Halloween Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Halloween Quotes and Halloween sayings, collected over the years from a variety of sources. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others.

Halloween or Halloween (Hallows Even or Hallows Evening), also known as AllhalloweenAll Hallows Eve, or All Saints Eve, is a celebration observed in several countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

Halloween is …

Halloween is a celebration of the inversion of reality and a necessary Gothic hat-tip to the darker aspects of life, death and ourselves. – Stewart Stafford

Halloween is a day in which some people choose to wear a mask, while others finally feel safe to take theirs off. – Steve Maraboli

Halloween is an ancient druidic holiday, one the Celtic peoples have celebrated for millennia. It is the crack between the last golden rays of summer and the dark of winter; the delicately balanced tweak of the year before it is given over entirely to the dark; a time for the souls of the departed to squint, to peek and perhaps to travel through the gap. – Jenny Colgan

Halloween is an opportunity to be really creative. – Judy Gold

Halloween is cool. – Marnie

Halloween is for sissies. We have the Holy Ghost!

Halloween is huge in my house and we really get into the ‘spirits’ of things. – Dee Snider

Halloween is not only about putting on a costume, but it’s about finding the imagination and costume within ourselves. – Elvis Duran

Halloween is opportunity to be really creative. – Judy Gold

Halloween is the only time I can easily convince others that my children are monsters. – Unknown

Halloween is the only time people can become what they want to be without getting fired. – Sylvester Stallone

Halloween shadows played upon the walls of the houses. In the sky the Halloween moon raced in and out of the clouds. The Halloween wind was blowing, not a blasting of wind but a right-sized swelling, falling, and gushing of wind. It was a lovely and exciting night, exactly the kind of night Halloween should be. – Eleanor Estes, The Witch Family

Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, ‘Never take candy from strangers.’ And then they dressed me up and said, ‘Go beg for it.’ I didn’t know what to do! I’d knock on people’s doors and go, ‘Trick or treat… no thank you.’ – Rita Rudner

Halloween was the best holiday, in my opinion, because it was all about friends, monsters, and candy, rather than family and responsibility. – Margee Kerr

Halloween wraps fear in innocence, as though it were a slightly sour sweet. Let terror, then, be turned into a treat … – Nicholas Gordon

Happy Halloween! Enjoy your trick-or-treating! On this Halloween, I’m sending you my spooky greetings!

Happy Halloween! This greeting card is sealed with a vampire kiss and bite.

Halloween Pumpkin Jack-O'-Lantern Holiday October

Halloween Jack-O’-Lantern

‘I’m so happy that Halloween falls on a weekday this year!’ said no teacher ever. – Author Unknown

‘Tis the night—the night of the graves delight and the warlocks are at their play; Ye think that without the wild winds shout, but no, it is they—it is they. – Arthur Cleveland Coxe

A candy a day keeps the monsters away. – Unknown

A deep sleep fell upon me — a sleep like that of death. – Edgar Allan Poe

A ghost can be a lot of things. A memory, a daydream, a secret. Grief, anger, guilt. But, in my experience, most times they’re just what we want to see. – Steven Crain

A grandmother pretends she doesn’t know who you are on Halloween. – Emma Bombeck

A house is never still in darkness to those who listen intently; there is a whispering in distant chambers, an unearthly hand presses the snib of the window, the latch rises. Ghosts were created when the first man woke in the night. – J.M. Barrie

A mask tells us more than a face. – Oscar Wilde

A person should always choose a costume which is in direct contrast to her own personality. – Lucy Van Pelt

A witch never gets caught. Don’t forget that she has magic in her fingers and devilry dancing in her blood. – Roald Dahl

Acting is like a Halloween mask that you put on. – River Phoenix

Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul, but I must confess that I love you only because you are a prelude to my beloved October. – Peggy Toney Horton

All the candy corn that was ever made was made in 1911. – Lewis Black

All you have to do is walk up to the house, ring the doorbell and say ‘tricks or treats’ – Lucy Van Pelt

Am I walking toward something I should be running away from? – Shirley Jackson

Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows’ Eve. – Ray Bradbury

Are you ‘folloween’ Jesus? – Anonymous

At night the fog was thick and full of light, and sometimes voices. – Erin Bow

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. – Albert Camus

Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they’re falling like they’re falling in love with the ground. – Andrea Gibson

Be afraid … Be very afraid. – Ronnie, The Fly

Be careful in the company of monsters that you don’t become one. – Cindy Gerard

Be wary then; best safety lies in fear. – William Shakespeare

Being in a band you can wear whatever you want – it’s like an excuse for Halloween every day. – Gwen Stefani

Being normal is vastly overrated. – Aggie Cromwell

Believe nothing you hear, and only half of what you see. – Edgar Allen Poe

Beware the dark pool at the bottom of our hearts. In its icy, black depths dwell strange and twisted creatures it is best not to disturb. – Sue Grafton

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. – Carol Bishop Hipps

Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death. – Omar N. Bradley

By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. – William Shakespeare

Candle, spoon and carving knife: nearing the vigil of the dead, let’s impose a little life upon a ripening, faceless head. – Robert B. Shaw

Catching and holding the attention of an eight-year-old on Halloween is like trying to catch a hummingbird with a piece of dental floss. It’s theoretically possible, but not very likely. – Abbi Waxman

