InCostume.com Halloween Blog

We think of Halloween as ghouls, goblins, and loads of yummy treats. Trick-or-treating, Halloween parties and things that go “bump” in the night are just a few reasons why we adore this holiday. But Halloween has a rich past, and how this fall holiday got its start is quite surprising.

If you’ve always wondered about why we travel from house to house begging for candy, why we dress up in costumes that range from gory to hilarious, and why we simply love to scare one another on this spookiest of all holidays, then it pays to understand how and why Halloween first appeared, and how it has changed since its inception, nearly 2,000 years ago!

The Celtic Festival of Samhain

Many people are quite surprised to find that Halloween dates back nearly 2,000 years ago. Halloween first started as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which was considered the New Year for these ancient people who lived in the area that is now England and Ireland. This festival, which was celebrated every year on November 1, marked the end of the summer season and the harvest and the beginning of the winter, which was often a time of much death, disease and hunger.

The Celtic people believed that the night before November 1 was a time when the boundaries between life and death were blurred, so they always celebrated the evening before November 1 as a time when they believed the dead returned to earth. The Celtic people believed that the presence of ghosts allowed Celtic priests to better predict the future. Ghosts were often a source of comfort for this ancient civilization, who believed in many unworldly forces and gods.

The Celtic people, during this event, celebrated with huge bonfires, which were used to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic gods. It was common for the Celtic people to also wear costumes during this period, which usually consisted of animal heads and animal skins.

The Roman Effect

Around 43 A.D., the Romans had conquered much of the Celtic territory and, for over 400 years, they ruled Celtic territory and slowly began to combine the Celtic festival of Samhain with two of their own festivals: Feralia and Pomona.

Feralia was celebrated in late October to commemorate the passing of the dead, while Pomona was named after the Roman goddess of the same name, who was the goddess of fruit and trees. Pomona symbolized the apple, which is probably why the apple is so significant in many Halloween celebrations! Bobbing for apples anyone?

The Catholic Influence

Around 609 A.D., the Pantheon in Rome was dedicated to all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast known as All Martyrs Day was established. All Martyrs Day was later changed to include all saints as well as martyrs, and the festival was moved to November 1. Many believe that it may have been the Catholic desire to replace the Celtic festival honoring the dead with a church-sanctioned holiday. All Saints Day was then created, and celebrations included bonfires, parades and costumes.

Halloween in America

Although it took some time for Halloween to gain popularity in America, because of the strict New England Protestant beliefs, Halloween first began taking shape in Maryland and other southern colonies. Halloween quickly took an American feel, and some of the first celebrations included parties to celebrate the harvest. Some of the popular activities of the time included sharing spooky stories of the dead, telling each other’s fortunes and engaging in lively singing and dancing. Halloween soon spread and, by the mid-nineteenth century, autumn festivals and Halloween celebrations were commonplace, thanks to the many immigrants that were pouring into America.

Many of the immigrants were of Irish descent, and soon they began to influence the Halloween that we know today. Irish and English traditions involved going from door to door in costumes and asking for food or money.

By the late 1800s, Halloween was soon formed into a community event, where neighborly visits and stories of ghosts and witchcraft were commonplace. Many newspapers at the time began encouraging people to take all things spooky out of their Halloween celebrations and instead make them fun and lighthearted, which took much of the superstitious and religious meanings out of this popular holiday.

By the 1920s, Halloween had successfully evolved into a fun holiday about children. Trick-or-treating began to also gain in popularity. Today, it is estimated that Americans spend more than $6 billion each year on all things Halloween. Halloween is now the second largest commercial holiday in the United States!

Although Halloween is a fun time filled with plenty of excitement for the toddler in your life, it is important to make sure toddler costumes are safe so that your little one can enjoy Halloween without getting injured.

