Let's play the name association game. What does the word Halloween conjure up in your mind? It may bring thoughts of ghosts, skeletons, and graveyards, but you may also think of autumn leaves, orange pumpkins, and crisp weather. To most of us, Halloween is a mixture of spookiness and autumn. How did it get to be such a unique blend? Although Halloween is now basically an American custom, it is a melting pot (maybe a witch's cauldron?) of holidays and celebrations from all ages of history. For thousands of years people have been celebrating a variety of festivals at the end of October.

The History of Halloween

The Celts celebrated an All Hallow tide, the feast of the dead, to note the close of harvest and to mark the beginning of the winter season. They believed that the souls of the dead visited the earth every year on the last day of October. The Romans observed a festival to honor the dead called Feralia and Poloma, a harvest festival named after the goddess of fruit and trees.

The Christian church selected November 1st as All Saints Day to honor those saints that had no special day of their own. The mass held on All Saint's Day was called All Hallow Mas, the mass of all the hallows or saintly people. Guess what the night before was called? All Hallows Eve.

It was in the US in the 1800's that the holidays and traditions of different cultures merged. Perhaps because of its fascination with death and scary things, October 31st grew into somewhat of a mischievous night. The more wholesome customs of trick or treating, costume parades, community parties, and Fall Festivals developed, possibly at the direction of wise parents.

The Popularity of Halloween

Have you noticed that as early as August you start seeing ghosts and goblin decorations in the stores? The enthusiasm for decorating the outside of our homes and lawns with Halloween paraphernalia seems be second only to efforts spent on Christmas decorations. And ask any little tot what his or her favorite holiday is (excluding Christmas, of course). Don't be surprised to hear Halloween from both boys and girls.

Tech Tricks and Treats

Want to be the coolest parent or grandparent at Halloween time? Why not use the Internet for help in decorating your home or lawn, sending greeting cards, loading goblin screensavers, finding ghost stories, etc. You might have so much fun getting ready for the little ones that you find a few treats (or tricks if you so desire) for friends, co-workers, and adult family members. The Internet extends an enticing, luring, craggy finger beckoning us to COME A LITTLE CLOSER. So, here we go!

Before we get to the tricks and treats, be sure to implement Halloween safety precautions. Get all the information you need to make Halloween safe for everyone, especially those pint-sized ghosts and goblins. The Halloween Safety site shows you how to use safety tips and common sense to make the most of your Halloween season.

Get your computer ready for Halloween with screamsavers and spooky icons. For an assortment of twenty-two free icons such as headstones, aliens, black cats, ghosts, witches, and others, visit the PC World Web site. Decorate your PC with spooky wallpaper, horrifying icons, and animated cursors or try some desktop themes that will electrify your system thanks to the PC World Web site.

Here is a Haunting Exercise; how about checking out the World's #1 Haunted House Website? Got your shovel handy? We can search through an endless number of graveyards at Find a Grave. Locate graves of thousands of famous people from around the world, by name, location, date, claim to fame, etc. You can even find the graves of ancestors and add virtual flowers beside someone's tombstone.

Better practice up on those ghost stories. Pick out one or two new favorites from the Ghost Stories Web site While you are there, sign up for the official Halloween Online Newsletter.

Vampires cannot live by blood alone; there needs to be some good eats in Scaresville. Checkout the great recipes from Wanda's Halloween Kitchen. White chocolate-coated marshmallow monsters were my calorie scare.

If there is any blood left in your veins or energy left in your body, there is are lots of websites that will give you do-it-yourself Halloween Progests. Not for me. I am exhausted with all the excitement and energy needed for Halloween. Does anyone have any extra coffin? I need a few winks of sleep.