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story. – Mason Cooley

Darkness falls across the land, The Midnight Hour is close at hand. – Rod Temperton, Thriller

Dear Great Pumpkin, Halloween is now only a few days away. Children all over the world await you coming. When you rise out of the pumpkin patch that night, please remember I am your most loyal follower. Have a nice trip. Don’t forget to take out flight insurance. – Linus

Death has come to your little town, Sheriff. You can either ignore it, or you can help me to stop it. – Dr. Sam Loomis 

Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing/Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. – Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven

Do one thing every day that scares you. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds true love? – Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Do you have to open graves to find girls to fall in love with? – The Mummy

Don’t make me get my flying monkeys. – Unknown

Don’t dream it, be it. – Frank N. Furter

Don’t keep calm. I’m under your bed! – Anonymous

Double double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. – William Shakespeare, Macbeth

During the day, I don’t believe in ghosts. At night, I’m a little more open-minded. – Anonymous

Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. – Charles M. Schulz

Eat, drink, and be scary. – Rosie O’Donnell

Every day is Halloween, isn’t it? For some of us. – Tim Burton

Every Halloween, I bring a spare costume, in case I strike out with the hottest girl at the party. That way, I have a second chance to make a first impression. – Barney Stinson

Everyone here knows that Halloween was invented by the candy companies. It’s a conspiracy. – Max Dennison

Everyone is a moon and has a dark side, which he never shows to anybody. – Mark Twain

Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked. – Ray Bradbury

Evil has only the power that we give it. – Ray Bradbury

Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees. – David Letterman

Fear has many eyes, and can see things underground. – Miguel de Cervantes

Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil. – Aristotle

Fear,’ the doctor said, ‘is the relinquishment of logic, the willing relinquishing of reasonable patterns. We yield to it or we fight it, but we cannot meet it halfway.’ – Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

Flip the switch and let the cauldron bubble! – Aunt Frances Owens

For a witch, you certainly don’t know much about how hauntings work. – Colleen Houck

For it is plain, as anyone can see. We’re simply meant to be. – Jack Skellington & Sally

For some of us, Halloween is everyday. – Tim Burton

From ghoulies and ghosties and long leggety beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us! – Scottish Saying

Ghostest with the mostest. – Anonymous

Ghosts and goblins come to play on October’s final day! – Rusty Fischer

Ghosts, like ladies, never speak till spoke to. – Richard Harris Barham

Ghouls just wanna have fun. – Anonymous

Good-bye, Ichabod Crane. I curse the day you came to Sleepy Hollow. – Katrina Van Tassel

Goodbye cruel world. – Winifred Sanderson, Hocus Pocus

Got Jesus? It’s hell without Him. – Anonymous

Harvey wasn’t interested in the clothes, it was the masks that mesmerized him. They were like snowflakes: no two alike. Some were made of wood and of plastic; some of straw and cloth and papier-mâché. Some were as bright as parrots, others as pale as parchment. Some were so grotesque he was certain they’d been carved by crazy people; others so perfect they looked like the death masks of angels. There were masks of clowns and foxes, masks like skulls decorated with real teeth, and one with carved flames instead of hair. – Clive Barker

Have you come to sing pumpkin carols? – Linus

Having a fang-tastic time! – Anonymous

He did the mash/He did the monster mash/The monster mash/It was a graveyard smash. – Bobby “Boris” Pickett

He had arranged the arms and legs in letters, and the letters spelled out a single small word: BOO. The three torsos were carefully arranged below the BOO in a quarter-circle, making a cute little Halloween smile. What a scamp. – Jeff Lindsay

He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts. – Stephen King

Heaven is no trick and Hell is no treat. – Anonymous

Hell is empty and all the devils are here. – William Shakespeare

Hey, Boo-tiful! – Anonymous

Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone. – Shirley Jackson

Hocus pocus. Time to focus. – Anonymous

Hope all the candies don’t go to WAIST. – Unknown

Hope you don’t have a scare in the world this Halloween! – Unknown

Hope you have as much fun today as the ghost who has been haunting your house. Have a scariest and spookiest night! Happy Halloween! – Anonymous

I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost. – Ray Parker Jr.

I am a wild and untamed thing. – Frank N. Furter

I am all in a sea of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare not confess to my own soul. – Bram Stoker

I am the Pumpkin King. – Jack Skellington

I am the shadow on the moon at night, filling your dreams to the brim with fright. – Oogie Boogie Man

I bet the witch of the wood. – Thomasin

I bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween. – Author unknown

I can’t be held responsible for stolen candy. – Anonymous

I can’t stop falling in love with boooooo. – Anonymous

I could never believe that a witch could be prettiest until I saw you. Happy Halloween!! – Anonymous

I don’t know that there are real ghosts and goblins, but there are always more trick-or-treaters than neighborhood kids. – Robert Brault

I don’t see how a pumpkin patch could be more sincere than this one. – It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

I dropped the candies into the children’s bags, thinking: You small mortals don’t realize the power of your stories. – Karen Russell

I envy people that know love. That has someone who takes them as they are. – Jess C Scott

I got a rock. – Charlie Brown

I got friends on the other side. – Dr. Facilier, The Princess and the Frog

I have been ready for Halloween since last Halloween. – Anonymous

I have come to regard November as the older, harder man’s October. I appreciate the early darkness and cooler temperatures. It puts my mind in a different place than in October. It is a month for a quieter, slightly more subdued celebration of summer’s death as winter tightens its grip. – Henry Rollins

