Halloween picksFirst time celebrating Halloween, start with this list
Costumes, decorations, candy, and party supplies, all in one place and sorted by budget
View listGhost stories and folklore
Stories that have been told for a hundred years and are still going
Original stories, folklore history, and light horror shorts; each entry notes the era and reading time, so pick one that fits your taste
original storiesFolklore and Historylight horror short storiesurban legends
Halloween picks
Halloween picksSafe and stylish yard decorations
Flameless lights + tip-resistant decorations, safe with kids and pets
View decorationsHalloween Encyclopedia: Latest Articles and Guides
The Third Light on the Porch
Original Halloween Short Story | Legend: on Halloween night, only two lights are lit on the porch, the third light is the uninvited light, and that night the third light really came on
Why the jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin: a legend
Why the jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin | it wasn't always a pumpkin (Irish turnips, radishes, beets, and potatoes), the lantern in the legend (Stingy Jack hollowed out a turnip, hellfire), the Irish carved turnips to scare wandering spirits (scary faces at the door), then came to America (19th-century Irish immigrants, swapping turnips for pumpkins), pumpkin's natural advantages (big, round, soft, bright orange, easy to carve and hold a light), name unchanged (Jack-o'-lantern: the container changed but the legend didn't)
The Legend of the Black Cat and the Moon: That Halloween Silhouette Is Actually Quite Old
Black Cat and Moon Legend | Friend of the Night (nocturnal cats, moonlight silhouettes, glowing eyes), ancient Egyptian cat goddess Bastet (associated with the moon, guardian of the family, killing a cat was a grave crime, souls of the dead became black cats), cat eyes are roundest under a full moon (compared to a being that brings light), from witch's cat to Halloween symbol, black cat + moon silhouette became a classic (decorations, costumes, the most iconic Halloween image)
Browse by topic
Story categories
Sort by source: original stories, folklore history, urban legends, and light horror shorts
Latest additions
Stories people have been telling lately
Folklore
Why the jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin: a legend
Why the jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin | it wasn't always a pumpkin (Irish turnips, radishes, beets, and potatoes), the lantern in the legend (Stingy Jack hollowed out a turnip, hellfire), the Irish carved turnips to scare wandering spirits (scary faces at the door), then came to America (19th-century Irish immigrants, swapping turnips for pumpkins), pumpkin's natural advantages (big, round, soft, bright orange, easy to carve and hold a light), name unchanged (Jack-o'-lantern: the container changed but the legend didn't)
Folklore
The Third Light on the Porch
Original Halloween Short Story | Legend: on Halloween night, only two lights are lit on the porch, the third light is the uninvited light, and that night the third light really came on
Folklore
The Headless Horseman: From Folklore to a Halloween Classic
The Headless Horseman Legend | Before Irving: Europe's "headless riders" (Ireland's Dullahan, associated with omens of death), in 1820 Irving wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (The Sketch Book, New York's Hudson Valley), the Headless Horseman's backstory (a Hessian soldier whose head was blown off by a cannonball in the Revolutionary War, searching for his head at night), Ichabod Crane being chased (the bridge and church, the thrown "head" is actually a pumpkin), and why it became a Halloween classic (autumn atmosphere, pumpkin imagery, costumes and decorations)
Folklore
Why we tell ghost stories on Halloween: this tradition is older than the jack-o'-lantern
Why we tell ghost stories on Halloween | It all starts with Samhain (the Celtic New Year, November 1), the night the veil grows thin (the dead return to visit their families), bonfires and lanterns (to guide the dead home or drive them away), from the belief in the returning dead to telling ghost stories, and why we still love it today (a liminal night; telling stories together feels warmer than watching alone)
Folklore
The origin of the Bloody Mary legend: mirrors, darkness, and the name you say three times
Bloody Mary legend origin | how to play the ritual (turn off the lights, say the name, go in small groups), the most frequently mentioned historical prototype (Mary I of England, burned around 300 Protestants, the nickname really existed), another account (Mary Worth, North American witch), other versions (Elizabeth Báthory), how folklorists view it (1970s written accounts, ancient mirror divination tradition, legend trip), why Mary and the mirror (the rhythm of the name, medieval mirror superstition)
Folklore
Why black cats are linked to Halloween: not their fault, just centuries of misunderstanding
Why black cats are linked to Halloween | the foundation: the cat's supernatural roots (nocturnal habits, glowing eyes, air of mystery), the Middle Ages: black cats became the witch's cat (the 13th-century papal bull Vox in Rama, the familiar), why black in particular (black tied to darkness and death), the superstition of crossing your path (bad luck in some regions, yet a good omen in England, Japan and elsewhere), how it hooks up with Halloween (roots in Samhain, supernatural themes, decoration and costume silhouettes), the modern side (shelters pausing black cat adoptions around Halloween)
Folklore
