It is a common belief among Christians that Halloween should not be celebrated due to its association with evil spirits and potential to encourage witchcraft or demon worship. In an interview with the Christian Post, Pastor Justin Mercer of the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ said Halloween is a “dark and demonic day that cannot be separated from its origins.”
When I was in the third grade, I watched the movie Annabelle, a story about a doll inhabited by a demonic entity. My sister and I had a huge collection of dolls in the room next to mine. One night, my brother stole my mom’s phone and was watching videos of our family laughing and talking in his room downstairs. I thought that the noises were coming from the dolls and that they were going to get up and kill me in my room. I slept in our guest bedroom on the other side of the house for a year after that.
There’s no denying that demonic themes and imagery are associated with Halloween, but Halloween is not the root of the problem.
Beginning over 2,000 years ago, the Celts of Ireland called Oct. 31 Samhain, and believed it was the time when the divide between our world and the spiritual world was at its thinnest. The Celts dressed up in costumes to confuse evil spirits and avoid being harmed by them. They welcomed their ancestors home and honored their memory through food offerings and by sharing their stories.
The Catholic Church took inspiration from the Celts. In the 800s, the Church designated Nov. 1 as All Saints Day, a day dedicated to the veneration of Saints. Oct. 31 became All Hallows Day evening, later known as Halloween.
Samhain began with the opposite of evil intent. The Celts dressed up to avoid contact with evil spirits. Had there been any evil intention behind Samhain, the Church would have chosen a different day to celebrate All Saints Day. Halloween’s origins are not demonic or evil.
Demonic imagery integrated its way into Halloween through horror movies. The Exorcist (1973) set the standard for demonic possession narratives in cinema. The movie grossed over $400 million worldwide and received 10 Academy Award nominations, winning two.
Taking inspiration from the success of The Exorcist, several other demonic horror movies were released in the late 70s and 80s. Demonic horror both contributed to and fed off of the fear that came from the Satanic Panic of the 80s. The panic has passed, but the subgenre is still around and very popular today. The Exorcist: Believer, a direct sequel to the 1973 film, was released in 2023.
Demonic themes are a part of media year-round, not just during Halloween. Parrot Analytics found that in the time period between 2019-2023, 19.9% of horror movies were released in October, while the other 80.1% were released through the rest of the year. Eliminating Halloween as a holiday wouldn’t reverse the damage that demonic media has on culture all year long.
As Christians and adults, we have full autonomy over what movies we watch, what Halloween activities we participate in, and what we choose to dress up as. There’s quite an obvious difference between carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating, and watching demonic horror films. Christians should be able to celebrate the fun parts of Halloween free of any guilt.
I’m thankful that my family celebrated the fun parts of Halloween, but I’m also thankful for my hysterical fear of Annabelle and all dolls. It taught me to protect my eyes, heart and mind from the damage that can be caused by demonic images.
When fourth grade came around, I had the time of my life trick-or-treating as Hermione Granger with my little brother, who was Harry Potter. At the end of the night, we went through and traded candies, deciding which pieces we were going to pack in our school lunch the next day. The devil played no part in those memories because I was intentional about not allowing demonic imagery to find its way into my vivid imagination.