I have crossed oceans of time to find you. – Bram Stoker’s Dracula

I have to be honest. I don’t really look forward to Halloween as much as November 1st. November 1st should be named ‘Discount Candy Day.’ – Theresa Weaver

I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. – Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

I keep falling in love with October, Over and over again! – Charmaine J. Forde

I knew nothing but shadows and I thought them to be real. – Oscar Wilde

I know of witches who whistle at different pitches, calling things that don’t have names. – Helen Oyeyemi

I like the way you see things I like the way you see me. – House At The End Of The Street

I love Halloween, and I love that feeling: the cold air, the spooky dangers lurking around the corner. – Evan Peters

I love Halloween, trick or treating and decorating the house. And I love Thanksgiving, because of the football and the fall weather. And of course, I love Christmas – that’s my favorite of all! – Joe Nichols

I love that in celebrating Halloween, we can get lost in the magic of make-believe and fantasy no matter what age we are! – Natalya Neidhart

I love the spirit of Halloween and the energy that comes with it. – Katharine McPhee

I love you every witch way! – Anonymous

I love you so much it’s scary. – Anonymous

I loved her not for the way she danced with my angels, but for the way the sound of her name could silence my demons. – Christopher Poindexter

I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and the blackest eyes — the Devil’s eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up. – Samuel Loomis

I might play with my cat and then go trick people to death. – Scott Holstad

I must go in. The fog is rising. – Emily Dickinson

I need to get a you-sized Halloween bag because you are 100% eye candy. – Anonymous

I put a spell on you and now you’re mine. – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

I saw thousands of pumpkins last night come floating in on the tide, bumping up against the rocks and rolling up on the beaches; it must be Halloween in the sea. – Richard Brautigan

I see dead people. – The Sixth Sense

I see my face in the mirror and go, ‘I’m a Halloween costume? That’s what they think of me?’ – Drew Carey

I tromped through the pumpkin patch. – The Nightmare Before Christmas

I was born on the night of Samhain, when the barrier between the worlds is whisper-thin and when magic, old magic, sings its heady and sweet song to anyone who cares to hear it. – Carolyn MacCullough, Once a Witch

I wish that every day was Saturday and every month was October. – Charmaine J. Forde

I witch you a Happy Halloween. – Unknown

I would die for her. I would kill for her. Either way, what bliss. – Gomez, The Addams Family

I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey. – The Criminologist, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion. – Henry David Thoreau

I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color. – Wednesday Addams, The Addams Family

I’m a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else. – Wednesday Addams, The Addams Family

I’m a witch every day. Not just for Halloween. – Unknown

I’m Not Superstitious, But I Am A Little Stitious. – Michael Scott From the Office

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. – L. M. Montgomery

I’m wicked through and through. – Elphaba, Wicked

I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly. – Elizabeth, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

If a man harbors any sort of fear, it makes him landlord to a ghost. – Lloyd Douglas

If human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween. – Douglas Copeland

If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear! – Mary Shelley

If the broom fits, ride it! – Unknown

If you’re ever wondering what to wear, just dress like a pumpkin, you’re good to go. – Devendra Banhart

If you’re in the mood for some good scares, figure out your friend’s biggest fear. – Anonymous

If you’ve got it, haunt it. – Rose Pressey

Imagination, be a witch tonight. – Robert Bagg

In masks and gowns, we haunt the street and knock on doors for trick or treat. – Jack Prelutsky

In the sky the Halloween moon raced in and out of the clouds. The Halloween wind was blowing, not a blasting of wind but a right-sized swelling, falling, and gushing of wind. It was a lovely and exciting night, exactly the kind of night Halloween should be. – Eleanor Estes, The Witch Family

It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. – Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

It makes me sick! – Winifred Sanderson

It must be October, the trees are falling away and showing their true colors. – Charmaine J Forde

It reeks of children! – Mary Sanderson, Hocus Pocus

It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus! – Max, Hocus Pocus

It’s amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you. See ya. – Ghost

It’s As Much Fun To Scare As To Be Scared. – Vincent Price

it’s Easier To Dismiss Ghosts In The Daylight. – Patricia Briggs From Dragon Bones

It’s Halloween; everyone’s entitled to one good scare. – Brackett, Halloween

It’s a full moon tonight. That’s why all the weirdos are out. – Dani, Hocus Pocus

It’s alive! – Frankenstein

It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus! – Max Dennison, Hocus Pocus

It’s as much fun to scare as to be scared. – Vincent Price

It’s Halloween! It’s Halloween! The moon is full and bright and we shall see that can’t be seen on any other night. – Jack Prelutsky

It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare. – Brackett

It’s Halloween, I guess everyone’s entitled to one good scare. – Sheriff Leigh Brackett, Halloween

It’s Just A Bunch Of Hocus Pocus! – Max From

It’s like going back to school. You know, autumn! Time for ‘Harry Potter’. – Robbie Coltrane

It’s that special time of year where we voluntarily imbibe pumpkin-spiced lattes: the coffee that tastes like a candle. – John Oliver

I love Halloween, and I love that feeling: the cold air, the spooky dangers lurking around the corner. – Evan Peters

