain.
12. Scottish girls believed they could see images of their future husband if they hung wet sheets in front of the fire on Halloween. Other girls believed they would see their boyfriend’s faces if they looked into mirrors while walking downstairs at midnight on Halloween.
See you Tonight !
