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32 Paranormal Facts About Classic Halloween Monsters to Remind You Why They Freak Us Out

Apparitions to zombies, and all the frights in between

32 Paranormal Facts About Classic Halloween Monsters to Remind You Why They Freak Us Out

April 13, 2024

Like a black cat, we’re on the fence. Does knowing more or less about these terrifying creatures make them scarier? If we know less, they can pop around any corner for that one big shock scare. If we know more, their facts and origin stories might just give us more to be scared of.

You know what? We’re going for it. If we get more scared, so be it. At least we’ll learn a little something along the way.

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32

Witches

One popular way to see if someone was a witch was actually to weigh them. Witches were so light that they could float on water, the belief went, so suspects would get weighed. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

31

Butter used to be associated with witches in Ireland back in the day. BUTTER 1 FIRST QUALITY 1 NET WT. 4OZ. (113g) BUTTER Butter was used in Celtic pagan rituals, 1/2 CUP START MEASURE HERE 1/4 CUP-> 1/3 CUP->/ and also, a witch could steal a neighbor's لم ESPOON MEASURE: 1 8 6 5 4 3 butter luck using magic. ABELED FOR RETAIL SALE CRACKED.COM NOW YOU KNOW — Source

30

They didn't actually burn witches at the stake during the Salem trials. Some were sentenced to death by hanging, and some died in jail (and one person was pressed by stones to death) but nobody got burned. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

29

People used to think that witches could actually shapeshift into cats. Apparently that's why one pope said that the cat was the devil's favourite animal and idol of all witches. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

28

Myths with real-life consequences Ghosts (that check up on you from the afterlife) According to someoone close to him, David Bowie said his dad's ghost called him every day for a week after he died. It was always at the same time, so he was sure it was his dad WX from beyond. CRACKED — Source

27

Myths with real-life consequences Slender Man A12-year-old thought stabbing her classmate would protect her and her family from the memetic monster. Her lawyer says she was mentally ill, so, uh, she's not guilty, somehow. CRACKED — Source

26

Myths with real-life consequences Ghosts (that hang out in houses) A ghost whisperer checked out Hull, UK's most haunted house, and caught some creepy, unexplained noises on camera. Не also felt a presence and heard voices, bangs, and scratching, plus a hiss when he lay in a coffin. CRACKED — Source

25

Myths with real-life consequences Haunting ghosts A19-year-old South African got 15 years for dousing another man in petrol and setting him on fire. Не ran to avoid his victim's ghost, but eventually admitted to the victim's family and a magistrate that he heard the man's voice every night. CRACKED — Source

24

Ghosts Made Me Do It

Myths with real-life consequences Ghosts (the pyromaniac kind) Two teens set fire to a barn in Hanover, Pennsylvania, insisting that it was haunted and a ghost made them do it. They got caught when one of them bragged about it on the bus (no word on what the ghost thought of that). CRACKED — Source

23

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2011 THE INNKEEPERS The movie is based on a haunted hotel Ti West where and his crew stayed while shooting The House of the Devil. During production, they witnessed flickering lights, slamming doors, and according to West, actress Sara Paxton would wake up in the middle of the night thinking someone was in the room with her. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2019 ANNABELLE COMES HOME The set for the third Annabelle installment was so spooky, a priest had to intervene. A piano bench would move by itself, door knocks would be randomly heard, and performers saw shadowy figures on the set. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2013 THE CONJURING Things mysteriously changed places in the Warrens' store room. Actress Joey King became covered with bruises, while Vera Farmiga woke up with three scratch marks on her thigh, and the same marks would also appear on her laptop and cellphone. Also, Farmiga would wake up between 3 and 4 a.m., the same time at which the witch dies in the film. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

JOHN POLIDORI'S THE VAMPYRE VAMPYRE; A Tale. In the same creative challenge that birthed Shelley's Frankenstein, arguably the first English story about vampires was written in 1819. A nobleman seduces women and drinks blood from their necks. CRACKED — Source

19

Diseases

CONTAGIOUS DISEASE In the 1700s to the late 1800s, ignorant of bacteria and viruses, people blamed the recently deceased's spirit of killing their family members. So the community would open tombs to discover natural decay like bloating and bleeding from orifices and accuse them of being vampires. CRACKED — Source

18

VLAD THE IMPALER Vlad III (son of Vlad II Dracul) was a vicious fighter who enjoyed staking his enemies. Не was estimated to have killed about 80,000 people. Не supposedly would dine around the corpses of his dead, even dipping his bread into their blood. CRACKED — Source

