Halloween's Deadly Door: Fact or Fiction? (Part 2)

You that love the Lord, hate evil

It must be understood that no matter how much we disguise it in its modern day application, the celebration of Halloween cannot be divorced from the accompanying spiritual implications and the attendant demonic attachments. Halloween is much more than candy and costumes, and its celebration, regardless of your motives, promotes and celebrates the spirit behind it.

Consider this excerpt from the Colorado Springs Gazette.com of October 30, 1998:

But Halloween also is a serious celebration in the pagan religious year, when the wall between the living and the dead is the thinnest. In other words, the holiday signifies an unusual closeness to the spirits of the dead.

On Saturday night, 150 to 200 people, many of them pagans, are expected to gather at All Souls Unitarian Church of North Tejon Street for a potluck supper along with some drumming, dancing, and ritual ceremonies relating to the dead.

“Halloween is a big holiday for us”, said Chris West, a founder of Earth Spirit Pagans, a group of about 70 people who practice witchcraft and sponsor an annual Halloween celebration (emphasis mine) [1]

If, according to the above excerpt, communicating with the dead is indeed a focus of the celebration of Halloween, then it is in direct violation of the scripture which states:

When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? -Isaiah 8:19

Ted Haggard (former senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs), displayed remarkable insight into the occult roots of Halloween in an article that he wrote. He had this to say:

During the weeks that surround Halloween, people seem to be uniquely aware of the supernatural realm. It is the only holiday in this country that focuses on death and darkness. Halloween is the time when Americans visit haunted houses, hold séances, dress like vampires and warlocks and watch scary movies-all in fun. But many people lack a basic biblical understanding of the spiritual realities associated with death and the devil – and what they don’t know can hurt them. (Emphasis mine) [2]

To fully understand the negative spiritual impact of Halloween on our society we must understand that there are three kinds of spiritual forces in operation, which exert influence on the human spirit.

· The Holy Spirit (John 4: 23-24)
· Angels (Psalm 8: 4,5)
· Satan and demons ( 2 Corinthians 11:14,15)

The influence of one or the other of these is always actively involved in the affairs of humanity, whether we give credence to that fact or not.

There is a constant battle waged between darkness and light for the control of the human soul and Halloween is a major entry point for Satan and his demons to sway the battle in their favor. Here are just a few reasons why:


·The Jack o’lantern came from the tale of a notorious man named Jack, who was turned away from both heaven and hell. Consigned to roam the earth as a spirit, Jack put a glowing coal into a carved-out turnip to light his way through the night. This harbinger (which became a pumpkin) symbolized a damned soul.

·Halloween costumes come from a Celtic druid idea that ceremonial participants should wear animal heads and animal skins to acquire the strength of the beast they portrayed.

·Trick or Treat came from the Irish tradition when a man led a procession to levy contributions from farmers, lest their crops be cursed by demons.

·Masks have traditionally been an animistic means of superstitiously warding off evil spirits or changing the personality of the wearer to communicate with the spirit world.[3]

Trick or Treat will bring defeat

So, how do we respond in prayer to the celebration of this feast I hear you ask? Well, I’m glad you asked since I was going to tell you anyway.

.We must pray that God would open the eyes of the parents so that we see the harm that is being done to our children through the celebration of this feast. (Acts 28: 26-27)
·We must pray against the influx of the demonic into our cities during this season. We must actively bind the strongman of the occult and witchcraft. (Ephesians 6: 12- 13)
·We must pray that witches and warlocks do not find our city conductive to their ritual celebrations during this period (Proverbs 26:2)
·We must pray that guardian angels with flaming swords will place a hedge of protection around our city during this period. (Genesis 3:24)
·We must saturate the atmosphere with worship and praise during this season so as to invite the presence of the Holy Spirit (Psalm 22:3)
·Finally, we should engage in an alternate celebration completely unassociated with Halloween. Family (Hallelujah) Night or a focus on Reformation Day, are two alternatives. At The Well we host an annual event we call Noche de la Luz (Night of the Light). It was October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg;[4]

[1] Ardy Friedberg, Halloween a potluck for pagans, (the Gazette, 1998)
[2] Ted Haggard, Speak of the Devil, (Charisma magazine, October 1998)
[3] The selling of Satanism
[4] David L. Brown, The Harm of Halloween, (logosresourcepages.org, 1998)