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Halloween’s Occult Connection
AUTHOR: Brown, David L.
PUBLISHED ON: April 29, 2003
DOC SOURCE: CCN
TAGS: Halloween

OCC:Halloween’s Occult Connection  by David L. Brown

  THE DARK SIDE OF HALLOWEEN

  by David L. Brown Th.M. Copyright 1990

  [This report is provided by LOGOS for personal research only. If you
want copies for distribution they are available in a tpyeset magazine
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video that has been distributed nationally by Evangelical Films and Video
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personal message or write — LOGOS COMMUNICATION CONSORTIUM, INC. —
P.O. BOX 173 — OAK CREEK, WI. 53154 or for voice communication call
David Brown at (414) 768-9755]

  OVERVIEW OF WHAT IS IN THIS 1130 RESEARCH REPORT —

  TWO OCCULT SIGHTS DISCOVERED THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN

  MY PAST INVOLVEMENT IN HALLOWEEN

  WHAT CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT HALLOWEEN

  I. THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

  SAMAN — LORD OF DEATH

  THE DRUIDS and HALLOWEEN

  CAN CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN?

  MODERN DAY WITCHCRAFT, SATANISM and HALLOWEEN

  THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME — HALLOWEEN

  THE ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

  THE ORIGIN OF TRICK OR TREAT

  THE ORIGIN OF JACK-O-LANTERNS

  BLACK CATS AND HALLOWEEN

  BOBBING FOR APPLES

  II. THE HEROES OF HALLOWEEN

  THE WITCH

  WHAT WITCHES BELIEVE

  THREE CATEGORIES OF THE OCCULT

  FOUR BELIEFS OF WITCHES

  LEVELS OF OCCULT INVOLVEMENT

  DRACULA — THE REAL THING

  III. THE HARM OF HALLOWEEN

  HALLOWEEN and VIOLENCE

  HAUNTED HOUSES and THEIR INFLUENCE

  THINGS THAT LURE KIDS INTO THE OCCULT

  HALLOWEEN ALTERNATIVES

  *ALPHA – START*

  INTRODUCTION TO — THE DARK SIDE OF HALLOWEEN What’s going on? The
sidewalks are swarming with excited children masquerading as every
imaginable creature and character. There is Batman and the Joker,
Wonder Woman, witches, devils, ghosts, skeletons and even razor
fingered mass murderer Freddy Krueger. These children are going door to
door shouting “Trick or Treat,” hoping to collect a “ton” of candy
before the night is over.

  Take a look at the houses the children are going up to. They are
strange, too! Eerie grinning Jack-O-Lanterns watch as the children
approach. Skeletons, witches, black cats and more decorate the doors
and windows.

  Oh yes, don’t miss the “haunted house” downtown. You’ll be able to
find it by the long line and the strange sounds coming out of the old
mansion. Likely you will find a group of kids talking about what
they’ve just seen inside… the bloody body in the bathroom, the axe
wielding maniac that chased them, the body hanging by the neck in the
closet, and the bubbling pot in the kitchen filled with body parts.

  Then, across town there’s a party going on at a friend’s house or
perhaps at school. The activities are different than the usual party
though. Someone is telling fortunes. Perhaps a group is playing with
the OUIJA board and there is going to be a seance right after they
watch the newly released horror video.

  By now you have guessed what is going on. It’s HALLOWEEN. To most
people it seems like harmless fun. BUT, beneath Halloween’s candy
coating is a history of diabolical evil, evil that is directly
connected to the occult and Satanism, evil that you need to be warned
of!

  That is the purpose of this booklet, to make you aware of the dark
side of Halloween. I have researched this topic for more than a decade
and Halloween’s occultic connection is becoming increasingly evident.
As I begin, let me share two first hand examples of what I am talking
about when I refer to the “occult connection.”

  My phone rang one afternoon, early in November of 1989. A friend who
works closely with law enforcement agencies was on the other end of the
line. He said, “I’ve been notified of what appears to be, two occult
sights in your area. Would you go and check them out?” We talked a bit
more and I found out where they were located. The next day, camera in
hand, I went out to each sight. The first sight was in the middle of a
small woods, which was adjacent to a large apartment complex. A tin
circle had been constructed which was about 9 feet in diameter and 4
feet high. Numerous Satanic symbols were spray painted on the exterior
as well as an obscene sexually oriented word and Slayer, the name of a
black metal rock band. This sight was likely put together by a group of
younger teenagers, perhaps junior high age, who were dabbling in the
occult. Inside the tin circle were the ashes of a fire and several beer
cans.

