Rural haunts: Halloween's origins; spooky season humor; dark doll decor; creepy AI; a most satisfying scary tale

Snap-Apple Night, painted by Irish artist Daniel Maclise in 1833, based on an
Irish Halloween party. (Wikimedia Commons photo via Modern Farmer)

Who started Halloween anyway? Farmers. "It’s believed the Halloween’s origins lie in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), which was celebrated from Oct. 31 into Nov. 1, marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter," reports Andrew Amelinckx of Modern Farmer. "It all began with the celebration of agriculture. . . . Maybe this year you should get back to basics and dress up as the goddess Pomona or perhaps a zombie farmer to give a nod to Halloween’s real roots."

How do you know "spooky season" is here? Kerry Elson of The New Yorker casts a spell with her quirky brew of signs. "A spider will descend from the ceiling on a single thread. His eyes are red, but they are kind. Could he be your friend? (The answer is yes! During spooky season, spiders will be excited to make plans.) . . . The spooky-season warbler will emerge. This bird is known for its orange, brown, and yellow coloring and its distinct call, which typically sounds like bones clattering around, in a fun way. . . . Nothing says spooky season quite like a scarecrow holding an origami snake that it made all by itself."

Dolls can be creepy.
(Photo by Rose Maura Lorre, Wirecutter)

This summer Propstore sold the clown from 1982s Poltergeist movie for $650,000. That's a lot of loot for something freakishly terrifying. Wirecutter has a cheaper solution that will still give your friends chills -- Creepy Doll Decor. "I started turning dolls into haunting Halloween decor because the dolls started haunting me first," writes Rose Maura Lorre. "It all began about 10 years ago when my husband randomly texted me a photo of a discarded doll he’d walked past that was clearly refusing its fate as refuse."

Speaking of creepy, AI can scare. "What does it mean to be human? When a robot asks that question, it might elicit feelings of unease — indeed, when artificial beings start acting or looking a little too human, you might experience the uncanny valley phenomenon," reports Natalia Mesa of National Geographic. "Although the concept of the uncanny valley has existed for half a century, scientists still debate why fabricated people cause us so much discomfort."

There's so much to love about fall, but one of the season's most iconic candies can lead to arguments. "Halloween is a time for all things spooky, but it can also be quite divisive," reports Michael Beausoleil for Medium. "On one side, we have the group of people who love candy corn. On the other side, we have people who hate the stuff."

Illustration via The History Reader

With rural breadth and depth, Washington Irving gives Americans one of the best "haunted" rural stories of all time in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The "Rosie Posie Reads" website muses: "Is it the dreamy pastoral town of Sleepy Hollow, with its quaint residents, candlelit parties, and bone-chilling ghost stories? Is it the mystery of what really happened to Ichabod Crane on the covered bridge? Is it the faint possibility that the ghost of a Hessian soldier scours the land in search of a head?"