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Every year on one special night, people all over the world find the fun in fear.

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For most of us, Halloween is the night for fright.

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Complete with costumes, trick or treating, and more candy than you can ever eat.

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But did you ever wonder where all of these different traditions come from?

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Find out when Tritherscare rips the mask off of Halloween.

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For most of us, Halloween isn't all that scary, right?

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Which is flying around on brooms, who actually believes in that.

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And if you ever run into a demon, it's probably just your little brother in a rubber mask.

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But the true origins of Halloween go back thousands of years, to a time when some people

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say dark magic and evil spirits were very real.

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Over 2,000 years ago, people known as the Celts lived in ancient Europe, the British

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Isles, and Ireland.

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They had their own languages, customs and religion, and handed them down from generation

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to generation.

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Each year they would honor their gods and goddesses on eight different festival days.

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Their celebrations were led by Celtic priests, known as druids.

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Some thought these mysterious men could actually control the forces of nature, and even cast

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magic spells.

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The Celts' biggest celebration of the year was called Sauen.

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It was on October 31st, the day we know as Halloween.

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Sauen marked the end of the summer harvest, and the beginning of winter.

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Since most people in ancient times were farmers, finishing the hard work of the harvest was

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a huge reason to celebrate.

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But it wasn't the only one.

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They also wanted to make sure that they paid proper respect to their gods, who they believed

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would watch over them during the long, cold, brutal months ahead.

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Today, we don't celebrate Halloween for the same reasons, but a lot of our traditions

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started with the Celts.

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Bobbing for apples, carving pumpkins, and even trick-or-treating can be traced all the

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way back to those ancient times.

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For some, the connection to the past even determines how they live today.

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Fiona Horn is a witch from Australia.

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She says that modern witches like her follow the same traditions as the druids, and that

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Halloween, or Sauen, is a very important celebration.

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Halloween, or Sauen, as we call it, is considered the time that we can best communicate with

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those that we love who have departed, those who have gone and who are in the spirit world,

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because we think the veils between the worlds have lifted and it's the best time to communicate

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with them.

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Some might find that just a bit creepy, but Fiona believes there's nothing to be afraid

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of.

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To her, the spirits of the next world are fascinating, not frightening.

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But the ancient Celts didn't think so.

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They thought that dark spirits could come out on Sauen, and if they did, no one knew

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what would happen.

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But they did know this.

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The legend said these unfriendly ghosts would be afraid of fire, so they would light torches

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and bonfires, hoping to keep the dark spirits away from the ancient Sauen celebrations.

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According to the stories, they would dance around the fires and even wear masks, all

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to give the sinister Spooks a major fright.

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Other theories claim that the Sauen celebrations were all about impressing the ancient Celtic

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gods.

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Because they believed if the gods were pleased, they would make sure that the crops grew again

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next year.

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And just what did it take to impress a Celtic god?

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Some say it's possible that ancient Druids might have sacrificed live animals in their

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ceremonies.

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But others claim that the victims of some druid rituals weren't just animals, but humans.

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Even though most witches today don't believe the hideous rumors, back in the Druids' time,

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some people did.

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In the 7th century, Christian missionaries tried to get rid of the traditional Sauen

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festival because they thought the Celtic celebration might be evil.

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There was just one problem.

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Most people in Europe and the British Isles liked their holidays, believing that Sauen

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honored the dead and kept evil away.

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They weren't about to stop celebrating on October 31st.

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So the Christian leaders decided, if you can't beat them, join them.

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They declared November 1st all Saints' Day, a day to worship all their own holy people,

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who were known back then as Hallows.

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Then, the night before was set aside to remember the souls of all the people who had passed

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away.

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It was called All Hallows Eve, a Christian version of the Druid celebration.

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And since then, the name of this day to honor the den has been shortened to Halloween.

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Vampires, black cats, and the terrifying history behind Trick or Treat.

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Next, on Truth or Scare.

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The gaggle is back on Discovery Kids.

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The ancient legends say the Druids were some of the first people to celebrate on Halloween.

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Could they have ever imagined that one day, Halloween would be celebrated by millions?

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Today, modern witches carry on ancient traditions that were begun centuries ago.

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But if you think communicating with the dead is scary these days, in medieval times, it

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was positively terrifying.

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Back then, people believed that witches were extremely powerful and had a direct link to

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the spirit world.

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Some even thought they could fly.