I’d say the first thing you need is … a pumpkin. – Cinderella

I’ll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween. – Charles S. Swartz

I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color. – Wednesday Addams, The Addams Family

I’m a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else. – Wednesday Addams, The Addams Family

I’m a master of fright and a demon of light, and I’ll scare you right out of your pants. – Jack Skellington

I’m a mouse, duh. – Mean Girls

I’m a witch every day. Not just for Halloween. – Anonymous

I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed. – Rihanna

I’m guessing Angela’s the one in the neighborhood who gives the trick-or-treaters some toothbrushes. Pennies. Walnuts. – Pam Beasley fromThe Office

I’m in the collard green 6 cornbread in the guts Got the Halloween kicks trick or treat in the clutch. – Nicki Minaj

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it? Look at these maple branches. Don’t they give you a thrill–several thrills? – L.M. Montgomery

I’m the ghost with the most, babe. – Beetlejuice

I’m wicked through and through. – Elphaba, Wicked

I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly. – Elizabeth

I’ve tasted blood and I want more! – Janet Weiss

Jack-o’-lantern, Jack-o’-lantern. You are such a funny sight, As you sit there, at the window. Glowing on at the night. – Jack-o’-lantern Halloween Song

Just because I cannot see it, doesn’t mean I can’t believe it! – Jack Skellington

Keep calm and scare on. – Anonymous

Knock! Knock! Who’s there? Wanda Witch! Wanda Witch who? Wanda Witch you a Happy Halloween! – Unknown

Know why mummies never reveal their true age? ‘Cause they like to keep it under wraps. – Unknown

Last night you were unhinged. You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me. Do it again. – Morticia

Let your faith be bigger than your fear. – Anonymous

Let’s be honest: you can’t celebrate fall without it’s leading role: pumpkin! – Rachel Hollis

Life itself is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living. – Thomas Browne

Listen to them – the children of the night. What music they make! – Bram Stoker, Dracula

Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, we have had our summer evenings, now for October eves. – Humbert Wolfe

Magic is really very simple, all you’ve got to do is want something and then let yourself have it. – Aggie Cromwell, Halloweentown

May your candy supply last you well into the Christmas season. – Unknown

May your jack-o-lantern burn bright all through the night! – Anonymous

Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other. – John Steinbeck

Maybe now you’ll never slime a guy with a positron collider, huh? – Dr. Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters

Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased by tales, so is the other. – Francis Bacon

Men say that in this midnight hour, the disembodied have power. – William Motherwell

Most people will tell you growing up means you stop believing in Halloween things — I’m telling you the reverse. You start to grow up when you understand that the stuff that scares you is part of the air you breathe. – Peter Straub

My dearest friend, if you don’t mind, I’d like to join you by your side. Where we could gaze into the stars, and sit together, now and forever. For it is plain as anyone can see, we’re simply meant to be. – Jack Skellington, The Nightmare Before Christmas

My experiments did not turn out quite like yours, Henry. But science, like love, has her little surprises — as you shall see. – Bride Of Frankenstein

Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain. – J.K. Rowling

Never trust the living. – Beetlejuice

No good deed will I do again. – Elphaba, Wicked

No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality. – Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, no fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds — November! – Thomas Hood

No tricks, just treats! – Anonymous

No tricks, you’re my Halloween treat. – Anonymous

no, Please Don’t Kill Me, Mr. Ghostface. I Wanna Be In The Sequel! – Tatum Riley From scream

Not every witch lives in Salem. – Anonymous

Not spending Halloween with you is a scary thought. – Anonymous

Nothing beats a haunted moonlit night on All Hallows Eve. – Kim Elizabeth

Nothing on earth is so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night. – Steve Almond

November is auspicious in so many parts of the country: the rice harvest is already in, the weather starts to cool, and the festive glow which precedes Christmas has begun to brighten the landscape. – F. Sionil Jose

Now this is the point. You fancy me a mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded… – Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

October brings crisp, cool nights and Halloween frights. – Unknown

October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts every morning and icy drafts that bit at exposed hands and faces. – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came, The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band. – George Cooper

October has broken my heart before… – Nitya Prakash

October knew, of course, that the action of turning a page, of ending a chapter or shutting a book, did not end the tale. – Neil Gaiman

October proved a riot a riot to the senses and climaxed those giddy last weeks before Halloween. – Keith Donohue

October was always the least dependable of months … full of ghosts and shadows. – Joy Fielding

October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace! – Rainbow Rowell

October, crisp, misty, golden October, when the light is sweet and heavy. – Angela Carter

October, the extravagant sister. – Oliver Wendell Holmes

October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins… Merry October! – Rainbow Rowell

Oh how the candles will be lit and the wood of worm burn in a fiery dust. For on all Hallows Eve will the spirits come to play, and only the fruit of thy womb will satisfy their endless roaming. – Solange Nicole

Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick! – Winifred Sanderson, Hocus Pocus

On Halloween, you get to become anything that you want to be. – Ava Dellaira

On Halloween, the parents sent their kids out looking like me. – Rodney Dangerfield

On Halloween, witches come true; wild ghosts escape from dreams. Each monster dances in the park. – Nicholas Gordon

On Halloween, you get to become anything that you want to be. – Ava Dellaira, Love Letters to the Dead

