It’s that time of the year again: Samhain, undoubtedly many Pagans’ favorite festival is here and the veil is thinning. Time to get out your candles, dust off your broomsticks, and make the appropriate offerings to your deceased ancestors. It’s also, of course, Halloween, which is easily one of the most popular holidays in Western culture and therefore also a time for merry trick or treating, costuming, and creepy stories about ghosts and monsters.
In our annual megapost for Samhain, we’ve got plenty of both, both from PaganSquare as well as some of our favorite places on the web. Browse through to your heart’s content (though feel no compulsion to read them all), though be forewarned some content isn’t for the faint of heart!
-Aryós Héngwis
H/T to our blogger WeMoon for the wonderful Samhain image!
Samhain Posts:
- Tess Whitehurst. “5 Ways to Clear and Purify Your Energy This Samhain”
- Leslie J. Linder. “Ahimsa Grove Samhain Special”
- Joanna van der Hoeven. “Behind the Robes”
- Lizann Bassham. “Four Samhains Three Years”
- Francesca de Grandis. “Global Third Road Faerie Samhain 2015″
- Emily Carlin. “A Little Pop Culture Samhain Magick”
- Good Witch & Bad Witch. “Lord Samhain”
- Bee Smith. “Occupy Sacred Space”
- Amanda Morris. “Remember Who You Want To Be”
- Joanna van der Hoeven. “Riding the Tides of Samhain”
- We’Moon. “Samhain Blessings”
- Deborah Blake. “A Samhain Ritual”
- Karen Tate. “Samhain... West Coast Style”
- Steven Posch. “What Do We the Living Owe the Dead?”
Halloween Posts:
- Charlie Rainbow Wolf. “All Aboard the Ghost Train”
- Steven Posch. “Annie and the Flowers of the Dead.”
- Steven Posch. “The Food It Wouldn’t Be Samhain Without”
- Steven Posch. “Samhain in the Forecourt”
Autumn Posts:
- Molly. “Blessings from the Harvest Queen”
- Danu Forest. “Cauldron Bubbles”
- Eileen Troemel. “Fall Reflections”
- Amanda Morris. “Remember Who You Want To Be”
- Molly. “Savoring Autumn Fruits”
- Laurie Novotny. “The Veil Is Thinning”
Darkness Posts:
- Holly Bellebuono. “Darkness with a Capital D”
- Robin Fennelly. “The Golden Thread”
- Candise. “Priestessing through the Darkness”
- Byron Ballard. “These Days of Dark and Light”
Death Posts:
- Deborah Castellano. “[Books of the Dead] A Prelude”
- Deborah Castellano. “[Books of the Dead] Crows and Giving Space for Grief”
- Steven Posch. “A Contract with Death”
- C.S. MacCath. “Dark Goddesses and Strong Women”
- Holli Emore. “The Great Flood of Akhet 2015″
- Laura Perry. “Journeying to the Realm of the Dead’
- Denora. “Processing Suicide through a Pagan Paradigm”
- Rebecca Buchanan. “Spotlight On: Hainted”
- Tess Whitehurst. “What Does [the Veil Between the Worlds Is Thin] Mean?”
Winter Posts:
Cool Stuff We Found:
- 6 Signs It’s Getting Close to Samhain
- 9 Gothic Inspired Instagram Accounts to Follow
- 9 Things You Never Knew About Real-Life American Witches
- The 10 Best Horror Video Games
- 10 Horror-Movie Sidekicks Who Are More Memorable Than The Hero
- 10 of the Scariest Ongoing Horror Comics You Should Absolutely Read This Month
- 13 Samhain Traditions (well,at least at our house)
- 31 Movies For Hardcore Horror Fans
- All Things Samhain & Halloween (Histories, Rituals, and More!)