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It started when a man in medieval England claimed he'd seen a woman on a broomstick

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soaring past the full moon.

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Ever since then, witches haven't been able to shake their reputation as high flyers.

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But it wasn't just about flying.

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Many people believed witches had other remarkable powers, just as frightening.

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Like if a witch just felt like it, she could turn herself into a black cat.

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Legend says that one day, a medieval man was watching a peasant woman, a woman he thought

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might just be a witch.

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He claimed that he saw her walk into an alley, and then, a few seconds later, a black cat

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ran out.

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The man looked everywhere for the woman, but she was gone.

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Many people were so terrified of black cats, they did a lot more than steer clear.

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They'd try to get rid of that.

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Sounds terrible, right?

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But cats weren't the only ones being persecuted.

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If you were accused of being a witch and practicing the mystical arts, the penalty could be death.

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Witches in Halloween go together like trick and treat, but some say they're not the only

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ones who come out that night.

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Think about it.

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Halloween is a night for remembering the dead, so it only makes sense that vampires would

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show up for the party.

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And trust me, vampires is one subject I know a little something about.

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The legend of the vampire comes from old European folktales, a half-human, half-monster, who

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sleeps all day and then comes out at night to hunt for victims.

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According to the stories, vampires, just like witches, could change themselves into animals,

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like wolves and, of course, bats.

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Like vampires, bats only come out at night, and some species are even known to actually

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suck blood.

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So you can imagine how that story got started.

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In fact, it seems like a lot of the history behind Halloween comes in the form of some

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pretty strange tales.

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But the most important part of Halloween today might just be based on true facts.

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And it's one of the most chilling stories of all.

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I'm talking about the true origin of trick or treating.

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There are a few different theories about how candy collecting got its start.

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One tradition came from around 1000 A.D. in England.

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And poor people reportedly visited neighbors' houses, begging for small homemade cakes.

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In exchange for the cake, they agreed to say a prayer for the souls of the neighbors'

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departed relatives.

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This was called, Soling.

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But others think trick or treating comes from another, much older tradition.

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According to the ancient Celtic legend, everyone in the village would make a special dish to

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share with their neighbors.

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Then everyone would go from house to house and try each other's delicious treats.

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It was almost like a giant potluck dinner.

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Sounds innocent enough.

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But according to Fiona, the modern day witch, there was a dark side to this tradition.

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If you didn't give generously, then you were a bad person and you got a trick.

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And it was kind of a way of weighing up how good or bad you were.

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Think then getting a trick was something to avoid at all costs.

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Because sometimes it could actually cost you your life.

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The sacred secrets of the witch's apple and the chilling tale of the first jack-o-lantern.

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Next on Truth or Scare.

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The gaggle.

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The gaggle is back on Discovery Kids.

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Is there anything more innocent than bobbing for apples?

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How about carving a jack-o-lantern?

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Messy, sure.

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But it's about the most harmless fun you can have.

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Or is it?

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Could apples possibly have something to do with witches?

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Fiona Horne says, yes.

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Modern witches like her believe that apples contain something sacred.

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The apple is considered a symbol of love and fertility.

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But it wasn't just witches who believed that apples had mystical properties.

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Today, bobbing for apples is a game where getting wet is the only concern.

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But in the Middle Ages, you might bob for apples on Halloween to see what your future might hold.

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All the young people who weren't married would try to buy an apple that was tied to a string or floating in water.

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According to legend, the first person who bit the apple would be the next to get married.

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Just like the person who catches the bouquet at a wedding today.

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Now that's some seriously powerful fruit.

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But the legend behind a certain Halloween vegetable may just be a little more frightening.

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Take a pumpkin, carve it, you've got yourself a jack-o-lantern.

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The best ones can make for a pretty scary sight.

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But that's nothing compared to the terrifying legends of how the tradition started.

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Some say it all began in the days of the Celts.

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The Celts didn't use pumpkins in their Samhain celebration.

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They used actual human skulls.

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They'd place them on an altar, their hollow eyes staring back at the villagers.

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It sounds awful, but it wasn't meant to scare them.

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It was to remember the people who had passed from this life to the next.

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According to Fiona, today's pumpkin faces are just our modern version of the ritual skulls.

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They would reflect that tradition and then carving the face into the pumpkin

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is to represent the skull, the ancestral skull.

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But some say that jack-o-lanterns have nothing to do with honoring the dead

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and everything to do with staying alive.

