Ancient History

One of the biggest paranormal associations we have with Halloween is with ghosts. Ghosts have been feared by the living since the dawn of time, with many tales and legends surrounding them. One of the oldest references to ghosts comes from the ancient story of Gilgamesh. In the story, the hero talks with the ghost of his dead friend, showing that people have been seeing apparitions for thousands of years.

England is probably one of the most haunted places in the world. In the Tower of London, people have claimed to see the ghosts of nobles that lived and died within its walls, including those of the little princes who were thought to be killed by their uncle, Richard III, and of the many wives of Henry VIII. There is even a story about an old woman who was hacked to death by an executioner. It seems that to this day, she runs throughout the Tower, screaming in agony.

The Greeks had many stories about ghosts. Homer wrote about them in the Illiad, and Virgil spoke of them in the Aeneid. Even the historian, Pliny the Younger, told stories about ghosts who rattled chains and haunted houses. It is thought that Brutus, one of those that murdered Julius Caesar, saw his ghost before going into battle. Brutus believed seeing Caesar’s ghost was an omen and committed suicide.

Throughout history, it seems that the dead have come back to visit the living. There are many theories as to why this happens, but one thing holds true. There are more to all these ghost stories than meets the eye.

Werewolves have been feared throughout history. In recent years, they’ve made their presence known via the big screen. However, the idea of humans turning into wolves is one of the oldest traditions in the world. Since the dawn of time, man has feared the idea of being mauled by a large beast that is a human in disguise.

Experts believe that the origins of werewolves stems from the earliest humans. From paintings on cave walls, we see that people were known to wear the hides of various animals in order to gain their strength or to commune with the animals themselves. Many Native American tales speak of shape shifters that can change into almost any animal they choose.

The ancient Greeks told the story of Lycaon, who was turned into a wolf after trying to serve Zeus, the king of the gods, a meal made from human flesh and blood. Because of this, the term lycanthrope was coined, which is now used as the term meaning werewolf. However, according to the story, Lycaon remained a wolf until he was killed by villagers. How the idea of changing from wolf to man is debated to this day.

However, there is some evidence that the idea for werewolves comes from a medical condition called Hypertrichosis. Basically, this is a condition where facial and body hair grows at an alarming rate. Some time around the 1550’s, a child was taken from his home in the Canary Islands and sent to the king of France. The child, Petras Gonzales, was covered in hair from top to bottom and looked like a werewolf. Fortunately, the child was well cared for and highly educated.

Werewolves have frightened humans for thousands of years, and were a good way to keep children from wandering too far away from home after dark. They were seen as being the reason behind many problems, and are thought to have even found their way into children’s fairy tales, (The Big Bad Wolf).