  The second sight was quite different. It was in a rural area of
town. I discovered it in a small grove of trees about 25 yards from a
steep bank that drops down to Lake Michigan. Whoever had built this
sight knew more about the occult. There was a rudimentary altar inside
the intricately built three sided stick enclosure. It looked to me like
the work of late teens or young adults.

  Perhaps you are wondering, what does any of this have to do with
Halloween? These occultic sights were discovered the day after
Halloween. They were used on Halloween! As I will show you in this
study, Halloween is an Occultic/Satanic worship day. It always has
been. Increasingly, Halloween is being used to attract and introduce
people to the occult. It is a time when bizarre and often illegal
rituals are being performed.

  Now, don’t jump the gun and “turn me off” before you read the rest
of this expose. I am not criticizing you for celebrating Halloween in
the past. The truth is, I took part in Halloween activities for years,
UNTIL I DISCOVERED THE OCCULTIC/SATANIC CONNECTION. Since that time, I
have followed the injunction of Ephesians 5:11 “…have NO fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose)
them.” I will share the facts that I have uncovered and you must weigh
them and make your choice.

  MY PAST INVOLVEMENT WITH HALLOWEEN

  Let me share with you my personal history relating to my own
Halloween involvement.

  There are three holidays that nearly every American kid
loves…Christmas, Easter and Halloween! I was no different than any
other American kid. I looked forward to them all. But there was one
that had a dark side, a side that I didn’t like, a side that made me
very uneasy and that was Halloween. To be sure I liked the candy and I
have a “ton” of silver in my teeth to prove it. As I moved into my teen
years I outgrew trick-or-treating or rather, I should say, I was told I
was too old. So Halloween parties and dances were the “in thing” for
teenagers. I remember being on the committee for our class Halloween
party. My job was decorations. So I went to a long forgotten,
overgrown, Civil War era cemetery and took a broken tombstone and used
it as a part of my Halloween decorations. I felt uneasy about what I
had done and to make matters worse, when I cleaned up the old grave
marker, I discovered that the person had died on my birthday, January
20th. That gave me the creeps. The party could not get over soon enough
for me. I wanted to get that grave marker back to where I had found it
and I did! “You were too superstitious!” you might say. I would agree.
But that was just a part of the aura associated with what I call “the
dark side of Halloween.”

  My association with Halloween did not stop after high school
unfortunately. The fact is, until 1980 I had taken church youth groups
on NIGHTMARE OUTINGS sponsored by an international Christian youth
organization. I sponsored Halloween parties in the church. It was the
only day I wanted anything to do with the devil or allowed him in my
church.

  WHAT CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT HALLOWEEN

  What caused me to change my mind began when I was leafing through a
back issue of Moody Monthly magazine. The October 1975 issue to be
exact. An article by Joy A. Sterling caught my eye –“We Should Unmask
Halloween” was the title. (Take a moment and read a copy of that
article for yourself) Her article really got me to thinking. If what
this lady said is true, I need to rethink my involvement in Halloween
activities. I decided to do some research on my own and see if there
was anything to what she was saying. WOW! WAS I SHOCKED by what I
discovered.

  I. THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

  Our Pilgrim forefathers well knew of Halloween’s occultic roots. In
fact they banned celebrating Halloween in America. Halloween was not
celebrated in this country until 1845. At that time multiplied
thousands of Irish emigrants flooded into New York because of the Irish
Potato Famine of 1845-46. They brought with them the old Druid holiday
of Halloween. Gradually celebrating this day spread throughout the rest
of the country.

  Now, to understand Halloween better we must go even further back. I
found that the original celebration was not called by its present name,
Halloween. But, it began long before Christ among the ancient Celtic
peoples (Briton, Gauls, Scots, Irish). They observed the end of summer
with sacrifices to SAMAN (Shamhain). He was “the lord of death and evil
spirits”. This marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year.

  A NOTE ABOUT SAMAN

  Depending on your source material, the Druid lord of death and evil
spirits was called Saman, Samana, Shamhain or Samhain. His “holiday”
was called “The Vigil Of Saman” or Samhain (pronounced so-wein). You
probably have seen a modern day version of SAMAN without even knowing
it. This pagan god was shown as a ghostly, skeleton holding a sickle in
his hand. He later came to be known as THE GRIM REAPER.

  MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SAMHAIN (HALLOWEEN)

  Ralph Linton in his book Halloween Through the Centuries, says “The
American celebration (of Halloween) rests upon Scottish and Irish folk
customs which can be traced in a direct line from pre-Christian times.
The earliest celebrations were held by the DRUIDS in honor of Shamhain,
lord of death, whose festival fell on November 1st.”

