Halloween folklore

hild bobbing for apples at a Halloween party, biting an apple from a water-filled tub as friends watch and laugh

Bobbing for Apples… or, How to Gamble With Your Soul

Antheny / October 29, 2025

Before bobbing for apples was a party game, it was a sacred Samhain ritual for seeing the future. Apples, nuts, and bones once helped the living peek beyond the veil, asking spirits about love, death, and fate. Here’s how a Celtic act of divination became a splashy Halloween staple.

Children in Halloween costumes trick-or-treating at night, holding pumpkin baskets and smiling as candy is handed out.

How Halloween Went Global (and Got Sugared Up)

Antheny / October 26, 2025

From ancient bonfires to candy bars, Halloween’s transformation wasn’t magic, it was marketing. Irish and Scottish traditions crossed the ocean, candy companies saw an opening, and the world’s sweetest night was born. Here’s how Samhain’s spooky roots evolved into a global celebration of costumes, capitalism, and sugar-coated nostalgia.