Here’s what you need to know about safety and toddler costumes:

1. When shopping for toddler costumes, only purchase those costumes that are flame-resistant or flame-retardant. Costumes are usually very clearly marked with flame-resistant labels to facilitate your costume shopping. From candles in pumpkins to the bonfire at your favorite Halloween party, fire is everywhere during this spooktacular time of the year, so keep your toddler safe with a flame-resistant costume.
2. Think about purchasing a costume that is form-fitting and does not include any flowing skirts or baggy sleeves. Costumes that aren’t fitted to the toddler’s body can be tripping hazards, and can catch fire more easily.
3. Choose toddler-safe shoes. Although there are plenty of fun shoes that match your toddler’s costume, it is probably best to stick to your toddler’s sensible shoes when trick-or-treating at Halloween time. If you want to add to your toddler’s costume, consider decorating his shoes to match the costume.
4. Consider reflective tape for your toddler’s costume. One of the best ways to ensure your toddler will remain visible, even past dusk on Halloween, is to add reflective tape to his costume. Reflective tape is inexpensive and quite easy to add to any costume, and it allows your toddler to stay visible at all times.
5. Consider forgoing any props that have sharp edges. From swords and knives to princess crowns and fairy princess wands, many Halloween costume props have sharp edges that can quickly turn into weapons. Opt for soft props or no props at all, especially on Halloween night when your toddler is likely to have plenty to handle. If your toddler insists on a prop with a sharp or pointed edge, tape it with masking or electrical tape to add a layer of protection against pokes and jabs.
6. You can never go wrong with a good flashlight. Bring a flashlight and light the way for your toddler, especially when walking up and down stairs and over uneven ground. Remember that your toddler is still likely unsure on her feet, so helping her by holding her hand and lighting the way can go a long way to prevent trip-and-fall accidents.

You have your pirate costumes and you’re ready for your next pirate-themed party, right? Not unless you have your pirate games in place!

Here are some great games to play at your next Pirate themed party!

• Walk the Plank – Are you brave enough to walk the plank? A game where your party goers walk the plank is always a fun addition to pirate parties. Get a blue tarp and a long piece of cardboard. Cut the cardboard to make it into the plank and place it over the tarp. Add toy sharks to the blue tarp to make it extra “scary” and challenge your guests to walk the plank wearing a blindfold without falling off the plank into the water. For older party goers, make it even more challenging by making them walk the plank backwards.
• Swab the deck – Every new pirate must swab the deck, so create a game where all your little pirates must swab the deck the fastest to win. Create a large open space with a start and finish line, and add balls of various sizes. Your guests must use a mop to get all the balls from the start to the finish line in the least amount of time. Watching the guests chase all the balls around is sure to create plenty of giggles!
• Treasure hunt – Your party is never complete without a treasure hunt, but adding water to the treasure hunt is sure to add to the fun! Fill up a baby pool with water and add all sorts of sea life and objects to it. Add a small treasure chest and time your guests to see who can find the treasure chest in the least amount of time.
• Coin hunt – What’s more fun than a hunt for a pirate’s stash of coins? If weather permits, have the coin hunt outside. Hide coins everywhere and give your little pirates small coin bags to collect their loot. Everyone gets to take home their coins and the winner gets an extra-special prize!
• Catch the cannonball – Turn a balloon toss game into a cannonball toss by using black balloons filled with water. The last team standing without “exploding” their cannonball balloon wins!

Funny may be the name of the game at your next costume party. Humorous costumes are best when they are creative, so speak to your inner child and start having fun with funny costumes!

