On this International Horror Day, here are 6 spicy facts about Halloween:

1. Where does the name Halloween come from? Previously, it was called this festival All Hallow Eve (hallow being the archaic word of holy here), the eve of the Christian holiday of All Saints. Over time, the name has been distorted to become the one that all children now have on their lips this season.

2. Initially, it is a 4,000-year-old Irish holiday. the Samain marks the end of the harvest season. It was also believed that this was the time when the border between the world of the dead and the world of the living is at its thinnest. At night, we lit fires to guide the spirits and left food at the doors to welcome them to earth and try to calm them.

3. Putting costumes had no real fun purpose. They were used to scare and ward off evil spirits. As in some parts of Europe, the skins and skulls of animals were even worn to communicate with the dead.

4. Pumpkins, these are not just a decoration. In fact, people cleared turnips, beets and potatoes (pumpkins were used much later, when the arrival of the Irish in America since they grew more abundantly there) to insert a candle into it and put them on the edge of doors and windows. But for what goal? To scare evil spirits and allow them to find their way back. Besides, the legend of Jack O'Lantern originates of this custom.

5. What is the legend of Jack O'Lantern? Well, it says that this man was denied paradise for his wickedness, but also banned from hell for tricking the devil a few times. He was then condemned to roaming the earth with a lantern to light his way.

6. In many cities, animal shelters make it impossible to adopt a black cat around Halloween, lest it be mistreated or sacrificed (since old superstitions associate the black cat to the incarnation of a witch).

All this give a little goose bumps, no ?