On Hallowe’en they all jump off the roof and fly! – Ice Cream Boy

Once a pumpkin, Always a pumpkin. – Billy Corgan

One Need Not Be A Chamber To Be Haunted. One Need Not Be A House. The Brain Has Corridors Surpassing Material Place. – Emily Dickinson

One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach; all the damn vampires. – Grandpa

One, two, Freddy’s coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, gonna stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again. – Children, Nightmare on Elm Street

Only the knife knows what goes on in the heart of a pumpkin. – Simone Schwarz-Bart

Peter is such a candy freak. I knew he’d stay out all night if he could… This was his biggest night of the year. Bigger than Christmas. When he got home, he’d turn the shopping bag over on his rug and dump out all the candy. Then he’d sort it for hours, making piles of one candy bar and then another. He’s so totally mental. Sometimes when he was smaller he’d actually roll on his back in his Halloween candy, like a dog. – R.L. Stine

Pumpkin spice lattes are egg nog for morning people. – John Oliver

Pumpkins in October, as fat as the full moon, they sit on our doorstep at night and glow. – Richelle Goodrich

Reese’s in Peace. – Unknown

Say boo and scary on. – Unknown

Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places. – H.P. Lovecraft

Shadows mutter, mist replies; darkness purrs as midnight sighs. – Rusty Fischer

Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen, voices whisper in the trees, ‘Tonight is Halloween!’ – Dexter Kozen

She used to tell me that a full moon was when mysterious things happen and wishes come true. – Shannon A. Thompson

She’d always loved Halloween. A magic night. A night when anything could happen. Monsters could be real. Magic could whisper in the air. – Cynthia Eden

Sisters, All Hallows’ Eve has become a night of frolic, where children wear costumes and run amok! – Winifred Sanderson

So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing. – T.S. Eliot

So this world wide web I’ve heard about… Does it involve spiders? – Aggie Cromwell, Halloweentown

So, come up to the lab and see what’s on the slab! – Frank N. Furter

Some People Are Born For Halloween, And Some Are Just Counting The Days Until Christmas. – Stephen Graham Jones

Something wicked this way comes. – William Shakespeare

Sometimes the world of the living gets mixed up with the world of the dead. – Mrs. Mills, The Others 2001

Spooky, scary skeletons, send shivers down your spine, shrieking skulls will shock your soul, seal your doom tonight. – Andrew Gold

Sticky fingers, tired feet; one last house, trick or treat! – Rusty Fischer

Such are the autumn people. Beware of them. – Ray Bradbury

Suddenly the day was gone, night came out from under each tree and spread. – Ray Bradbury

That’s the problem. He was dead to begin with. – Ichabod Crane, Sleepy Hollow

That’s right. I AM THE PUMPKIN KING! – Jack Skellington, The Nightmare Before

That’s the problem. He was dead to begin with. – Ichabod Crane, Sleepy Hollow

That’s what you dream about? Being a monster? – Edward Cullen

The cobwebs in my house just became my decorations! – Unknown

The dead are waiting. Prepare your pumpkin mask and dress up like a witch for tonight we dine in hell! Happy Halloween! – Anonymous

The dead rise again, bats fly, terror strikes and screams echo, for tonight it’s Halloween. – Anonymous

The devil’s trick is no treat. – Anonymous

The farther we’ve gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we’ve come to need Halloween. – Paula Guran

The ghouls all came from their humble abodes, to get a jolt from my electrodes. – Robert Pickett

the Great Thing About Candy Is That It Can’t Be Spoiled By The Adult World. Candy Is Innocent. – Rosecrans Baldwin

The Halloween wind was blowing, not a blasting of wind but a right-sized swelling, falling, and gushing of wind. It was a lovely and exciting night, exactly the kind of night Halloween should be. – Eleanor Estes from The Witch Family

The house was very quiet, and the fog—we are in November now—pressed against the windows like an excluded ghost. – E.M. Forster, Howards End

The jack-o’-lantern follows me with tapered, glowing eyes. His yellow teeth grin evily. His cackle I despise. – Richelle Goodrich

The moon has awoken with the sleep of the sun, the light has been broken; the spell has begun. – Midgard Morningstar

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. – H. P. Lovecraft

The only ghost that lives here is the Holy Ghost. – Anonymous

The only thing that really scares me about Halloween is running out of candy. – Melanie White

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself… and spiders! Don’t let past ghosts scare away present gifts. – Jane Lee Logan

The quiet of October is refreshing, The quiet of November, oppressing. – Terri Guillemets

The rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open. – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

The real monsters are the people that give away little boxes of raisins instead of Halloween candy. – Mike Raphone

The rhythms of freak are ruled by the holiday calendar, and specifically by Halloween, which as we all know, can be traced back to All Hallows’ Eve, an ancient religious rite in which priests raced around the streets of Dublin throwing snack-size Snickers bars at impoverished children. – Steve Almond

The somber hues of an ominous, dark forest are suddenly illuminated under the emerging face of the full moon. – Kim Elizabeth

The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him. – Garrett Fort

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. – Eden Phillpots

The witches fly, Across the sky, The owls go, ‘Who? Who? Who?’ The black cats yowl, And green ghosts howl, ‘Scary Halloween to you!’ – Nina Willis Walter