Here are just a few ideas for humorous costumes that will keep your guests laughing all night long:

• Soap – Cut arm and legs holes into a large box and paint it white, along with the word “soap” across the front of it. Attach white balloons all over the box to create suds.
• Tree – Wear a brown sweat suit and head to the craft supply store for fake leaves. Hot glue them all over your body to create a tree! Top off your tree costume with a stuffed bird perched on your head!
• Refrigerator – Find a large box and cut arm and leg holes out of it, and then paint it white. Attach a bunch of sticky notes to it with different “to do” notes on them and call yourself a refrigerator!
• Billboard - Purchase two poster boards of the same size, attach them together at the top with a length of twine or yarn that you will hang over your shoulders, and think of a funny billboard sign or slogan to make yourself into a billboard.
• Mailman – Find clothes that resemble a mailman’s uniform and sew a stuffed dog to your leg to create your mailman look!
• A pedestrian run over by a car – Humorous costumes can also be a bit dark, so consider finding an outfit and then painting a tire mark up the body to create a costume that looks like you were run over by a car!
• “Cereal” killer – Here’s a fun tongue-in-cheek costume! Get a sweat suit and glue cereal boxes all over it. Then bring a knife to create your “cereal” killer costume!
• Box of tissues – Get a large box and cut holes for your arms and legs. Paint the words “Kleenex” onto it and glue tissues around the neck, arm and legs holes of the box to create a box of tissues.
• Pig in a blanket – Are you looking for a humorous costume that takes just seconds to create? Try a pig in a blanket! Put on a pig’s snout and wrap yourself in a blanket to create a pig in a blanket!

If you really want to take your humor to the next level, peruse our collection of humorous costumes to laugh your socks off.  Our Baby in a High Chair, Double Occupancy, and even pregnant TinkerBelly costumes are great laughing hits.

In case you don’t know, an urban legend is a cautionary tale that often scares people into doing something, or not doing something. Now, although some urban legends actually are true, or at least have truth in the basis of the legend, the fact of the matter is that most urban legends are simply really good made-up stories that are passed down, person after person, and get exceedingly more creepy each time they are passed down. They may be great stories to tell at your next sleepover, but they probably just aren’t true.

Here are our favorite urban legends that you may very well tell at your next Halloween party:

The Vanishing Hitchhiker

Here’s one of our favorites that always seems to begin circulating around Halloween. We all know that we shouldn’t pick up hitchhikers, yet many people do it every year. So why not scare your friends and family into never picking up another hitchhiker by telling the spooky story of the vanishing hitchhiker?

Although, of course, this story has a number of variations, the most common one goes like this: A car pulls over to the side of the road to help out a lone hitchhiker on a cold, dark night. The hitchhiker appears nice enough, and the driver and the hitchhiker begin to engage in some casual conversation. Soon, the hitchhiker begins to get dark and a bit creepy and the conversation turns to the dangers of picking up hitchhikers because many of them turn out to be cold-blooded murderers looking for their next victim. The driver begins to get spooked, pulls over and demands that the hitchhiker leave his car. The hitchhiker gets out of the car, begins to walk away, and simple vanishes into thin air. Who was that strange hitchhiker? Could it have been a ghost warning the motorist of the dangers of picking up hitchhikers on deserted roads, late at night?

Bloody Mary

Here’s a story that’s gone around the blocks a few times at sleepovers across the world. Bloody Mary is supposed to appear in a mirror after chanting her name and turning around in a circle three times. The original tale of Bloody Mary started with young women who were supposed to walk backwards up a flight of stairs, holding a candle and a hand mirror, chanting her name. The urban legend goes that if the young woman sees the Grim Reaper in her mirror, she will die before getting married. Otherwise, she is supposed to get a clue about her future husband through the mirror after performing the ritual. The Bloody Mary tale took a new turn when it began to be about going into a bathroom, turning off all the lights and turning around in circles, chanting her name. After the ritual is performed, the person is supposed to turn on the light and either see Bloody Mary in the mirror or a clue about his or her future.

The Hands Resist Him

A unique painting by an American Artist Bill Stoneham in 1972 has become quite an urban legend, and many people refer to the painting as the eBay urban legend because the back story of this odd painting first appeared on eBay. The painting, entitled The Hands Resist Him, shows a young boy and a doll standing together in front a glass-paneled door where there are numerous hands pressed against it. The painting is said to have caused death to whoever bought or inherited it. Some of the stories of The Hands Resist Him painting include people seeing the subjects or the hands in the painting move unexpectedly, as well, and some people have reported falling ill or becoming sick after seeing the painting. The owners of the painting throughout the years have develop some type of curse, so the urban legend goes, and even the artist notes that the art gallery owner who last had the painting died within a year of acquiring it.

