Happy Halloween 7 mysteries

The Scary Season

Psychology, Halloween & Mysterious Happenings

Halloween is that time of year when some Christians feel anxious about what they ought to do about celebrating Halloween. The holiday costumes vary from the cute to the grotesque. Perhaps what’s most scary for some is the fear of the demonic and supernatural evil. In this post I look at psychological perspectives on Halloween and related topics like Ouija boards and witches. I suggest Christians should get their guidance about how to celebrate the partying from their clergy.

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     Setting aside a day to celebrate evil, darkness, witchcraft, fear, death and the demonic brings disdain to God. Period. A Christian celebrating Halloween would be like a Satan worshiper putting up a nativity scene at Christmas while singing, "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" The two just don't go together. Jesus has nothing in common with Satan (2 Cor. 6:14), and neither should we.

     - Jamie Morgan (2016)

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1. Illusions can be explained. 

“Sometimes the scariest ghost is just your brain playing tricks on itself.”

Magicians like Derren Brown remind us how easily our minds can be fooled. We’re quick to jump to supernatural explanations when something strange happens, but science often has a simpler answer. Back in the 1850s, Michael Faraday showed that “table‑turning” séances were powered not by spirits but by human expectations. The same goes for Ouija boards—our brains anticipate movements before we consciously realize it, creating the eerie illusion of outside forces at work. Daniel Wegner’s The Illusion of Conscious Will dives deep into this, and Susan Blackmore has a great summary. Bottom line: sometimes the scariest ghost is just your brain playing tricks on itself.

2. Mental illness often gets a bad name.  

“Mocking mental illness isn’t edgy—it’s just cruel.”

History is full of people accused of witchcraft or possession whose symptoms look a lot like known mental disorders. Psychologist Linnda Caporael even suggested that ergot poisoning (a fungus on rye) may have fueled the Salem witch trials. Sadly, the stigma lingers—attributing unusual behavior to demons or devils only deepens harmful stereotypes. And let’s be honest: mocking mental illness in Halloween costumes isn’t edgy, it’s just cruel. Mental illness is real, serious, and deserves compassion, not punchlines.

3. Support systems work.  

“Fear shrinks when we face it together.”

Fear shrinks when we face it together. Whether it’s trick‑or‑treating with friends, gathering at a Halloween party, or just swapping ghost stories, being surrounded by people we trust makes the scary stuff manageable. You don’t always need a therapist’s couch—sometimes a couch full of friends and a bowl of candy corn does the trick. (Though let’s admit it: candy corn is terrifying in its own right.)

4. Defeat fear with laughter.  

“Humor is psychological garlic against the vampires of anxiety.”

One of psychology’s great ideas is the idea of “incompatible responses.” If you can laugh at something, it’s harder to stay afraid of it. That’s why horror‑comedies work so well—you scream, then you giggle, and suddenly the monster under the bed seems a little less powerful. Humor doesn’t erase fear, but it can take the edge off. Think of it as psychological garlic against the vampires of anxiety.

5. Disgust promotes purity.  

“When words fail, disgust often speaks for us.”

Disgust is one of our most primal emotions, and it’s deeply tied to ideas of morality and purity. Blood, bodily fluids, spoiled food—our ancestors learned to recoil for good reason. But disgust also spills into moral judgments. Jonathan Haidt and colleagues call it moral dumbfoundness: people feel something is wrong but can’t quite explain why. No wonder some behaviors get labeled “dirty” or “filthy.” And maybe that’s why All Saints Day feels like a cultural “clean‑up” after Halloween’s chaos—time to wash off the fake blood and reclaim a little purity.

6. The Macbeth effect is real.  

“Guilt makes us itch for hand wipes.”

Lady Macbeth’s “Out, damned spot!” wasn’t just good theater—it was good psychology. Studies show that recalling unethical acts makes people more likely to want cleansing products. Guilt, it seems, makes us itch for hand wipes. So, if you find yourself scrubbing extra hard after a mischievous Halloween prank, you’re not alone. Our brains like to “come clean” in more ways than one.

7. Death reminds us of our own mortality.  

“Death is the ultimate jump scare.”

Terror Management Theory explains how reminders of death push us to cling more tightly to our cultural groups and beliefs. Mortality salience can strengthen bonds with our ingroup while fueling suspicion of outsiders. It’s why sermons about hellfire or horror movies about the afterlife can stir such strong reactions. Death is the ultimate jump scare, and our minds scramble to find meaning and belonging in its shadow. Scary stuff at church, indeed.

R.I.P. (Reflect In Psychology).

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     Again, let’s be honest: no one was ever possessed by the devil because he or she dressed up for Halloween or passed out licorice or read a Harry Potter book. Our modern lives have way too many other avenues for temptation to enter, and these things are the real cause of our spiritual problems: pride, gluttony, hatred, materialism, and ignorance.

Some people go overboard on the spooky side of Halloween. It’s not too hard to avoid that for your family. Skip the horror movies. Don’t revel in gore. Don’t profane death. Don’t indulge in occult practices … But don’t be paranoid or superstitious either!
  - Fr. Mark Sietsema

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 SOURCES

Derren Brown: https://derrenbrown.co.uk/

Michael Faraday: https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/faraday_michael.shtml

Daniel Wagner and the Ouija board: https://www.susanblackmore.uk/reviews/review-of-the-illusion-of-conscious-will/

Beatriz Quintanilla: Witchcraft or mental Illness: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/witchcraft-or-mental-illness

Linnda Caporael on Salem Witch Trials: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/witches-curse-interview/1502/

- Jonathan Haidt and colleagues on moral dumbfoundness: https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Moral%20dumbfounding:%20When%20intuition%20finds%20no%20reason&author=J%20Haidt&author=F%20Bj%C3%B6rklund&author=S%20Murphy&publication_year=2000&

The Macbeth effect: https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2018/11/macbeth-effect.html

Terror Management Theory: https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2020/03/terror-management-theory.html

Quotes

Jamie Morgan: https://www.christianpost.com/news/why-christians-absolutely-should-not-celebrate-halloween.html

Fr. Mark Sietsema: https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/orthodoxy/articles/halloween

Updated 28 October 2025