The world turned upside down—in a good way—for one black velvet night. – Karen Fortunati

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls. – George Carlin

There are no heroes … in life, the monsters win. – George R. R. Martin

There are so many fall activities to do in October—just remember to reserve time for Halloween. – Anonymous

There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people … religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin! – Linus Van Pelt, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch. – Robert Brault

There is a town, two days journey to the north in the Hudson Highlands. It is a place called Sleepy Hollow. Have you heard of it?… An isolated farming community, mainly Dutch. Three persons have been murdered there, all within a fortnight. Each one found with the head lopped off… Clean as dandelion heads, apparently. You will take these experimentations of yours to Sleepy Hollow, and there you will detect the murderer. Bring him here to face our good justice. Will you do this? – The Burgomaster, Sleepy Hollow

There is magic in the night when pumpkins glow by moonlight. – Anonymous

There is nothing that gives more assurance than a mask. – Colette

There is October in every November and there is November in every December! All seasons melted in each other’s life! – Mehmet Murat ildan

There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand. – Mary Shelley

There is something haunting in the light of the moon. – Joseph Conrad

There’s a light, over at the Frankenstein place. – Janet Weiss

There’s a little witch in all of us. – Alice Hoffman

There’s children throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads. They’re busy building toys and absolutely no one’s dead! – Jack Skellington, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

There’s only 365 days left until next Halloween! – Mayor, The Nightmare Before Christmas

They cannot be seen because they creep only in the dark. – H.P. Lovecraft

They thought of All Hallows’ Night and the billion ghosts wandering the lonely lanes in cold winds and strange smoke. – Ray Bradbury

They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. – Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious, and spooky. – Andrew Gold

Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend. – Bill Waterson

This date is not going well; I want to die all over again. – Warm Bodies

This Halloween the most popular mask is the Arnold Schwarzenegger mask. And the best part? With a mouth full of candy you will sound just like him. – Conan O’Brien

This Halloween, send the most beautiful witches on your way, my friend. Happy Halloween! – Anonymous

This is Halloween, everybody make a scene Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright It’s our town, everybody scream In this town of Halloween. – Danny Elfman

This is my costume. I’m a homicidal maniac, they look just like everyone else. – Wednesday Addams

This October, may your treats be many and your tricks are few. Hope you have a sweet Halloween. – Anonymous

This wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. Either it goes or I do. – Oscar Wilde

This witch can be bribed with chocolate. – Anonymous

Those who do not believe in magic will never find it. – Roald Dahl

Tis now the very witching time of night, when churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world. – William Shakespeare

Tis the night — the night of the grave’s delight. – Arthur Cleveland Coxe

To live without you, only that would be torture. – Gomez, The Addams Family

To suffering there is a limit; to fearing, none. – Sir Francis Bacon

Tonight the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world. – Linus

Tonight, I am wishing you an unforgettable Halloween adventure filled with creepy memories and deadly encounters. Happy Halloween! – Anonymous

Too cute to spook. – Anonymous

Trick or treat, bag of sweets, ghosts are walking down the street. – Anonymous

Trick or treat, I think you’re sweet, on Halloween and always. – Anonymous

True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen. – Francois de La Rochefoucauld

True magic is neither black, nor white… it’s both, because nature is both. Loving and cruel, all at the same time. – Lirio Santana from The Craft

Use your imagination not to scare yourself to death but to inspire yourself to life. – Adele Brookman

Vampires are looking for your house, and I’ve sent them your google map location. Have a spooky night! – Anonymous

Vampires, werewolves, fallen angels and fairies lurk in the shadows, their intentions far from honorable. – Jeaniene Frost

Villainy wears many masks, none so dangerous as the mask of virtue. – Ichabod Crane, Sleepy Hollow

Wait a second I just want to tell you something … I was in love the first time I saw you. – The Strangers

We are the things that others fear. – Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat

We came, we saw, we kicked its ass. – Dr. Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters

We danced the Mamushka while Nero fiddled, we danced the Mamushka at Waterloo. We danced the Mamushka for Jack the Ripper, and now, Fester Addams, this Mamushka is for you. – Gomez, The Addams Family

We gladly feast on those who would subdue us. – The Addams Family

We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves! – Humbert Wolfe

We haven’t taken [Halloween] away from kids. We’ve just expanded it so that the kid in adults can enjoy it, too. – Cassandra Peterson

We loved with a love that was more than love. – Edgar Allen Poe, Annabel Lee

We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones. – Stephen King

We shall see that at which dogs howl in the dark, and that at which cats prick up their ears after midnight. – H.P. Lovecraft

Welcome sweet November, the season of senses and my favorite month of all. – Gregory F. Lenz

Well, fancy! We desire children. – Winifred Sanderson, Hocus Pocus

Wench! Trollop! You bucktoothed, mop-riding firefly from hell! – Billy Butcherson, Hocus Pocus

Werewolves howl. Phantoms prowl. Halloween’s upon us now. – Richelle E. Goodrich

We’re all mad here. – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

We’re the house that’s playing Christmas music by November 1. – Jonathan Scott

What a wild and weird and wonderful sight, when witches were waltzing on Halloween night! – unknown

What is a ghost’s favorite dessert? Boo-berry pie with ice scream! – Unknown

Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep. – Nancy Thomas, Nightmare on Elm Street