Kidney Thieves

This urban legend may have originated as a cautionary tale for those who travel abroad. Although the story has undergone quite a few changes and variations since it first appeared, it generally goes like this: A business traveler goes to a foreign country, where he ends up in a small bar to have a drink at the end of a hard work day. He wakes up the next morning in his hotel room and does not remember anything from the night before, although he is in extreme pain and has two surgical incisions in his back. He goes to the hospital, where they run tests and discover that organ thieves drugged him and stole both his kidneys. Although the story teller will likely try to convince you that he knows the third cousin or the step aunt or whomever of the victim, this story simply has no factual basis, although it certainly is always fun to tell!

If you have a little one in your life that’s fascinated with fairies, then it may be time to have a magical fairy party!

Fairy parties are more than just fairy costumes (although they definitely help!).  In fact, you can create a magical fairy party with just a few simple party ideas that won’t break the bank. Here’s how to get started:

• Ask your guests to come dressed in their best fairy costumes! Most little girls have more than a few fairy costumes in their closet, so this usually isn’t a problem. However, it is always a fun idea to create beautiful costumes out of butterfly wings and tutus when your guests arrive. Make your costumes into a craft project by allowing your little guests to decorate their fairy wings and tutus with glitter and gem decals. After everything has dried, allow your guests to put on their new fairy costumes for a fairy parade or a special fairy photograph! Put your fairy photograph into your guests’ thank you notes for a special surprise!
• A fairy party is never complete without a magical tea! Think sparkly and pretty when making your tea by making cookies with colorful sprinkles and small sandwiches that will best fit your guests’ little hands – and not spill on their fairy costumes. Top off your fairy tea party with pink lemonade and your smallest guests will surely be happy!
• Play “hot potato,” but use a magical fairy wand instead. Play music from the Tinkerbelle movies when playing the game, and allow the winner to keep the special fairy wand to match her lovely fairy costume.
• A special craft project can include making fairy wands. Load up on shiny craft supplies and, of course, glitter and let your guests decorate foam fairy wands to match their costumes. This craft project also makes great party favors, too!
• Keep things simple by forgoing the cake in favor of cupcakes that are sprinkled with “fairy dust.” If the weather permits, turn cupcake time into a special picnic in the back yard. Allow your little fairies to “fly” around the back yard when they are finished and turn on some fun music to which they can dance.
• Before your guests leave, keep their interest by creating fun fairy coloring pages or activities. There are many printable activity and coloring pages on the Internet that are fairy-themed. Allow your guests to take home their fairy creations in their favor bag.

Before you know it, all the little fairies on your block will be waving their wands to come back again for another magical party!

Maybe it’s because Halloween is a wildly popular holiday (second to only Christmas). Or perhaps it’s because Halloween is a time when what we can’t see is often times scarier than what we can see! Whatever the reason, there are a number of myths about Halloween that have been around for generations. There’s one thing for certain: There is no lack of wild and strange theories and beliefs about Halloween. Some of which are true; and some of which are simply myths.

Here is our list of some of the biggest and long-standing myths associated with Halloween:

