From scary stories to scowling pumpkins, Halloween has pagan roots

  Halloween these days calls pumpkins to mind, cackling witches, teenagers pulling pranks, and scream masks. You probably know that all this derives from All Hallows’ Eve, the night before the Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day, the time when the dead are remembered.

  But Christianity itself appropriated the tradition from pagan ancestors. And so the night which is, in the secular and commercial world, Halloween and in the Christian calendar, All Hallows’ Eve, has its roots in the pagan Wheel of the Year and the festival of Samhain.

Why are so many people delighted by disgusting things?

  Halloween is a time to embrace all that is disgusting, from bloody slasher films to haunted houses full of fake guts and gore.

  But the attraction to stuff that grosses us out goes beyond this annual holiday.

How Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor became Halloween’s theme song

  Imagine a grand house on a hill, after dark on an autumn night. As the door opens, an organ pierces through the thick silence and echoes through the cavernous halls.

  The tune that comes to many minds will be Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, an organ work composed in the early 18th century. Most people today recognize it as a sonic icon of a certain type of fear: haunting and archaic, the kind of thing likely to be manufactured by someone – a ghost, perhaps – wearing a tuxedo and lurking in an abandoned mansion.

Keep your fork

  When a pessimist is told there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, he’s likely to assume it’s an onrushing train. According to journalist Sydney Harris, “A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past; he’s prematurely disappointed in the future.”

  Pessimism and cynicism are fashionable these days, but it’s the people who see and celebrate the positive aspects of life who live best.

Think twice before shouting your virtues online – moral grandstanding is toxic

  In an era of bitter partisanship, political infighting, and ostracization of those with unpopular views, Americans actually agree on one thing: 85% say political discourse has gotten worse over the last several years according to Pew Research.

  The polarization plays out everywhere in society, from private holiday gatherings to very public conversations on social media, where debate is particularly toxic and aggressive.

LGBTQ rights: Where do Harris and Trump stand?

  Polls show that LGBTQ rights will likely factor into most Americans’ pick for president this November as they choose between former Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.

  A March 2024 survey by independent pollster PRRI found that 68% of voters will take LGBTQ rights into consideration at the polls. Fully 30% stated that they would vote only for a candidate who shares their views on the issue.

  It is no coincidence, then, that LGBTQ rights issues feature prominently in the party platforms.

Keeping Alabama’s prisons in darkness

  I don’t know what constituency supports gouging prisoners’ families.

  Is there a well-adjusted person whose vote depends on making prison phone calls as expensive as shame will allow? Or in restricting contact between the incarcerated and their loved ones, making it more likely they’ll re-offend?

  But there’s Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s name on a petition to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, next to 13 other Republican attorneys general outraged that the federal government would try to stop an unnecessary cost.

Why Trump accuses people of wrongdoing he himself committed − an explanation of projection

  Donald Trump has a particular formula he uses to convey messages to his supporters and opponents alike: He highlights others’ wrongdoings even though he has committed similar acts himself.

  On Oct. 3, 2024, Trump accused the Biden administration of spending Federal Emergency Management Agency funds − money meant for disaster relief − on services for immigrants. Biden did no such thing, but Trump did during his time in the White House, including to pay for additional detention space.

Kamala Harris’ and Donald Trump’s records on abortion policy couldn’t be more different – here’s what actions they both have taken while in office

  Abortion is a critical, if not the most important, issue for many voters – especially women, according to polls – ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

  Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee in August 2024, she has been vocal about her support for abortion rights. Specifically, she supports Congress passing a federal law that would protect abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court in 2022 overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which recognized a constitutional right to abortion.

10 things you didn't know about the history of Halloween

10) While today's costumes channel an inner fantasy, they started with a much more solemn purpose.

  One of the earliest examples we have of people donning costumes comes from Hallow Mass, a ceremonial mass dedicated to prayers for the dead. People appealed to their ancestors for everything from happy marriages to fertility, and costumes were a part of that.