17

SCOTTISH FOLKLORE BAOBHAN SITH These creatures were said to be found in the Scottish Highlands and take the form of beautiful women in long green dresses (which hid their feet's hooves). They killed and drank the blood of hunters. Should they kill a woman, she'd turn into one of them. CRACKED — Source

16

Mythology

FILIPINO MYTH MANANANGGAL The aswang is a beautiful woman during the day, but by night, she separates from her lower body, grows wings, and takes flight. She eats human flesh, especially infants and pregnant women. CRACKED — Source

15

A woman lived for 20 years with her dead son and never knew it. Elderly Brooklyn resident Rita Wolfensohn was legally blind, a compulsive hoarder, and not very close with her family-which explains why for 20 years, she never realized her son had died in his bedroom. Apparently she thought he had just moved out. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

CRACKED.COM Piss cakes were used to find witches. A witch cake was prepared with rye flour and the urine of a curse victim, then fed to a dog, which would somehow point at the culprit. It's unclear how long the cakes were a thing, but they were used in relation to the Salem Witch Trials. — Source

13

A Cursed PS2 Disc

A PlayStation 2 disc was believed to be cursed - and it was (kind of). It was an internet myth for years: Kids who played some PS2 demo disc freaked out when disturbing images appeared on screen. The disc was finally identified in October 2020, containing for some unknown reason a trailer for the Japanese horror film Tetsuo: The Iron Man. PlayStation SELECT START ANALOG CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Face-down burials prevented zombie infestations. Rich folks in the Middle Ages were sometimes buried face- down, as an act of humility to God-but in times of plague, face-down burials spiked, even among the poor. In the medieval mind, plague and the undead were related (and apparently revenants were too lazy to turn themselves around). CRACKED.COM — Source

11

Monks

Buddhists monks would mummify themselves while still alive. Some monks would become mummies (called sokushinbutsu) by following a starvation diet of pine needles and resins, to eliminate fat and dehydrate until they died. At least 24 people self-mummified this way before Japan banned the practice in 1879. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Seeing a spider on Halloween is a good thing. Many believe that a spider on Halloween is actually a loved one watching over you. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

Owls had much of the same societal fate as witches. The ancient Greeks linked owls to the goddess Athena and saw them as symbols of wisdom, but during the Middle Ages they were given an evil reputation and were associated with both death and devil worship. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

Black cats have always been part of folklore and superstition. In Scottish folklore, there's a fairy named Cat Sith who walked around as a giant black cat, stealing the souls of the dead. In Medieval times, they were associated with the devil, and even blamed for the Black Death. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Witches and Halloween Members of the pagan Wicca were once highly respected, and were seen as wise people who honored and celebrated natural forces instead of a single deity. But the Christian religion with its male hierarchy saw them as powerful, dangerous feminists with dark powers, and connected them with all things evil, especially on Halloween. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

Carving jack-o'-lanterns into pumpkins was a tradition that came from the British Isles, and they used different types of vegetables. They used turnips, beets, and potatoes and stuffed them with coal, wood embers or candles. Kids would prank others by walking with their jack-o'-lanterns in the dark, making people think they saw Stingy Jack. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

The Irish had their own unique story for these jack-o'-lantern lights, and it revolved around Stingy Jack. Stingy Jack invited the devil for a drink but couldn't pay for it, so he convinced the devil to turn into a coin so he could settle the bill. But Stingy Jack pocketed the devil-coin instead, and when he eventually freed the devil, he made him promise not to take his soul to hell when he died. When Stingy Jack died, he was rejected from heaven, and the devil kept his word and didn't take him to hell. Instead, the devil gave him — Source

4

All Saints’ Day

All Saints' Day didn't prove as popular as All Hallows' Eve. The pagan practices prevailed, however changed, as people weren't into celebrating the good and light exclusively. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Costumes had a greater significance than today. The Celts wore costumes, usually in the form of animals or beasts, to trick and fool any spirits that might want to bring them harm. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Originally, jack-o'-lantern was a person, not a pumpkin. It initially meant a man with a lantern, or a night watchman. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

The Irish popularized Halloween in the US. When Irish immigrants came to the US in the 19th century after fleeing the Great Famine, they brought with them their love for pagan traditions, as well as their unique Halloween practices. CRACKED.COM — Source

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