  Searching other sources, I have this information to add: The Celts
considered November 1st as being the day of death because the leaves
were falling, it was getting darker sooner and temperatures were
dropping. They believed Muck Olla, their sun god, was loosing strength
because Samhain, lord of death, was overpowering him. Further, they
believed that on October 31st Samhain assembled the spirits of all who
had died during the previous year. They had been confined to inhabit
animals’ bodies for the past year as punishment for their evil deeds.
On the eve of the feast of Samhain, October 31st, they were allowed to
return to their former homes to visit the living. Supposedly to protect
these people, Druid priests led the people in diabolical worship
ceremonies in which horses, cats, black sheep, oxen, human beings and
other offerings were rounded up, stuffed into wicker cages and burned
to death. This was done to appease Samhain and keep the spirits from
harming them.

  THE DRUIDS

  Who were the DRUIDS? They were occult practitioners, witches of
sorts. In the century preceding the birth of Christ, Caesar conquered
the Britains and he records very carefully the account of the DRUID
PRIESTS (early witches)…”All Gallic nations are much given to
superstition…they either offer up men as victims to the gods, or make
a vow to sacrifice themselves. The ministers in these offerings are the
Druids, and they hold that the wrath of the immortal gods can only be
appeased, and man’s life redeemed, by offering up human sacrifice, and
it is a part of their national institutions to hold fixed solemnities
(Ceremonies) for this purpose.”

  I looked deeper to see if I could find the dates of these “fixed
solemnities.” In the series edited by Richard Cavendish called, Man,
Myth and Magic it says, in volume 6, page 720, “…the pagan Celts in
Northern Europe held two great fire festivals each year — Beltane on
the eve of 1 May and Samhain on the eve of 1 November — to mark the
beginning of summer and winter.” I also came across an article written
by Robert Graves in the Daily Telegraph Magazine, May 21, 1965. Graves
said the fixed worship days are the “cross- quarterly days-Candlemas
(February 2nd), May Eve (April 30th), Lammas (August 1st) and Halloween
(October 31st).

  When they got together on these pagan worship days they would meet
in a grove of trees (preferably oak trees) or in a Druidic stone
circle, the most famous surviving circle being located in Stonehenge,
England. It is evident that human sacrifice was common at this ancient
Druid Sacrificial Circle because within three miles of this sight there
are over 350 funeral mounds that contain the remnants of countless
human sacrifices.

  Holiday researcher George Douglas adds some interesting information
when he says “Many of Halloween’s customs are derived from the ancient
Baal Festivals. Other customs originate from the taking of omens from
the struggles of victims in the fires of druidic sacrifices.” (From:
The American Book of Days, by George William Douglas revised by Helen
Douglas Compton).

  Alexander Hislop in his book, The Two Babylons, says, “The god whom
the Druids worshipped was Baal, as the blazing Baal- fires show—We
know that they offered human sacrifices to their bloody gods. We have
evidence that they made `their children pass through the fire to
Molech’, and that makes it highly probable that they also offered them
in sacrifice; for, from Jeremiah 32:35, compared with Jeremiah 19:5, we
find that these two things were parts of one and the same system.”
Further, it is to be noted that the “priests of Nimrod or Baal were
necessarily required to eat of the human sacrifices; and thus it has
come to pass that `Cahna-Bal’, (Cahna is the emphatic form of Cahn
which means `a priest’) meaning the priest of Baal, is the established
word in our tongue for a devourer of human flesh.” (from The Two
Babylons, Hislop. See page 232).

  Though the name of their gods were changed Hislop believes that the
Druids practices were rooted in Baal worship, which is condemned in the
Bible.

  THERE ARE STILL DRUIDS TODAY

  According to Robert Graves, there are still Druid practitioners
around today. In fact, members of one surviving coven in Somersetshire,
England still carry small blue tattoos pricked below a particular
finger joint made from woad (an Old World plant with leaves that yield
a blue dye) as did ancient Druids. You will still find Druids meeting
at Stonehenge this Halloween symbolically carrying out their grotesque
sacrifices. Although they claim no longer to practice human sacrifices
they are one group responsible for keeping the occultic celebration of
Halloween before the media. The followers of the Druids pagan religion
are common in the USA too. A woman called me and told me a group going
around to Milwaukee, Wisconsin area libraries presenting a program to
children which dealt with their heritage. She engaged one in a
conversation afterwards and found that he claimed to be a druid priest
who practiced the “old religion.”

