Nocturnal Journal

Phasmophobia" is the fear of ghosts.

A cup of candy corn has fewer calories than a cup of raisins.

It's illegal to sell a haunted house in New York without informing the buyer.

Eighty-two percent of children take part in Halloween festivities, as do 67% of adults.

The first jack-o'-lanterns were made of turnips.

"Samhainophobia" is the morbid fear of Halloween.

Halloween is the biggest holiday of the year when it comes to candy sales—estimated at $1.93 billion. One quarter of all the candy sold each year is purchased between September 15 and November 10.

The word witch comes from the Saxon word Wicca, which means "wise one."

Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green.

In France, more than 30,000 werewolf cases were tried between 1520 and 1630.

Dracula is the most filmed story of all time.

The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,469 pounds. It was weighed in on October 1, 2005 at the Pennsylvania Giant Pumpkin Growers Weigh-Off.

Trick-or-treating is an Irish tradition, based on a custom where wealthy landowners would give food to the poor on Halloween night, believing ghosts would look favorably on them for doing so and spare them from mischief.

In Romanian, Dracula means "Son of the Devil."

The Scots believed in "Samhanach," a goblin who came out only on Halloween and stole children.

Halloween costume sales are estimated at $1.5 billion.

Eighty percent of kids say their favorite Halloween candy is either chocolate or gum.

Pumpkins are fruits, not vegetables.

Pennsylvania was the first colony to legalize witchcraft.

There is a poisonous mushroom called a jack-o'-lantern. These mushrooms are a bright orange-yellow in color and on rainy nights they appears to glow in the dark.

Fifty-one percent of all American adults believe in ghosts. Nine percent of Americans claim to have been in the presence of a ghost during their lifetime.

Americans consume about 20 million pounds of candy corn each year.

The Count Dracula Society was founded in 1962.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, people in costumes and masks would go from house to house, singing and dancing to keep evil at bay. These people were known as "guisers."

Americans spend about $50 million on Halloween greetings.

According to studies, the smell of pumpkin pie is the most arousing to women, followed by lavender, cucumbers, baby powder and Good & Plenty candy.

At one time, there were public trials and convictions of animals for witchcraft.

In Lewis, Scotland, Halloween was once celebrated by designating one man to wade into the evening sea and offer a cup of ale to Shoney, a sea god.

In the North of England, Halloween was called "nut-crack" and "snap-apple night."

Ninety-nine percent of pumpkins sold in the U.S. are used to make jack-o'-lanterns.

The first Frankenstein film was produced by Thomas Edison in 1910.

The average U.S. household spends $44 on Halloween candy.

There is a Transylvania County in North Carolina.

According to superstition, you will see your future spouse over your left shoulder in the mirror at midnight on Halloween.

"Wicca phobia" is the fear of witches and witchcraft.

October 30 is National Candy Corn Day.

A popular Halloween drink in 18th century Ireland was "lambs-wool," which consisted of roasted, crushed apples mixed into milk.

Dan Rather was born on Halloween, as was Jane Pauley.

Celts believed black cats were once people who had been turned into animals with evil magic.