1. Razor Blades (And Other Dangerous Objects) are Put Into Candy –There have been generations of parents who have warned their children that there are strangers just waiting to place razor blades (or pins, needles, etc.) into candy on Halloween night. Perhaps parents first started these tales to scare their children into waiting until they got home to begin shoving candy into their mouths, or maybe there was a story that got twisted and distorted over the years, but the truth is there has never been one reported case in the United States of a stranger putting any type of dangerous object into candy on Halloween night. There was one case of candy poisoning years ago, but it was a parent/child circumstance.
2. Halloween is Based on the Devil – Many religions have warned their parishioners of the evils of Halloween and that Halloween has its roots in Satanism, the truth is that Halloween can be traced back to the Celtics. Sure, the dark imagery of Halloween has led many people to make that connection, but the Celtic people actually did not even believe in Satan. In fact, anyone looking back to ancient Celtic traditions will find that many of the Halloween rituals we enjoy now are based on ancient Celtic celebrations for such things as the generosity of the gods and of the harvest season.
3. Strangers Attack Children on Halloween – Although one cannot say for certain whether such an incident occurred, the truth of the matter is that a child molester or other child predator likely wouldn’t choose Halloween night to harm a child, as this is one of the only nights of the year when mobs of children and adults are out and about. In other words, the chances of someone abducting or harming a child in front of countless witnesses are pretty small. In addition, in most states child molesters are not permitted to even hand out candy to children.
4. Pumpkins Have Always Been a Symbol of Halloween – Interestingly enough, the pumpkin does not have a long history with Halloween. In fact, going back to the ancient Druids, the turnip was the original symbol of food for Halloween! The pumpkin wasn’t even available in Europe at the time. Originally people would put lighted candles in turnips for all the souls in Purgatory. Once Halloween began to be celebrated in America, it was discovered that pumpkins (which were freely available at the time) would be easier to put candles into than turnips because they were much easier to carve! Imagine celebrating Halloween with a turnip on your front porch!
5. The Full Moon Causes Lunacy – The moon holds a magical place in many people’s minds. So when a full moon arises, many people think that strange occurrences and strange behavior begins. In fact, the term “lunacy” is derived from “lunar,” meaning moon. However, there have been many studies conducted on the power (or lack thereof) of the full moon, and, sorry to say, the “full moon” effect doesn’t hold ground.
6. Satanists Hold Black Cat Rituals on Halloween – If you have a beloved black cat, and you keep it safely locked behind a closed door every Halloween night because you’re afraid of a Satanist cult killing it for a Halloween ritual, you can probably keep Fluffy free next Halloween. There has been no reported cases of any such ritual, with the exception of one case where a black cat was found murdered and duct taped to a wooden cross in 2004. However, this gruesome act was not carried out by Satanists on their Halloween night ritual; instead it was done by a teenage boy who told his friends he thought it would be “funny.” Many people have fallen for this myth. In fact, many animal shelters across the country do not allow people to adopt black cats around Halloween time. Black cat owners everywhere can rest easy knowing this is simply a myth.

Once you have tied up all the details with your kids’ costumes and are ready to go for Halloween, you can concentrate on decorating your home.

Your home can become the coolest Halloween house on the block, yet you don’t have to go broke in the process! We love homemade Halloween decorations, and many times, the items you need to turn your home into a spooky haunted house are in your kitchen cupboard, your garage or your attic!

Here are our favorite homemade Halloween decorations that will get your Halloween decorating off to a great start:

Ghosts

Grab tissue paper or toilet paper and make a wad of it. Make your ball of tissue paper according to the size you want your ghost head. Using a large piece of tissue paper, place it over your wad and tie a string around it. Get a non-bleeding black marker and draw on the ghost’s face. Attach a string onto the top of the ghost’s head and hang it somewhere where it will move in the breeze.

Another good variation of this project is to use a balloon for the head and fishing line to hang it from the ceiling. The lightweight balloon and tissue paper will make your ghost move about with the slightest of breezes!

Cobwebs

What’s a spooky haunted house without cobwebs? Luckily, you don’t need to forgo dusting for months to achieve this! If you have thin string around the house, start draping it across the room in random patterns. You can also purchase inexpensive cobwebs from your local craft supply store.

Scary Footprints

If you want to scare your trick-or-treaters as they approach your front door, consider making scary monster footprints using a large sponge and washable paints. Cut out the desired footprint shape out of the sponge. Then pour the paint onto a paper plate, dip the sponge into the plate, and make “walking” footprints up to the door. Another great idea is to find fluorescent washable paint, as they will show up even better during the dusk hours!

