While folks in the U.S. celebrate Halloween by dressing up, partying, watching scary movies and kids begging for candy, Halloween traditions in some parts of the world are totally different, and in a lot of cases, totally creepy.
Well, 24/7 Wall Street has compiled a list of some of the coolest and creepiest Halloween traditions around the world, and it may leave you wondering why we don’t start adopting them.
Traditions include (click herefor a complete list)
- Austria –As part of Seleenwoche, or All Souls’ Week, on October 31st, they leave bread and water out on a table, and light a lamp, to welcome and nourish the souls of the dead.
- Bolivia– During the Fiesta de las Ñatitas on November 8th they decorate real skulls with flowers, jewelry, hats, and glasses.
- England– There is a superstition that a man or woman looking into a mirror in a dark room on Halloween will see the face of his or her future mate in the background, but if they see a skull that means they’ll die before marrying.
- Germany– Germans hide their knives on Halloween so that returning souls don’t accidentally cut themselves.
- Norway– Folks in Norway use Halloween as an excuse to visit haunted places like Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, which is said to be haunted by a spectral monk.
- Portugal– On Dia das Bruxas, or Day of Witches, children do go trick or treating, but they ask for bread instead of candy.
- Romania– They don’t celebrate Halloween in October, but on May 26ththey celebrate Dracula Day, with the fictional character based 15th century Romanian ruler Prince Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler.
- Singapore– Nothing scary here, it’s simply a time to party, with clubs, pubs, markets and theme parks using it as an excuse to throw horror themed bashes.