October Festivities
It’s October and the days are getting shorter. Leaves are falling from the trees. Halloween is around the corner. There is still time to enjoy some fall activities. Just beware of spectral dogs, ghosts and devils!
Pumpkin Patches and Corn Mazes
There are plenty of pumpkin patches around. Some are bigger and more commercial, while others are smaller and more rural. Country Fox recently visited a local pumpkin patch to buy her seasonal supply.
America being a melting pot of people with their unique cultures and customs, borrows many traditions. Halloween is a tradition found in the ancient Celtic practice of Samhain.
A Little History
Samhain was celebrated at the end of October and beginning of November. It was a way to celebrate the end of summer and beginning of winter. It was believed that the veil between the living world and the world of the dead thinned during this time. Celebrants would light bonfires and dress in costume. The costumes, mostly animal skins and heads, were to confuse the ghosts roaming the land.
Due to the veil being thin, it was also supposed to be great time for divination. By 43 A.D., Rome had conquered the Celtic peoples. Over the years, some traditonal Roman festivals were blended with Samhain. One festival was in honor of Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. Her sacred fruit was the apple. The use of apples in Halloween practices can still be seen today. Bobbing for apples is one popular example.
In 609 A.D. Pope Boniface IV created a festival for all Christian martyrs. Later, Pope Gregory III added to the festival. His expansion included all the saints. He also moved the day from May to November first.
In 1000 A.D. the church created All Souls Day and moved it to November second. By this time, most of the region that had been inhabited by the Celts was now Christian. As with many peoples who converted, they maintained some of their old traditions.
The tradition of Samhain remained, now with Christian influences. Celebrants dressed as saints, angels and devils. All Saints’ Day, November 1st used to be called ‘All-Hallows’. The original Middle English was ‘Alholowmesse’ which meant All Saints’ Day. The day before was refered to ‘All-Hallows Eve’. Eventually this became Halloween.
As immigrants made their way to America, especially the Irish in the 19th century, they brought their traditions with them.
Pumpkin Carving
One tradition that came ‘over the pond’ was pumpkin carving. In the old world tradition, people carved turnips. When immigrants made their way to America, they found the glorious pumpkin waiting for them. Besides decorations, pumpkins make great food additions. Pies come to mind, but they are also great in soups and stews. Their seeds make a wonderful and healthy snack too.
Corn Maze
Many of the pumpkin patches have corn mazes. It is thought that the first corn maze was created in PA in 1993, but there are some newspaper articles about corn mazes from as early as 1982. The idea came from the European Hedge Mazes.
Some corn mazes are small, some are large, and some have hidden terrors. Enter at your own risk.
Visiting Cemeteries
Honoring and showing respect to the dead is a traditional activity at this time of year. The crisp air, falling leaves, and lengthening darkness all remind us that it is fall and the Halloween season. This is a time when death is on people’s minds.
If you decide to visit a cemetery, just beware. There are many things that may be lurking in the grave yard. Ghosts, spectral dogs, witches and vampires are a few such creatures that may be found lingering.
Ghosts
As the veil grows thinner, ghosts are more likely to be seen. Many cemeteries have a resident ghost or two. Near Central City is Crum Cemetery. A witches ghost haunts the area. Gettysburg National Cemetery has some civil war soldiers on eternal guard. And let’s not forget the White Lady of Beulah.
Black Dogs
Much folklore talks about black dogs, hell hounds, or grims being found in cemeteries. There is a lot of folklore in regards to cemeteries. One such tale is that the first being to be buried in the graveyard must guard it for eternity. To prevent this from being a person, church parishes would bury a black dog in the cemetery first. This would guarantee a dog would protect and guard the cemetery and not an unfortunate parishoner.
Black dogs can also be omens of bad luck and death. Spectral dogs with glowing red eyes may appear in cemeteries. If you see one, death is sure to follow. Black dogs have been associated with deities attached to the underworld and death. Goddesses such as Hekate and Hel, and gods such as Hades and Anubis all dealt with death and the underworld. Dogs and black dogs in particular were sacred to them.
Witches and Vampires
Today we don’t bury the deceased face down. Or with a stake through the heart and a rock in the mouth. At least not in America. These were all traditional ways to bury those suspected of witchcraft and vampirism.
The Amish had a tradition of burying a tree over the grave of a suspected witch. This witch tree would keep her evil soul trapped in her grave. Witches were usually buried outside of the cemetery proper, though not always. This was because of the inaccurate belief that a woman would become a witch by selling her soul to Satan. Since she was tainted, she could not be buried in hallowed ground.
Vampires
The belief in vampires isn’t just for old world European peasants. During the 1800’s New England had it’s own vampire panic. In the 1850’s Jewett City, Connecticut, several deceased were exhumed and reburied them after being decapitated.
It was popular in Europe and America to decapitate a suspected vampire. The corpse would be returned to the coffin, sometimes face down, with garlic. The garlic would be around the body and sometimes in the the mouth and throat. On occasion the corpse would have a rock or brick shoved into the mouth. In a grave in Connecticut, the corpses legs were cut off and arranged over the chest.
Tuberculosis was often the cause for a vampire panic. The family member would get weaker and sicker. They would eventually die. After their death, someone else in their family would become ill. This was usually one of the people who tended to the patient. They would begin to get weak and sicken. People began to believe that the deceased were rising from the grave to feed of their family members.
The only path forward was to end the vampire menace. This involved exhuming bodies and making sure they could no longer leave the grave. The podcast Lore covers this subject in the first episode. If interested you can find the television series, Lore, which is based on the podcast, on Amazon Prime. This subject is also its first episode.
Country Fox does not condone the desecration of graves, or the digging up of a grave. You will just have to imagine what lies beneath the surface of the ground in the cemetery you are visitng. Though Erie Cemetery supposedly has a vampire crypt.
October Activities
Looking for other activities to do? Visit the Cambria County Historical Society’s Morbid Exhibit. Want to get outside and explore? Read my blog on the Lost Children of the Alleghenies.