Fun Halloween facts

• Like several other Halloween activities, the tradition can be traced back to the Middle Ages and the rituals of Samhain.
• It was believed that phantoms walked the earth on the night of Samhain, so people would dress up in costumes in an effort to repel the spirits.
• As the Catholic Church started supplanting pagan festivals with their own holidays (like All Souls' Day), the act of souling became popular, and poor children and adults would go door-to-door dressed as spirits accepting food in exchange for prayers.

According to Guinness World Records, the highest number of lit jack o'lanterns on display is 30,581 by the City of Keene, New Hampshire in 2013.

Keene, represented by Let it Shine, has broken the record 8 times over since the original attempt. That's a whole lot of pumpkins!

Old English folklore about Halloween is full of superstition and fortune-telling that still lingers today, like bobbing for apples or avoiding black cats.

One piece of folklore says that if a young unmarried person walks down the stairs backwards at midnight while holding a mirror, the face that appears in the mirror will be their next lover.

• The Day of the Dead, or Dia de Los Muertos, takes place from October 31 through November 2 in Mexico and a few other Hispanic countries.
• November 1st, Dia de Los Inocentes, honors children that died, and family members decorate graves with baby's breath and white orchids.
• On November 2nd, Dia de Los Muertos, families honor adults who have died and place orange marigolds on grave sites.
• The original Aztec celebration actually lasted a month-long, but when Spanish conquistadors came over to Mexico in the 16th century, they merged the festival with the Catholic All Saints' Day. 

The classic 1978 horror film "Halloween" can be easily recognized in just one image: the psychotic Michael Myers in his iconic pale-faced mask.

The movie was actually filmed on such a tight budget that the crew used the cheapest mask they could find: a $2 Star Trek Captain James Kirk mask. They spray-painted it white and reshaped the eye holes, making William Shatner look incredibly creepy.

• The Halloween we know today can trace its roots back to the ancient Celtic end-of-harvest festival of Samhain. During Samhain, people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off evil spirits.
• In the eighth century, in an effort to spread Christianity, Pope Gregory III decreed November 1 as All Saints' Day and incorporated some of the rituals of Samhain.
• All Saints' Day was also called All Hallows and the night before, when the traditional Samhain festival used to take place in Celtic regions, was called All Hallows' Eve.

The night before Halloween, young children in Des Moines hit the streets for Beggars' Night. According to an article in the Des Moines Register, the event began around 1938 as a way to prevent vandalism and give younger children a safer way to enjoy Halloween.

Beggars' Night is very similar to regular trick-or-treating, except kids are required to tell a joke, poem or perform a "trick" for a treat. The best part? The jokes are notoriously groan-worthy like, "If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims."

The United States' most famous address has had several reports of ghostly appearances and eerie sounds – and that's not even including election years!

The most common ghost sighting is of Abraham Lincoln who has been spotted by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Sir Winston Churchill. Other paranormal guests include Andrew Jackson, David Burns and Abigail Adams.