Eerie Etymology: The Obscure Origins of Halloween Words
It is widely known that “Halloween” (or “Hallowe’en” to the Brits) is a contraction of “All Hallows’ Eve,” i.e. the night before All Saints’ Day. However, this solemn Christian holy day is a far cry from the gleeful celebration of the macabre we associate with October 31st. Our Halloween bears closest resemblance to the festival of Samhain in the old Celtic calendar, a holiday marking the end of harvest and beginning of winter. In Gaelic mythology, barriers to the beyond blurred on this night, allowing spirits and fairies to walk among the living. Many familiar traditions blossomed from this belief, including the practices of overindulging on sweets, raucous merriment and an ancestral form of trick-or-treating, in which people would roam from house to house in costume to bamboozle any unwanted spectral visitors.
The merging of Samhain and All Hallows’ Eve began in the Dark Ages, with the rise of Christianity in Celtic regions. However, primary sources suggest it wasn’t until the late 18th century that the term “Halloween” surfaced to refer to the devilish festivities we enjoy today. Prolific Scottish poet Robert Burns immortalized the word “Halloween” in his poem of the same name, published in 1786:
Upon that night, when fairies light
On Cassilis Downans dance,
Or over the lays, in splendid blaze,
On sprightly horses prance;
Or for Colean the route is taken,
Beneath the moon’s pale beams;
There, up the cove, to stray and rove,
Among the rocks and streams
To sport that night.
Among the bonny winding banks,
Where the river Doon runs clear,
Where Bruce once ruled the martial ranks,
And shook his Carrick spear,
Some merry, friendly, country-folks,
Together did convene,
To burn their nuts, and pile their shocks of wheat,
And have their Halloween
Full of fun that night.
- Robert Burns, “Halloween”
We recommend you read all 28 stanzas, but would suggest an English translation — the original Scots version is a challenge to decipher.
On the milder end of the spooky spectrum, we have the noble pumpkin, a Halloween icon. Many academics claim this word comes from the Greek “pepōn,” meaning “large melon,” but we believe the English name has Native American roots, as the gourd is native to the Americas, predates European colonization, and thus was not called anything in English until the British showed up. The Massachusett word “pôhpukun,” meaning “grows forth round,” is our true source.
“Pumpkin” may be American, but once again we have Gaelic mythology to thank for the Jack o’ lantern. A corruption of “Jack of the lantern,” the expression stems from the Celtic legend of Stingy Jack, who, after tricking the devil, slunk away into the night with a lantern fashioned from a turnip. To honor the tale of old Jack, and to light their way when wandering from dwelling to dwelling on Samhain, people would carry a guiding light contained in a root vegetable. When Irish immigrants came to North America, they brought along this seasonal custom, substituting the traditional turnip with the native pumpkin. Curiously, the term “Jack o’ lantern” was simultaneously used to refer to the bewitching, flickering lights — also known as the atmospheric “will o’ the wisp” — that linger over bogs and swamps at night. The deceptive glimmer was said to beguile travelers, luring them to their deaths in the marshland.
Speaking of malevolent forces, the poltergeist is one of folklore’s — and pop culture’s — most infamously destructive spirits. But where does the name originate? Quite simply, “poltergeist” comes from the German verb “poltern” (to make a noise, to rumble) and the noun “Geist” (ghost, spirit). So next time you hear something go bump in the night, don’t worry, it might just be a rumble spirit. Much less threatening.