- The Best Creepypasta Stories to Give You Nightmares Forever
- The Best Halloween Freebies and Deals You Can Get Tomorrow
- The Best Halloween Costumes on the Internet
- The Best Stores to Buy Any Type of Halloween Candy
- A Brief History of Evil Children in Horror Movies
- The Cartomancer: The Smell of Souls
- Carve a Pumpkin From the Bottom for Easier Lighting
- Carve Up Some Science With a Physics Themed Jack-O'-Lantern
- Celebrating the Secular Halloween
- ‘Dia de los Muertos’, A Colorful Animated Short Film Showing the True Meaning of the Mexican Holiday
- Director Henry Selick Answers Whether Nightmare Before Christmas Is a Halloween or Christmas Movie
- Dota 2 Turns Into A Haunted House For Halloween
- Ereshkigal, Sumerian and Mesopotamian Goddess of Death
- A Five-Day Decluttering Ritual For The Samhain Soul
- Freya, Norse Mistress of Death and Magic
- Get Ready for a Lot of Really Dumb Fashion Articles About Witches
- Goddesses Alive! A Ritual in Masks
- Google's Frightgeist Can Help You Pick an Original Halloween Costume
- Halloween? It’s more than trick or treat
- Hecate, Greek Goddess of Darkness and Magic
- A Horror Game About Losing Your Kid In A Haunted Theme Park
- How Until Dawn Messes With Two Of Horror’s Most Overused Tropes
- I Used To Be Too Scared To Check These Books Out of the Library
- Invocation to the Shadow Ally
- Jarilo and Morana, Slavic Deities of Spring and Winter
- John Carpenter's Secret to Making Terrifying Soundtracks
- Kali, Hindu Goddess of Fate and Destruction
- Karen Gillan Gets Us Ready for Halloween With Her New Horror Short, Conventional
- Kick Monster Butt in CHILL: 3rd Edition, the Perfect RPG for Halloween
- Meet the Horror Fan Who Built (and Lives In!) an Incredible Replica of the Halloween House
- The #MoreThanCute Campaign Asks Girls and Parents to Dream Big for Halloween
- The Most Disturbing Monsters From Our Favorite Horror RPGs
- My Ancestors Are Dead
- My Sleepless Night Alone at the Allegedly Haunted Lizzie Borden B&B
- Never Sleep Again: Your Ten Best Stories of Absolute Terror
- Odin, Norse God of Wisdom, Magic, and Death
- The Other Side of the Hedge: The Thinning of the Veil
- Pumpkin Carving Is OK. These Gorgeous Gourd Lamps Are Unbelievable.
- Qebhut, Egyptian Mistress of the Water of Life
- Racist Halloween Costumes That Are Actually Made for Kids
- Reclaim Samhain (Halloween) With These Recipes and Instructions
- Samhain – A Solitary Ritual
- Samhain 2015: Dates, Traditions And Rituals Of The Pagan New Year
- Samhain, Hallowmass, Hallowe’en…It’s About Death, Folks
- Samhain Is My Fertility Festival
- Samhain through the Faces of Old Women
- Samhain vs. Halloween
- Santa Muerte: Holy Death
- Sedna, Inuit Goddess of Death and the Ocean
- See How Much Candy You or Your Kids Should Eat with This Calculator
- The Scariest, Creepiest and Most Gothic Magic Cards of All Time
- Scary Movies Are The Best Investment In Hollywood
- Shiva, Hindu God of Destruction and Recreation
- Standing Between the Worlds at Samhain
- Stasis Shows How Spooky A Point-And-Click Adventure Can Be
- Target’s Inclusive Halloween Ad Earns Praise From Disability Advocates
- These Last Minute Costumes Could Save Your Halloween
- This Pumpkin Shortage Will Be the Scariest Thing About Halloween
- The Terror of Yurei
- Too Old to Trick-Or-Treat? Make a Giant Peanut Butter Cup Instead
- Track Which Houses Give out the Best Halloween Candy with a DIY GPS Tracker
- The U.S. Congress Helped Make One Simpsons Halloween Special As Violent As Possible
- Viridos – ‘Green Bones’
- We Called, You Answered: TMS Readers Show Off Their Best Childhood Halloween Looks
- What Is Your Best Easy-to-Make Halloween Costume?
- Which Type of Candy is Scientifically the Best?
- The Zombie Game That Gets Halloween Just Right
Top image by R. fiend