  THE PATHETIC PARADOX OF CHRISTIANS CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN

  It’s no wonder that a onetime witch of our day, Tom Sanguinet,
former high priest in the Celtic tradition of Wicca (witchcraft) said,
“Halloween is purely and absolutely evil, and there is nothing we ever
have or will do that would make it acceptable to the Lord Jesus.”

  Owen Rachleff amplifies this when he wrote, “Halloween can be, and
to many is, a deadly serious affair. [It] originated with pre-Christian
Druids or Celts in Northern Europe, who marked the year by four
seasonal festivals. The autumn feast took place on November 1st. Early
Christians, desiring a part in the traditional festivities, created All
Saints’ Day to coincide with the pagan rites. Satanists–acting true to
form–reversed the Christian procedure. Because November 1st was All
Saints’ Day (All Souls’ Day, November 2nd, memorializes the dead),
Satanists established October 31st as and “All Demon’s Night.” As
surely as the Christian martyrs and saints dominated their own holiday,
so did the demons permeate the preceding evening. All Hallows’ Eve
predictably became a time of spells, curses, and horrors for those who
did not believe, but for the Satanists, particularly the witches, it
was a joyous festival and major sabbat. So it remains in a diluted
form, ironically celebrated by Christian society far more vigorously
than All Saints’ Day.” (Quoted from The Occult Conceit – A New Look at
Astrology, Witchcraft and Sorcery, by Owen S. Rachleff, from page
189-190.)

  Historically, Halloween is obviously and totally a pagan, occultic
worship day. There is NOTHING Christian about the day. Pause for a
moment. Dig beneath the candy. What is the primary focus of Halloween,
even in our day? I see a three fold focus… 1) DEATH 2) FEAR and HORROR
3) EVIL, THE DEVIL and THE OCCULT. There is absolutely NO Christian
significance to be found in Halloween.

  MODERN DAY OCCULT, WITCHCRAFT and SATANISM CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN

  You need to understand that even today Halloween is STILL an occult
worship day. Phil Phillips says in his book, Halloween and Satanism,
“…Halloween is a day witches celebrate above all other days.”

  Is there any support for Phil’s statement? Yes! “The Maine State
Prison allowed members of a witch coven (the Coven of Dawn) to hold a
two-hour service on the feast day they call Samhain [Halloween], after
the Druidic festival of year’s end. `This is our time to give praise to
our lord and lady for the bountiful harvest,’ said the founder of the
`goddess- oriented’ coven. He said that 75 inmates have been initiated
into the religion since its start in 1981.” (This report is from
Observations, 11/87 by way of the “What In The World!” information
sheet.

  Turn your attention to the October 1989 issue of the Baptist
Bulletin magazine. It reported, in the “NEWS” section, “A U.S. Air
Force physical therapist who says she has been a practicing witch for
four years won permission to take Halloween and seven other days off as
`religious holidays.’ A spokesman at Lackland Airforce base in San
Antonio said regulations require that Patricia Hutchins…be accorded
the same freedom to express her religious beliefs as any other
religious believer.”

  Probably the best documentation as to whether modern day witches
actually celebrate Halloween comes from their own testimony. When asked
“Does anyone today celebrate Samhain (Halloween) as a religious
Holiday?” a major witches’ organization responded, “Yes, many followers
of various pagan religions, such as Druids and Wiccans (witches),
observe this day as a religious festival. They view it as a memorial
day for their dead friends similar to the national holiday of Memorial
Day in May. It is still a night to practice various forms of divination
concerning future events. Also, it is a time to…initiate new
projects.” (from Cult Watch Response, October 1988, Vol. 1, No. 1).

  Witches and Satanists love Halloween. They get a lot of media
coverage around that time of year. It’s good P.R. (public relations)
for them. That coverage usually portrays them in a favorable light. In
addition, it generates interest in “the craft” and is good for
recruitment purposes. As Craig Hawkins put it, “…with increasing
vigor, witchcraft is coming `out of the broom closet.’ Many witches are
actively seeking public understanding and acceptance.” (quote from an
article in Christian Research Journal; Winter/Spring 90 entitled “The
Modern World of Witchcraft” by Craig S. Hawkins.)

  Despite the public relations campaign to “sell” the public on the
“virtues” of witchcraft, modern day witches and Satanists still worship
demon gods and goddesses, practice bizarre and immoral sexual rituals, and
certain groups offer animal and human sacrifices.

