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Messy Minded Podcast
Re-Minded: Samhain
Ep. 41
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This episode is a Messy Re-Minder!
We're kicking off spooky season by reaching back through the thinning veil and dragging one of last year's Halloween episodes back into the land of the living. Originally released in 2025, this episode explores Samhain, its traditions, folklore, and its connection to the Halloween we know today.
It's Halloweens origin story! Ever wonder why we carve faces into vegetables, hand candy to small pirates, and light fires to celebrate the dark? Turns out, Halloween didn’t start with chocolate — it started with Samhain, a Celtic festival where the veil thinned, the fairies roamed, and people wore disguises just in case something noticed them back.
In this episode, I tumble headfirst into the weird, wonderful history of Halloween — from druids and divine wars to bonfires, banshees, and the night the fairies basically handed humanity the keys to the world. Grab your pumpkin spice and a flashlight — things are about to get folklorically flammable.
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Sources:
Encyclopædia Britannica, “Samhain” – britannica.com/topic/Samhain
Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (Oxford University Press, 1996)
National Museum of Ireland, “The Festival of Samhain” – museum.ie/en-IE/Museums/Country-Life/Exhibitions/Folklife-Collections/The-Festival-of-Samhain
Library of Congress, Headlines & Heroes Blog: “The Origins of Halloween Traditions” – blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions
History.com Editors, “History of Halloween” – history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
Wikipedia, “Samhain,” “All Saints’ Day,” and “Cottingley Fairies” – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies
BBC, “The Truth About the Cottingley Fairies” – bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42456384
Leeds University Library Galleries, The Cottingley Fairies: A Study in Deception – artsandculture.google.com/story/lgVB6Ceti9WVAw
Music by: SoundPlusUS Label and Mr. Lex Oleksii Bezalov for "Spark Groove", Sosin Mykola "Halloween Spooky Eerie Music", Mykola Sosin "Mystery Mystic Mystical Music" and "Eerie - Wizard Mystery Music", MMAudio for "Chasing Faries", Hits Lab - Levgren Poltavsky " Halloween Background Music" and War Battle Military Drums", "Hunters of darkness epic and mystical fantasy music", Leigh Robinson " Alban Arthan (The Druids Christmas", scary horror creepy music, "Secret Room"
#Samhain #HalloweenHistory #Celtic #Folklore #Halloween #SpookyHistory #SpookySeason #MessyMindedPod
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