The Legend of the Black Cat and the Moon: That Halloween Silhouette Is Actually Quite Old
Black Cat and Moon Legend | Friend of the Night (nocturnal cats, moonlight silhouettes, glowing eyes), ancient Egyptian cat goddess Bastet (associated with the moon, guardian of the family, killing a cat was a grave crime, souls of the dead became black cats), cat eyes are roundest under a full moon (compared to a being that brings light), from witch's cat to Halloween symbol, black cat + moon silhouette became a classic (decorations, costumes, the most iconic Halloween image)
Folklore
The Uninvited Jack-o'-Lantern: The Jack Who Forever Carries His Lantern and Can Never Go Home
The Uninvited Jack-o'-Lantern | The Uninvited Legend (Stingy Jack), Jack Tricks the Devil Twice (Trapping the Devil with a Silver Cross, Forcing a Promise from the Apple Tree), After Death (Heaven Refuses Him, Hell Rejects Him), The Lantern (Hellfire in a Turnip), The Irish Carve Turnips to Drive Away Wandering Spirits (Scary Faces at the Door), Arriving in America (Turnips Replaced with Pumpkins, Becoming a Halloween Icon)
Folklore and origins
Where these customs come from
Why the jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin: a legend
Why the jack-o'-lantern is a pumpkin | it wasn't always a pumpkin (Irish turnips, radishes, beets, and potatoes), the lantern in the legend (Stingy Jack hollowed out a turnip, hellfire), the Irish carved turnips to scare wandering spirits (scary faces at the door), then came to America (19th-century Irish immigrants, swapping turnips for pumpkins), pumpkin's natural advantages (big, round, soft, bright orange, easy to carve and hold a light), name unchanged (Jack-o'-lantern: the container changed but the legend didn't)
The Headless Horseman: From Folklore to a Halloween Classic
The Headless Horseman Legend | Before Irving: Europe's "headless riders" (Ireland's Dullahan, associated with omens of death), in 1820 Irving wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (The Sketch Book, New York's Hudson Valley), the Headless Horseman's backstory (a Hessian soldier whose head was blown off by a cannonball in the Revolutionary War, searching for his head at night), Ichabod Crane being chased (the bridge and church, the thrown "head" is actually a pumpkin), and why it became a Halloween classic (autumn atmosphere, pumpkin imagery, costumes and decorations)
The origin of the Bloody Mary legend: mirrors, darkness, and the name you say three times
Bloody Mary legend origin | how to play the ritual (turn off the lights, say the name, go in small groups), the most frequently mentioned historical prototype (Mary I of England, burned around 300 Protestants, the nickname really existed), another account (Mary Worth, North American witch), other versions (Elizabeth Báthory), how folklorists view it (1970s written accounts, ancient mirror divination tradition, legend trip), why Mary and the mirror (the rhythm of the name, medieval mirror superstition)
The Legend of the Black Cat and the Moon: That Halloween Silhouette Is Actually Quite Old
Black Cat and Moon Legend | Friend of the Night (nocturnal cats, moonlight silhouettes, glowing eyes), ancient Egyptian cat goddess Bastet (associated with the moon, guardian of the family, killing a cat was a grave crime, souls of the dead became black cats), cat eyes are roundest under a full moon (compared to a being that brings light), from witch's cat to Halloween symbol, black cat + moon silhouette became a classic (decorations, costumes, the most iconic Halloween image)
Original stories
Ghost stories and folklore - Pumpkin Land
The Third Light on the Porch
Original Halloween Short Story | Legend: on Halloween night, only two lights are lit on the porch, the third light is the uninvited light, and that night the third light really came on
Why we tell ghost stories on Halloween: this tradition is older than the jack-o'-lantern
Why we tell ghost stories on Halloween | It all starts with Samhain (the Celtic New Year, November 1), the night the veil grows thin (the dead return to visit their families), bonfires and lanterns (to guide the dead home or drive them away), from the belief in the returning dead to telling ghost stories, and why we still love it today (a liminal night; telling stories together feels warmer than watching alone)
The Uninvited Jack-o'-Lantern: The Jack Who Forever Carries His Lantern and Can Never Go Home
The Uninvited Jack-o'-Lantern | The Uninvited Legend (Stingy Jack), Jack Tricks the Devil Twice (Trapping the Devil with a Silver Cross, Forcing a Promise from the Apple Tree), After Death (Heaven Refuses Him, Hell Rejects Him), The Lantern (Hellfire in a Turnip), The Irish Carve Turnips to Drive Away Wandering Spirits (Scary Faces at the Door), Arriving in America (Turnips Replaced with Pumpkins, Becoming a Halloween Icon)
Tag filter
Tag
Bastet cat goddess1black cat Halloween1black cat moon1Black Cat Silhouette1black cat superstition1black cat symbolism1Bloody Mary legend1Bloody Mary mirror1Bloody Mary origin1ghost story tradition1ghost story1halloween classic1Halloween fiction1Halloween history1Halloween pumpkin1Halloween short story1Halloween symbols1headless horseman1ichabod crane1jack-o'-lantern history2jack-o'-lantern origin1jack-o'-lantern pumpkin1jack o lantern story1Mary Worth1pumpkin vs turnip1samhain origin1sleepy hollow legend1Stingy Jack2Why Halloween Ghost Stories1Witch familiar1Halloween short story1why tell ghost stories at Halloween1why jack-o'-lanterns are pumpkins1The Legend of the Jack-o'-Lantern1Headless Horseman1Bloody Mary legend1Black cat Halloween1black cat moon1