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Haunted History: Where Halloween Comes From Part 2
Welcome back to our ongoing lesson on the history of Halloween! When we left off last time, the Druids were calling the clans together to celebrate their connection to the dead and the harvest.
By around 37 CE, Christianity began to become more popular in the Roman Empire, but it wasn’t until Constantine the Great came to power as the Emperor that the Empire was declared a Christian one in around 314 CE. One of the first orders of business under the new regime was the systematic dismantling of the faith of the non-Christians. This was a huge turnaround from Rome’s stance before this time. In the past, it had been the way of Rome to allow a conquered people to continue their faith and practices within a region. This, more than anything, lessened the blow of people taken over by Rome. After all, their taxes might go up and they may be paying them to a different government, but they could still receive the comfort of their familiar Gods and Goddesses when they entered the temple.
Not so with the new Christian regime. Many scholars believe that this stringency came not only from the belief in singular deity (almost unheard of at the time) but also because of the way they were treated early in their development. You see, they had once been considered an insidious cult by Roman leadership, and belief in the new cult-like faith which taught that Roman leaders were teaching the people evil doctrine and should be overthrown saw many Christians thrown to the lions in the gladiatorial games. Now that they were in power, they were definitely ready to let everyone under their rule know that it would be their way or death.
While many eventually bowed to the new Christians leaders, the Celts and their Druid priests and priestesses were not so willing to let go of their faith. In fact, the Celts and their Saxon counterparts caused more problems for Rome than almost any other section of the Empire. When Christian priests attempted to tell the people that their Gods were demons and their celebrations were Satanic (Can something be Satanic if you don’t believe in Satan?), they had a tendency to find themselves on the receiving end of an uprising. The Druids led these uprisings and so they became public enemy number one in the Celtic lands under Rome’s rule.
What do you do in a situation like that? The solution was simple. Get rid of the Druids! That’s right, it became illegal to practice the rituals and beliefs of the Druids and doing so was punishable by death. As the Druid numbers decreased, larger numbers of Christian priests were sent into the area, but they still could not manage, especially in the areas of modern day Ireland, to completely beat down the old faith. So, they took an “If you can’t beat them trick them into joining you” attitude. It was an enterprise that would take centuries to complete, and some would argue that it never fully did.
Pope Gregory I in the late 6th century sent his priests into pagan temples to re-consecrate them in the name of the Christian God. The Goddess Brigid of Ireland was so loved by the people they could not get rid of her, so they told the people it was okay to still pray to her because she was obviously a saint. While they were at it, they started renaming some of the beloved celebrations of the Celts and Saxons. Yule became Christmas; Oilmec/Ostara became Easter, and you guessed it, Samhain became All Hallow’s Eve followed immediately by All Saint’s Day.
The bonfires and other rituals were obviously out of All Hallow’s Eve. There would be no celebrating the return of the ancestors because the souls of all good people were carried away to Heaven after death. So if your dead Uncle Finn showed up in your house on Samhain night, he was obviously evil and an agent of Satan. There was, however, one other possibility. If someone you knew wasn’t bad enough to be sent to hell, but not quite good enough to get into Heaven, they might find themselves in Purgatory. All Hallow’s Eve began to evolve into a night of prayer and fasting for those who might be caught in Purgatory so that they could move on to Heaven.
This worked well in the larger parts of Britain, but once again, the early Irish Celts just couldn’t be kept down. They were more than willing to pray and fast, but there would definitely need to be a celebration to follow that time. And the Romans…well, they just couldn’t think of a good enough way to get them to stop.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the second leg of our journey in the history of Halloween. We have moved from dancing and bonfires to prayer and meditation and we’re not nearly done with our journey! Join me again next week for part 3!
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Movies
‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt
Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.
In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.
This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.
Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.
“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”
The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”
The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.
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Movies
‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time
It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?
It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.
Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.
Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.
The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.
It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.
The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.
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Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween
Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.
The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.
This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.
This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.
“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”
But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.
This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.
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