Before Halloween was spooky season, there was Samhain.

In this episode of Cursed...ish, Angela and Daniel dig into the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, the pagan celebration marking the end of the harvest, the beginning of winter, and a time when the veil between the living and the dead was believed to be at its thinnest.

And the deeper we go, the more familiar everything starts to look. Massive bonfires light up the darkness. People disguise themselves from wandering spirits. Food is left out to appease supernatural visitors. Glowing gourds with carved faces ward off evil. People go door to door asking for treats, and those who refuse might find themselves on the receiving end of a trick.

Somehow, thousands of years later, we are still doing basically the same thing every October. Along the way, we talk pagan holidays, Druids, sacred fires, the Wheel of the Year, ancient Irish folklore, divination, soul cakes, black cats, fae, ancestor worship, All Hallows’ Eve, and how Christianity helped transform Samhain traditions into the Halloween we know today. Is Halloween secretly one enormous ancient pagan holdover?

Maybe cursed. Maybe not. Maybe we’re all just a bunch of pagans with better candy.

Questions, comments, or your own accursed tales to share? Send us a hex at uhoh@cursedish.com.

The hosts of Cursed...ish are not responsible for any misfortunes that may befall you while listening to this podcast. By listening to Cursed...ish, you assume all risk of bad luck, ill omens, and unexplained catastrophes.

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