Halloween: Haunted or Holy?

The reaping had begun. As promised, we tried to get home before sunset that fateful day. The front door to our house was locked and boarded up; all the windows were shut, and the curtains were drawn. For a semblance of normalcy, the television played Food Network reruns, which were unfortunately interrupted constantly by bumping and scratching from outside. I ran to my baby sister’s room and found my mother in a rocking chair, holding her close. She sang a soft hymn over the chair's slow creak. This night came every year; the night I was told spiritual darkness reigned and tried to enter our house. On the flip side, the “darkness” trying to enter our house was my neighborhood friends dressed as various cartoons looking to reap some candy. For years, the myths I inherited from our Christian tradition caused me to live in fear annually on October 31st. Eventually, in public school, I was routinely removed from the room while my classmates enjoyed a Halloween party thrown by other parents.

Halloween is a weird anomaly that lives in the conservative Christian imagination. It seems that, much like how politics are handled, God’s power is contingent on your response to a weird cultural practice.  I am not concerned with making a case for or against Halloween. What makes me curious is the theology of fear that colors how we show up in the world as Christians. In John 16:33, Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” If Jesus has overcome the world and instructs us not to fear, then what is this cultural aversion rooted in? Why have certain Christian traditions been so averse to celebrating Halloween?

Hallowed History?

For starters, the aesthetic doesn’t help. Growing up, one of the number one reasons given for rejecting the holiday was the “glorification of darkness”. Decorating with skeletons, witches, and ghosts was believed to be an invitation for evil spirits to run rampant in your household.

Of course, this line of thinking was prevalent in charismatic circles as well as those vigilant during the Satanic Panic of 1980’s - Mid 90’s. The Satanic Panic was cultural and moral hysteria around things specifically aimed at children. It consists of over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse. Many famous Evangelical leaders made claims that for Satanists, Halloween was a day of sacrifice and targeted children and pets. Satanic panic also intensified with news of cults such as Heaven’s Gate and People’s Temple committing mass suicides. This produced the popular conspiracy theory that popular children’s media was targeting and possibly brainwashing recruits. Specific targets included Pokémon, heavy-metal music, the game Dungeons and Dragons, horror films, and Halloween. None of these claims have ever produced evidence, yet they remained pervasive in popular Christian culture. Funnily enough, it produced many “Satanist Experts” who swindled churches with “knowledge” about child recruitment tactics.

Another point of contention for many Christians on Halloween is the possible pagan roots of the holiday and its association with the occult. This is often paired with scripture verses where God commands his people (Israel) to be separate from pagan nations in what they celebrate and practice. One popular belief is that Halloween is a westernized version of the Gaelic festival Samhain, which has Scottish and Irish origins. The celebration marked the darker half of the year, when burial mounds were believed to open as portals to the underworld. Later, Catholic missionaries christened the day All Hallows’ Day, a commemoration of saints and martyrs. The irony is that many modern Halloween practices may have originated in Christian traditions brought over by Scottish and Irish immigrants. For example, trick-or-treating might come from the practice of baking soul cakes and sharing them in exchange for a prayer for the faithful who had died.  Jack-o'-lanterns might serve the same purpose as gargoyles on a cathedral: warding off evil spirits.

But What about the Occult?

Many point to Deuteronomy 18:9-13, which is God’s command to Israel not to imitate the divination and occult rituals of those in the land they will come to possess. God wants his people to rely solely on him for all things. Divination, or determining the future, removes faith and trust from the equation. Many Canaanites used divination to influence the answers they received from their gods. These practices include sorcery, witchcraft, spell casting, and consulting the dead. Walking with God means trusting him with every detail. As soon as we try to influence the outcome or peer into the future, we can betray that trust. But does Halloween endorse this? I think that depends on the individual.

In the Deuteronomy 18 passage, the intention behind all of this is to see beyond without God. Halloween today can be a great way to meet neighbors and even have meaningful conversations about faith. Personally, I won’t participate in some practices, but eating candy and wearing a costume at a friend’s house seems pretty harmless to me. Like most things, this is a decision that you make with your own conscience. Pray and seek discernment from the Spirit. I have come to realize there is great irony in being afraid of a holiday about fear, out of trust in God. Why is so much of the Christian faith in America characterized by what we fear?

Mackie, Tim. “Deuteronomy: Which Laws Still Apply?” BibleProject, The Bible Project, 5 Dec. 2022, bibleproject.com/podcasts/which-laws-still-apply/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Guzik, David. “Deuteronomy 18 Commentary: Priests and Prophets.” Enduring Word, 11 Mar. 2026, enduringword.com/bible-commentary/deuteronomy-18/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

“Halloween.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Oct. 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Hoffert, Matt. “The Hidden Issue Behind the Halloween Debate.” Veritas Church | Cedar Rapids, IA , Veritas Church, 24 Oct. 2025, www.veritaschurch.org/resources/article/the-hidden-issue-behind-the-halloween-debate?utm_source=Veritas+Church+Website&utm_medium=website. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.