Tomorrow marks the annual celebration of costumes, candy, and crazy characters. We know it as Halloween. Some kids, from toddlers to young teenagers, dress up like Minions, Disney heroines, cartoon characters, superheroes and famous people. Others don attire seeming to spell “bubble, bubble, toil and trouble” – looking like witches, ghosts, goblins, vampires and zombies.
History tells us the observance hearkens to the ancient Celt and Druid tradition called Samhain, marking the end of summer and the start of the harvest season. It was believed at that time “the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred,” according to Christianity.com.
Fast-forward about 1,000 years. The Roman Catholic Church, rather than abolishing the pagan traditions, shifted the focus from a celebration of pagan deities, roaming spirits and the dead to a Christian emphasis, making Nov. 1 "All Saints’ Day." Since saints also were known as “hallows,” Oct. 31 became All Hallows’ Eve – eventually, Halloween.
The event in America began shifting in the late 1800s to a more community-oriented festival, along the lines of seasonal traditions like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Over the decades since, different groups have embraced Halloween in a variety of ways, some retaining the celebratory spirit while others giving it a more somber tone, with a focus on death and darkness. As with Christmas and Easter, Halloween has become a target for considerable commercialization.
Today, we have children dressed up as their favorite characters going door to door shouting, “Trick or treat!” At the same time, movie theaters, cable TV and screaming services (I mean, streaming services) have been bursting with collections of films from the horror and occult genre. All in the name of a good scare, supposedly.
All of this leads to the question, “Should Christians celebrate Halloween?” Some believers and churches have taken alternative approaches, such as passing out Gospel tracts along with candy, choosing only uplifting costumes that represent goodness and virtue, or having special church events like “trunk-or-treat.” Lacking an absolute answer on what to do, we must follow our own convictions in the light of biblical truth.
I mention this because for years I was captivated by scary movies, starting with “Frankenstein,” “Dracula,” “The Mummy” and “The Wolfman.” Much of the scare effect in those films was the suspense, not knowing what might be lurking around the next corner. It was as much what we didn’t see as what the films did reveal.
Most of today’s films, however, seem determined to escalate the blood and gore quotient. I don’t go to see them anymore, partly for that reason. But for me there’s an even greater reason.
Not long after I had committed my life to Jesus Christ, the pastor of my church gave a sermon about the dangers of the occult. He didn’t offer just personal opinions. He used teachings from the Bible to warn members of the congregation about fixating on things of the dark world.
His message struck a nerve with me since going to see horror movies and reading books that tiptoed around occult topics had been my “guilty pleasure.” I’d even interviewed horrormeister Stephen King during my days as a community newspaper editor. ‘What’s the harm?’, I had reasoned.
I met with the pastor to further discuss his message. Maybe I was hoping he would say it was okay since I wasn’t directly participating in stuff of the netherworld. His response wasn’t heavy-handed; no fire and brimstone tactics. He just asked a simple question: “Bob, when you read those books, where’s your focus? Are you looking toward God – or away from Him?”
In the Lord’s wisdom, that’s all I needed to hear. Because I quickly realized that my hobby was exposing me to more of the occult than anyone should know. While there might have been occasional references to God, most of the content was about Satan, demons and devils, and other forms of evil.
While the Bible does not speak specifically to Halloween, it does address preoccupation with evil and the demonic. To help believers in ancient Colossae understand what godly living should look like, the apostle Paul admonished, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3).
Elsewhere Paul explained that whether we like it or not, we’re all engaged in a spiritual war, one we dare not underestimate. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:10-12).
For most people, Halloween is just a once-a-year, fun activity. Nothing more. But we need to recognize there’s an unseen spiritual realm that can ensnare the unprepared. This is why the apostle Peter warned, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
And if tempted to dabble in books or media that clearly aren’t building us up in our relationship with the Lord, we have the assurance of 1 Corinthians 10:13 that, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
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