Evolving from the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, modern Halloween has become less about literal ghosts and ghouls and more about costumes and candy. The Celts used the day to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, and also believed that this transition between the seasons was a bridge to the world of the dead.

Over the millennia the holiday transitioned from a somber pagan ritual to a day of merriment, costumes, parades and sweet treats for children and adults.Halloween is one of those days that has gotten a bad rap in recent years. Back when I was growing up it was just a day where you could dress up as something you were not, preferably something scary (whatever that meant) and parade around the neighborhood after dark, soliciting sweet treats. It was FUN! None of us were worshiping some pagan deity nor were we bowing down to the golden calf or anything similar. Oh, some of the “scary” images included symbols of witches and tombstones and black cats etc but we all knew that witches were not real and everyone ends up with a tombstone and black cats are just as cuddly as calicoes. It was FUN! We seem to be living in an age where the fun is being taken out of everything.

Four years ago, as I was thinking about Halloween I created these two graphics. If they offend you, too bad. They are designed for your enjoyment. They’re just for fun.