Lux Ferre

Bells—It was once common practice to ring church bells for all Christian souls on Halloween. King Henry VIII (who ruled from 1509 to 1547) once directed that “the Vigil and ringing of

Beggar’s Night—In some areas of the United States, Beggar’s Night is October 30, the night before Halloween (and was sometimes used interchangeably with MISCHIEF NIGHT), but children would often TRICK OR TREAT

Bats— Traditional Halloween symbol, mainly in the United States. The connection of bats to Halloween may be as simple as the fact that bats are nocturnal creatures (see also CATS and OWLS).

Barm Brack— An Irish loaf or CAKE made with dried fruit, popular during the Halloween season. Quite often the barm brack serves as a FORTUNE CAKE. Barm brack is available commercially, and

Barley—In Shetland, a small stack of “bere,” or barley, was set apart in an annual offering to “Broonie” (the origin or real meaning of this name is unknown). There was a divination

Bannatyne, Lesley—Lesley Bannatyne is an American author of five books on Halloween, including Halloween: An American Holiday, An American History (1990), which inaugurated contemporary Halloween popular histories and paved the way for

Backwards—Doing things in reverse order or backwards is a common theme in Halloween FORTUNE-TELLING customs and protective charms. For example, while on the road, wearing one’s coat inside-out was protection against Halloween

Autopsy—Popular Halloween presentation, performed in many variations. The version referred to as “Autopsy” involves setting up a back-lit sheet, behind which a “doctor” performs either an operation or an autopsy, removing various

Ashes are a central element in a few Halloween FORTUNE-TELLING customs, mainly found in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Lancashire. In one form of the custom, the fortune-seeker was told to