Title:Halloween Holiday Trivia and Fun Facts
Contributed by: mcookie013
#1: “Halloween” is short for “Hallows’ Eve” or “Hallows’ Evening,” which was the evening before All Hallows’ (sanctified or holy) Day or Hallowmas on November 1. In an effort to convert pagans, the Christian church decided that Hallowmas or All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) should assimilate sacred pagan holidays that fell on or around October 31.
#2: Ireland is typically believed to be the birthplace of Halloween
#3: Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was one of the most famous and mysterious magicians who ever lived. Strangely enough, he died in 1926 on Halloween night as a result of appendicitis brought on by three stomach punches.
#4: In many countries, such as France and Australia, Halloween is seen as an unwanted and overly commercial American influence.
#5: Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
#6: Orange and black are traditional Halloween colors for a reason. Orange was chosen because of its association with the fall harvest and black was chosen due to its association with darkness.
#7: Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, behind Christmas.
#8. If you see a spider on Halloween night, it is thought to be the spirit of a loved one watching over you.
#9. Pumpkins are known for their orange hue, but did you know the gourd can be found in many different colors? It’s not uncommon to see white, red, green, yellow and even blue pumpkins!
#10: Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus is a Gothic novel published by Mary Shelly when she was only 21. The novel was published in 1818 and is considered to be one of the first examples of science fiction.
#11: Lycanthropy is the supernatural condition called whereby a human transforms into a wolf.
#12: The Muppet vampire Count von Count from Sesame Street, is based on actual vampire myth.
Horror Movies Fun Facts and Trivias
#1: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Johnny Depp accompanied his good friend Jackie Earle Haley to auditions for the film, but instead of Jackie getting a part, director Wes Craven spotted Depp, who was then cast as one of the title characters. Haley went on to play as the main villain 'Freddy' in the remake 26 years later.
#2: Child's Play
The main characters name (Charles Lee Ray) is taken from the three different famous killers - Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray.
#3: The Exorcist
During the sequence in which Ellen Burstyn is thrown away from her possessed daughter, a harness jerked her hard away from the bed. She landed on her coccyx and screamed in pain (which was caught on film) and received a permanent spinal injury.
#4: Scream Series
In the Scream series, Ghostface is voiced by Roger L. Jackson. The director, Wes Craven, intentionally hid Jackson on the set of all three original movies, so that his voice would be scarier to the actors hearing it. During the scenes where the characters were being taunted on the phone, Jackson was hidden on set, actually making the calls.
#5: Evil Dead II
In Evil Dead II, you can see Freddy Krueger’s glove from Nightmare on Elm Street. It’s hanging above the door in the tool shed.
#6: The Shining
It took about a year to get the iconic shot in where blood pours out of the elevator in The Shining right, but only three days to film.
#7: Carrie
Rather than risk breaking continuity, Sissy Spacek slept in bloody clothes for three days while filming the prom scene in Carrie.
#8: Scream
In the original Scream, the high school janitor is named “Fred” and wears red and green shirt, an allusion to Nightmare on Elm Street, also directed by Wes Craven. The janitor is played by Craven himself.
#9: Final Destination 3
In order to film the premonition scene in Final Destination 3, the actors had to ride the actual roller coaster 26 times.
#10: Conjuring (True story behind)
* Eight generations of families lived and died in the house before the Perrons moved in. Andrea Perron suggests that some of the spirits from the families never left. Deaths include two documented suicides, a poisoning death, the rape and murder of an 11-year old girl, two drownings, and the passing of four men who froze to death. Most deaths occurred within the Arnold family from which Bathsheba Sherman was descended.
* The real life Lorraine Warren makes a cameo in The Conjuring as an audience member while the character Lorraine Warren is speaking.
#11: The Ring
In order to make Samara’s walk as creepy as possible in The Ring, they filmed her walking backwards and then reversed the shot.
#12: Friday the 13th or Nightmare of Elm's Street?
Freddy Krueger was originally going to be a child molester, but that was thought to be too dark for the movie.
sources:
* http://www.purpletrail.com/partytrail/holiday_parties/halloween/halloween-trivia-facts-tidbits
* http://www.halloween-website.com/trivia.htm
* http://facts.randomhistory.com/halloween-facts.html
* http://thoughtcatalog.com/christine-stockton/2013/10/fascinating-facts-about-horror-movies/