  Noted New Age Researcher Texe Marrs said this about the activities
of witches on Halloween. “…our own research confirms that on this
unholy night [Halloween], witches’ covens meet, drink, dance, spit out
curses and spells, conjure up spirits, engage in sexual orgies, induct
new members, and offer up animal and human sacrifices. (Witches have
become expert at covering up these sacrifices by use of cremation ovens
and the use of privately owned land preserves for disposal of bodies in
deeply dug graves.)” He goes on to say, “Somewhere in America in the
week prior to this coming Halloween, children will be kidnapped by
witches and become statistics as `missing children.’ …While chances
of your children being snatched may be remote, never the less we
believe caution and good judgment is in order.”

  Jack Roper, occult researcher with C.A.R.I.S. (Christian
Apologetics: Research and Information Service) says “…the time of the
year where you have the highest rate of Satanic ritual crimes is
Halloween.”

  Jack also said, “Around Halloween, one of the things you see are
graveyard desecrations.” Self-styled Satanists use human bones in their
rituals. Graveyard vandalism is a common Halloween occurrence.

  At this point, I want to share with you some more “Halloween crimes”
I am acquainted with.

  A Milwaukee county park worker contacted me in 1989. He told me of
finding numerous remains of small animals that had been sacrificed in
area parks around Halloween. It was clear that these sacrifices were
occult related because the remains were associated with either an
altar, inside a circle, triangle or pyramid structure. That’s not all.

  While deer hunting in Marinette County, Wisconsin, I came across the
remains of a bull that had been sacrificed within a stone circle. It is
almost certain that this was part of a Halloween ritual sacrifice
performed by a Satanic group.

  Dave Benoit tells of a mother finding a strange diary, called “The
Book Of Shadows” in her son’s room. She with fear and trembling leafed
through pages filled with Satanic drawings. Then her eyes fell on these
horrifying words, “Last year I stole a car at Halloween and ran over a
kid and killed him. This year, at Halloween, I plan to do the same
thing!” The words in his satanic diary proved to be true. The teenager
is now incarcerated. He murdered a kid as a sacrifice to Satan.

  Halloween is an evil day. Halloween honors Satan, idol worship,
immorality, demonic rituals and human sacrifice. Halloween is not a day
I want to celebrate because of what it has stood for and what it stands
for today. Jack Roper put it simply enough, “You would never see Jesus
at a Halloween party. Halloween parties in churches are an abomination
[to the Lord].”

  I no longer promote or participate in Halloween activities because
of its association with idolatry, immorality, bizarre rituals and human
sacrifice. The Bible warns us, “…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.” (I Corinthians 10:20).
That is why I am exposing the day for what it really is, SATAN’S DAY!

  THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME, HALLOWEEN

  Where did the name Halloween come from? Originally this Druid
Holiday was called “The Vigil Of Saman.” In early Britain it was called
Samhain, which is pronounced So-wein. But, here is how we got the name
Halloween. It came from an attempt to “Christianize” this pagan worship
day. In A.D. 800 the Roman Catholic Church moved “ALL SAINTS DAY” from
May to November 1st. The new day was called All HALLOW’S DAY and it
soon became the custom to call the evening before ALL HALLOWE’EN. It
was shortened and called HALLOWEEN. The important fact to note is that
the CHRISTIANIZATION of this Celtic New Year’s sacrifice day MISERABLY
FAILED. Where is the preeminence of Christ or glory given to the Lord
as with Easter and Christmas. It is NOT there but on the contrary, the
Devil is dominant!

  To summarize this section on “THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN” let me share
with you the words of Dr. John MacArthur. “First of all, dressing up
like witches, ghosts, or goblins is incompatible with a Christian’s
testimony. Furthermore, many of the customs of Halloween are associated
with the worst kinds of pagan beliefs and ceremonies; they are usually
sinister things such as demons, witchcraft and superstition.”

  He further stated, “If we as Christian parents simply disregard the
unchristian aspects of such practices as mere fantasy or superstition
and then encourage our children to participate in them, we run the risk
of communicating the message that the spiritual battle waged by the
rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:10) is not to be taken seriously.”

  Let’s move on to the origin of some of Halloween’s customs.

  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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and 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.”

  II. THE HEROES OF HALLOWEEN

  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…

  DIVINATION — Seeking to know the past, present or future by
astrology; horoscopes; channeling; tarot; etc. This can include animal
or human sacrifice.

  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.

  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 and 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?

  III. THE HARM OF HALLOWEEN

  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 and heavy metal music

  2. Fantasy Role playing games

  3. Slasher/horror movies and sadistic pornography

  4. Reading occult and 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 and 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

  *OMEGA – END*

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