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One legend says that when the Celts needed protection in the dark woods,

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they would carve skull faces into turnips and make them into terrifying torches.

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But there's one more theory on how jack-o-lanterns began.

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And many say it's the creepiest.

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It comes from an old Irish folk tale that says jack-o-lanterns might just have demonic connections.

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The legend says that Jack was a real person, famous for playing nasty practical jokes.

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But one day, he tried playing a joke on the devil.

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Jack tricked the devil into climbing up a tree, where the devil got stuck and was unable to climb down.

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Jack had fooled his victim that day, but the devil got the last laugh.

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According to legend, when Jack died, his spirit was forced to wander alone through the darkness forever.

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And to light his way, all he had was a little turnip lantern.

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Some say that when Irish immigrants came to the United States, they brought this legend with them.

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And since pumpkins were much more plentiful in the U.S., they replaced turnips as the jack-o-lantern of choice.

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And the rest is Halloween history.

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What started with some druids dancing around a bonfire has turned into the biggest party of the year.

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Next on Truth or Scare.

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The gaggle is back on Discovery Kids.

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Despite its ancient roots, Halloween is pretty much a new thing in North America.

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Irish immigrants brought it to the New World only a few hundred years ago.

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Since then, it's become one of America's most popular holidays.

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But if you think the fear factor's gone, think again.

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Halloween is the one night a year that a lot of us go out of our way to get a good fright.

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We tell ghost stories, dress in ghoulish costumes, maybe even check out the local haunted house.

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It's usually all just for fun.

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But when they're alone in the darkness, many people still feel that ancient fear creeping in.

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Dr. Robert Butterworth is an expert in the things we fear, and the dark is right at the top of the list.

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Why are we afraid of the dark? Because the dark is associated with the unknown, mysterious things that come out in the night.

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And a lot of people, things that come out of the night, they don't want to be around.

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Except on one night of the year, that is.

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And in practically every country on earth, different cultures celebrate spooky holidays, their own local versions of Halloween.

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It's the one night when the things that would usually frighten us become the reason to throw a party.

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Mexico has one of the biggest of these celebrations.

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It's the Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.

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Just like the name says, on this day Mexicans take time to remember their family members who have passed away.

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They visit the graves of their ancestors and decorate them with skulls and skeletons.

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They also light candles and say special prayers.

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It looks different than what the ancient Celts did, but the basic idea is the same.

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Here in Mexico, the Day of the Dead is a happy time, a traditional way to remember loved ones who are gone.

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In the US, the focus is more on the spirits who are still hanging around.

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But the only contact most Americans have with them is the pretend kind.

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Haunted houses are a fun way to be totally terrified.

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And it's not just houses.

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The Queen Mary is one of the biggest cruise ships in the world, docked on the coast of Southern California in Long Beach.

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Every year for Halloween, it's set up to scare with seven different mazes that lead visitors through every corner of the ship.

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But get this, the Queen Mary's nickname is the Gray Ghost.

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Many people swear that it's truly haunted all year round.

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Could one of these ghouls be the real thing?

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No one knows for sure, but with hundreds of rooms, it would be the perfect place to hide.

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If you're seeing hundreds of ghosts, then you're probably at Nautz very far.

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Well, sort of.

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Because for Halloween, this world-famous amusement park in California transforms itself into Nautz's scary farm, the scariest place in the West.

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After 27 years of practice, the people at Nautz know how to put on a first class night of fright.

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On Halloween, more people come here for fear than any place in the world.

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They've got it all. Spooks, specters, monsters, demons, even a lunatic or two. What more could you ask for?

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Even though we know this is an amusement park and that this is just some guy in a mask, the fear still feels real.

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But is that all it is? A feeling? Or could there possibly be something to truly fear on Halloween?

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Dr. Butterworth says no way. Well, almost no way.

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I'll tell you, if on Halloween you see a spirit, 99.99%, it's not.

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But guess what? Fiona is positive there's nothing to fear.

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I don't think there's anything to be afraid of on Halloween except if you go trick or treating and you don't get any treats.

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And there you have it, straight from a real witch's mouth.

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But even though there's probably nothing to be afraid of on Halloween, now that you know the history,

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all it could take is one look into the darkness to make us wonder if we're wrong.

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Over the centuries, Halloween has gone through more than a few changes.

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But should we really be scared on Halloween night? Could the mysterious legends and creepy stories be true?

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Or are those strange visions and ghostly creatures in the shadows really just trick or treat us after all?