Cut-Outs

A great Halloween decoration project that you and your kids will enjoy is simply cutting out shapes from black or orange construction paper. Considering purchasing a few stencils and cutting out flying bats, witches or ghosts. Tape them to your windows for easy window decorations. You can get extra creative by making a paper ghost peeking out from behind your curtains, for example.

Costume parties are always a great idea for Halloween, or for any time of the year when your child and his friends want to dress up and have a little fun!

If you want to throw a successful costume party, your guests, of course, will want to come in their favorite costumes, but you can also include a number of fun activities that will make your child and his guests really get into the costume spirit!

Decide on a Theme

You can have a generic costume party, or you can consider making it a theme costume party! For example, you may ask all your guests to come in animal costumes or fairy tale-themed costumes. For little girls, a costume party may be about princess costumes, while boys will enjoy super hero-themed costume parties!

Give Out Awards

In addition to coming dressed up in their favorite costumes, recognize them with awards of every kind! You can purchase small trophies or medals from your local party supplier, and they are usually quite inexpensive. Once you have the trophies or awards at home, consider giving out awards for any number of costumes, including: Prettiest Costume, Scariest Costume, Most Original Costume, etc. Everyone should receive an award, so make sure you have enough awards to give out for all your guests. You may even give out small prizes for guests when they win their awards, too.

A Costume Parade

A costume party with is never complete without a costume parade! Consider parading up and down the street, or simply parading to other friends’ homes, where they will be waiting with special treats for your costumed guests! If the weather is inclement, have a parade around your home. Small children love any opportunity to parade around! Turn on some fun music and make your parade a fun activity for your guests, even if you must stay indoors!

Plenty of Games

Set up fun games for your party goers to enjoy, but make sure to take their costumes into consideration! Many times, when toddlers wear costumes they may have difficulty running or moving around freely without tripping. With this in mind, consider games that don’t call for a lot of activity, such as jumping or running.

Treat Bags

End the party right with gift bags full of goodies. If you want to cut down on the sweets, consider putting inexpensive gifts inside your guests’ bags, such as temporary tattoos and small bottles of bubbles.

If your teenager wants to plan a Halloween party for her friends, the best way to make sure the party is a success is to plan ahead. Planning ahead is the best way to ensure you don’t forget anything and you stay in budget. Here’s how to plan for the perfect teen Halloween party:

Decide on the Size, Location and Theme of the Party

Get together with your teenager and ask her to make a tentative guest list so you can get a good idea of the size of the party. Once you have agreed on the size of the party, make sure your teenager sticks to it because things can quickly get out of hand when teenagers begin inviting more guests than planned!

Once you know the size of the party, you can make better decisions regarding where you will have the party and the date and time the party will take place. Be sure to use this planning phase to set ground rules you expect your teen and her guests to follow. Make sure there are no grey areas regarding what you expect from her and her guests during the party.

Plan the Budget

Based on the number of guests your teenager plans to invite, you can decide upon the budget. The best way to ensure you and your teenager stay within your budget is to write everything down. For example, if you budget $100 for food, keep track of all expenditures so you can be certain you won’t go over your set budget.

Invite the Guests

Although years ago teenagers would send out invitations to a Halloween party, these days you can expect your teen to invite all her friends via email, text or social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Ask your teenager how she plans on inviting her guests, and ask her to send out the invites at least two weeks ahead of time.

Decide on the Particulars

Once you have planned the party time, date, and location, you can begin considering what your teenager would like to have at her party. She may ask her guests to wear teen costumes. Teen Halloween costumes are always a fun idea, as your teenager could make it a theme Halloween party where she asks her guests to dress up in 80s-themed teen costumes, for example. You could also plan a costume contest and give out awards for silliest, scariest, and prettiest costumes, for example.