What’s the good of being a ghost if you can’t frighten people away? – Barbara, Beetlejuice

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween. – Anonymous

When I sleep my spirit slips away from my body and dances naked with the devil. – Thomasin

When the witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ’tis near Halloween. – Anonymous

When the witches went waltzing. – Linda Williams

When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth. – Televangelist, Dawn of the Dead

When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, ‘tis near Halloween. – Unknown

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween. – Unknown

Where my ghouls at? – Monster High

Where there is no imagination there is no horror. – Arthur Conan Doyle

While everyone else was saying Trick or Treat my dad was telling us to say Triki Tras. – Felipe Esparza

Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave, let him know he has enough. – Walt Whitman

Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad? – Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

Wishing you a spook-tacular Halloween! – Unknown

Wishing you a spooky good October and a fang-tastic Halloween! – Unknown

Witch and ghost make merry on this last of dear October days. – Anonymous

Witch parking only. All others will be Toad! – Unknown

Witch-ing you a spook-tacular Halloween! – Anonymous

Witches, beware: These witch movies will have you seeing double. – Anonymous

With this candle, I will light your way into darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine. – Victor Van Dort, The Corpse Bride

You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop: The Twilight Zone. – Rod Serling

You are too precious for words, why I could just… eat you alive! – Margaret, The Addams Family

You Can’t Kill The Boogey Man. – Tommy From Halloween

You can’t tell what’s in a monster’s heart just by looking at ’em. I mean, sometimes, some of the slimiest, raunchiest, ugliest little monsters turn out to be the nicest. – Aggie Cromwell

You don’t waste October sunshine. – Katherine Arden

You ever feel prickly things on the back of your neck? – Cole Sear

You know what we are, Vivian? We’re romantics. And the thing about romantics is, we never give up. – Blood And Chocolate

You must believe me, it was a horseman, a dead one! Headless! – Ichabod Crane, Sleepy Hollow

you Should Never Say ‘who’s There?’ Don’t You Watch Scary Movies? – Ghostface From scream

You tickle my funny bone. – Anonymous

Your Halloween costume makes me want to take off your Halloween costume. – Anonymous

Your love potion worked its magic on me. – Anonymous

You’re never too old to beg for free candy. – Anonymous

You’re the cutest pumpkin in the patch! Have a scary good time. Spooky and Happy Halloween! – Anonymous

‘Tis the night—the night of the grave’s delight, and the warlocks are at their play; Ye think that without the wild winds shout, but no, it is they—it is they. – Cleveland Coxe

Halloween Clown Creepy Face Horror Fear It Grin

Drinking blood is a strong social taboo in most countries, often with a vague emotive association with vampirism.

Halloween Quotes From Wikiquote

  • I think if human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween. Wouldn’t life be more interesting that way? And now that I think about it, why the heck don’t they? Who made the rule that everybody has to dress like sheep 364 days of the year? Think of all the people you’d meet if they were in costume every day. People would be so much easier to talk to – like talking to dogs.
    • Douglas Coupland in: The Gum Thief: A Novel, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, Jan 15, 2011, p. 23
  • Halloween superstitions and rites:
    Sprinkle salt on your doorsteps to bar evil spirits from your home.
    Hang socks that have a hole worn in them in your windows to prevent evil spirits from flying in.
    Go to a cabbage patch, put on a blindfold, and grab a random cabbage. If the cabbage is fresh and clean your coming year will be fortunate. If the cabbage is spoiled or dirty your coming year will be similarly blighted.
    Drop two needles in a basin of water. If they come together at the bottom, you will see your future wife or husband. This can also be done by taking a lit candle and a mirror into a dark cellar. The future spouse will appear in the mirror.
    Sprinkle a pinch of cornmeal by your bed. In the morning you will see that ghosts – most likely mice or bugs – have drawn your future in it.
    As a party treat and game, bake a coin with a cake, a thimble, a ring, and a China doll in it. When the cake is served, whoever finds the coin will have wealth in the future. Whoever finds a thimble will never marry (Single women once supported themselves sewing or spinning –hence the term spinster). Whoever finds the ring will marry in the coming year. Whoever finds the doll will have many children – hopefully after finding ring on an earlier occasion.

