Halloween's Scary Fairies

When people think of Halloween, they think of ghosts or goblins. They don’t often think of fairies as spooky creatures, but if you traveled the streets of an ancient village in Ireland on the night of October 31, you might think differently.

What does the following question suggest is a difference in how people view fairies today compared to in the past?

• Fairies were not associated with Halloween in the past.
• In the past, fairies were viewed as spooky creatures on Halloween night in Ireland.
• Fairies were considered friendly and harmless in the past.
• Fairies were only seen as spooky creatures in Ireland on Halloween night in the past.

What was Halloween called by the Celts?

• Samhain

• All Hallows' Eve

• All Saints' Day

• Halloween

Write a full sentence about the section "How Halloween Began" using one of these sentence starters:

The Celts celebrated Samhain because ______________________________

Samhain came at the end of summer, so ________________________________

The Celts called fairies "good folks", but ________________________________.

Expand on the sentence using what you've learned in the section "Fairies Had Bad Tempers". Try to answer as many 5W1H questions in your expanded sentence.

Celts feared

(Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?)

What did the pooka often appear as?

• A yellow-eyed black horse

• A ghost

• A goblin

• A fairy

What did the Celts do to protect themselves from fairies and ghosts?

• Leave sweets out

• Wear scary masks

• Light bonfires

• All of the above

Which comparison between Halloween and Samhain do you find most interesting?

• Leave sweets out

• Wear scary masks

• Light bonfires

• All of the above

What did people carve into eerie faces to keep spirits away?

• Turnips

• Pumpkins

• Potatoes

• Carrots

Who turned Halloween into a Christian event?

• The Celts

• The Druids

• Missionaries

• The fairies

Write a sentence about the section "Keeping Fairies Happy" by writing a sentence using one of the following starters:

Samhain became a Christian holiday because ___________________________________.

People carved creepy faces on turnips during Samhain, so _______________________________.

In the article we learn of an event called Samhain/All Saint's Day/All Hallows Eve, but ___________________________.