Halloween has been around a lot longer than candy corn, plastic skeletons, and those inflatable decorations that take over people’s front yards. Its origins go back more than 2,000 years to the Celtic festival of Samhain, when people marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. They believed this was the time of year when the line between the living and the dead became a little blurry. Bonfires were lit, and people wore disguises to confuse any spirits that might be wandering around. Over the centuries, Christianity added its own traditions, and All Hallows’ Eve eventually became the Halloween we know today. Of course, like so many things in history, what started as a serious attempt to deal with the supernatural gradually turned into something else entirely.
As Irish and Scottish immigrants brought their traditions to North America, Halloween continued to evolve. Pumpkins replaced turnips, costumes became more elaborate, and trick-or-treating became an annual ritual. These days, kids dress up as everything from superheroes to little monsters and roam the neighborhood collecting enough candy to keep them bouncing off the walls until Christmas. Adults get in on the fun, too, although some of the costumes make you wonder what people are thinking. Melanie and I have spent a good part of our lives wandering around this planet on a motorcycle, and we’ve learned that you don’t have to go looking for strange or frightening experiences. Sometimes they find you. We’ve camped in places where the nighttime noises were enough to get your imagination working overtime, and there have been moments when we weren’t entirely sure what was lurking beyond the tent. Maybe the ancient Celts had the right idea after all. On Halloween, at least, we can blame the things that go bump in the night on ghosts and goblins. The rest of the year, we’re left to figure it out for ourselves. See you on the road — and keep an eye on what’s lurking in the shadows!
We’ve been using our downtime to work on plans for our upcoming 2027 trip, and it’s looking like it’s going to be a fantastic year! There are definitely a couple of twists and surprises in the works, but we’re not spilling all the details just yet. 😉
We’ll still be in the country for about 7 more weeks, so we’re not going anywhere just yet! Next week, we’ll pick back up sharing what we’ve been up to here and tell you about a couple of trips we’ve taken along the way.
Stay tuned! There’s more to come, and we think 2027 is going to be one heck of an adventure!
Hope all your hauntings are good.
Boos and Cheers,
2WANDRRs
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