    • The Halloween Handbook in: The Halloween Handbook, Citadel Press, 2001, p. 28-29
  • Toward the end of the nineteenth century, theme Halloween parties became popular. Fairy tales, King Arthur’s Court and Mother-Goose were typical themes.
    • The Halloween Handbook in:”The Halloween Handbook”
  • In receiving something in their hands, they establish, on a symbolic level that they do not understand, a brotherly exchange between the visible and the invisible worlds. That is why the Halloween masquerades . . . are in fact sacred ceremonies.
    • Jean Markale comments in his book Halloween, histoire et traditions (Halloween—History and Traditions).
  • In many ways, Halloween is the most American of holidays: secular, irreverent, and unashamedly consumerist. And as with many American cultural products, it has become a wildly successful export.
    • Lisa Morton in: Eugenia Williamson Böö! Halloween’s quest for world domination, The Boston Globe, 28 October 2012
  • It’s [Halloween] not celebrated in any of the countries where Islam is the main religion, but there was an interesting WikiLeaks document that came to light within the last year that said that [a group of wealthy citizens] had broken the taboos with a secret Halloween party in Saudi Arabia, complete with alcohol and costumes.
    • Lisa Morton in: “Böö! Halloween’s quest for world domination”
  • In Britain, the major public holiday used to be Guy Fawkes Day…that was celebrated on November 5th with things like bonfires and fireworks….I think that made Halloween seem preferable. The idea of having pumpkins and costumes and parties seemed much more appealing than burning down your neighborhood.
    • Lisa Morton in: “Böö! Halloween’s quest for world domination”
  • Today, countries from Japan to Ukraine have embraced American Halloween and its customs.
    • Lisa Morton in: “Böö! Halloween’s quest for world domination”
  • Halloween (All Hallows Eve) is the Eve of All Saints Day. Therefore All Saints’ Day Prayers are the most appropriate prayers. However, while Halloween has many fun customs, it is also a time to challenge and mock evil.
    • Halloween Prayers in: David Bennett in: Halloween Prayers:Prayers and Collects for All Hallows Eve, churchyear.net
  • Boasting a rich, complex history rooted in Celtic and Christian ritual, Halloween has evolved from ethnic celebration to a blend of street festival, fright night, and vast commercial enterprise…Drawing on a fascinating array of sources, from classical history to Hollywood films,… it emerged from the Celtic festival of Samhain (summer’s end), picked up elements of the Christian Hallowtide (All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day), arrived in North America as an Irish and Scottish festival, and evolved into an unofficial but large-scale holiday by the early 20th century…Halloween is the definitive history of the most bewitching day of the year, illuminating the intricate history and shifting cultural forces behind this enduring trick-or-treat holiday.
    • Nicholas Rogers in: Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Oxford University Press, 2003, Overview
  • Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, “Never take candy from strangers.” And then they dressed me up and said, “Go beg for it.” I didn’t know what to do. I’d knock on people’s doors and go, “Trick or treat.”
    • Rita Rudner in: Judy Brown Jokes over easy: 1,386 delicious jokes from the best comedians, Barnes & Noble, 2006, p. 112
  • …help transform Halloween into a holiday with some ethical values, have children collect food for the hungry rather than candy for the well-fed.
    • Jeffrey K. Salkin in: Putting God on the Guest List: How to Reclaim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child’s Bar Or Bat Mitzvah, Jewish Lights Publishing, 2005, p. 67
  • Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
    Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
    Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
    Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
    For a charm of powerful trouble,
    Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
    Double, double toil and trouble;
    Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

    • William Shakespeare in: Medical Arena, Volumes 7-8, 1898, p. 122
  • It is as if French society were looking for a kind of civil religion capable of replacing Christian symbolism … At Halloween the dead are imitated and their ‘ghosts’ come back to frighten us and threaten us with death. On All Saints’ Day, in contrast, we affirm that the departed are alive and that we are promised to rejoin them in the City of God.
    • Hippolyte Simon, bishop of Clermont-Ferrand, Vers une France païenne? (Toward a Pagan France?)
  • The witches fly
    Across the sky,
    The owls go,”Who? Who? Who?”
    And the black cats yowl
    And the green ghosts howl,
    Scary Halloween boo!

    • Nina Willis Walter in: Jill Bialosky History of a Suicide: My Sister’s Unfinished Life, Simon and Schuster, Feb 7, 2012, p. 104

Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night

the rituals surrounding souling, in which supplicants moved from door to door asking for food in return for a prayer for the dead, bear a resemblance to modern Halloween customs, especially since soulers went from house to house with hallowed-out turnip lanterns, whose candle connoted a soul in purgatory… – Nicholas Rogers.

Nicholas Rogers in:Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Oxford University Press, 2003

  • Halloween at the end of the millennium has become a major party night for adults, arguably the most important after New Year’s Eve. An estimated 65 percent of American adults take part in Haloween, beyond, that is, simply handing out candy.
    • In:p.6
  • …the rituals surrounding souling, in which supplicants moved from door to door asking for food in return for a prayer for the dead, bear a resemblance to modern Halloween customs, especially since soulers went from house to house with hallowed-out turnip lanterns, whose candle connoted a soul in purgatory…souling customs offer a clue to the survival of Hallowmass in England after the Protestant Reformation.
    • In:p.29
  • Over time Halloween became an important night for customers, as well; for whereas children of the interwar years constructed their costumes from old clothes in the attic; for or closet and simply blackened their faces with burnt cork or soot, children in the more affluent 1950s and 1960s were more likely to buy Halloween masks and perhaps other articles of their costume from retail stores. By making Halloween consumer-oriented and infantile, civic and industrial promoters hoped to eliminate its anarchic features.
    • In: p. 88
  • Halloween in the manner it is today. In the days of homemade costumes, revelers did not draw upon the stock characters from the early horror genre, whether Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy, or King Kong. They were more likely to emulate Charlie Chaplin or Mae West than Universal pictures monsters.
    • In: p. 106
  • …the Day of the Dead was not so very different from Halloween. Both shared a common European legacy as well as a dynamic fusion of pre-Christian and Christian belief. If this is the case, then their differences may be grounded not only in the peculiarities of that syncretism, but also in the ways the two holidays subsequently developed in the New World…By the time Halloween was transported to North America, its links to the Catholic festival of All Souls’ were attenuated, seriously fractured by the Protestant Reformation.
    • In: p. 146

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