HALLOWEEN....TRICK OR TREAT?

Is Halloween an innocent holiday that Christians should observe with fun and frolic, or is it a serious day of the occult and witchcraft and Satanism?  A closer look at this holiday would be time well spent. 

WHAT IS HALLOWEEN?

"Halloween is the most important festival of witchcraft cults"  (Bob Larson, Cult Expert, in HALLOWEEN AND WITCHCRAFT, p4)

World Book Encyclopedia says, regarding Halloween, that the Celts and their Druid priests chose October 31 for their New year's Eve, and "intended it as a celebration of everything wicked, evil, and dead.  During their celebration they would gather around a community bonfire and offer as sacrifice their animals, their crops and sometimes themselves.....the celebration much the same after the Romans conquered the Celts (43 A.D.)"   (Quoted from World Book Encyclopedia from D.A.Waite's pamphlet, HALLOWEEN...THE DEVIL'S BIRTHDAY, p1)

"Samhain was an ancient Celtic New Year's festival during which human and animal sacrifices were made to the Lord of the Dead (called Saman or Samhain) and the Sun.  Celebrated on November 1, Samhain is the original of our Halloween, although the modern holiday also reflects the influence of medieval churchmen, particularly Pope Gregory III, who in the 8th Century designated November 1 as the feast of departed Christian saints.  It is as the eve of All Hallows Day, or "Hallow's e'en," that we now observe on October 31"   (From CURIOUS CUSTOMS, p 170, by Ted Teleja)

Britannica Encyclopedia says (p 646)

" In Ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic festival of Samhain was observed on October 31, at the end of summer....the souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches , hobgoblins, blacks cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds roaming said to be roaming about.  It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature.  In additions, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death.  It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes."

Renown Occult expert, Kurt Koch says about Halloween: 

"All Saints' Day and Hallowe'en originated in a pagan festival.  Before the days of Christianity, the Druids in England (priests of a Celtic race) had the idea that people needed to be cleansed after they had died.  The soul of the departed was transferred by magic to the body of an animal.  During the night of October 31, the enchanted souls were freed by the Druid god, Samhain, and taken together into Druid heaven.  This Druid festival was always accompanied by animal and sometimes human sacrifices and linked with all kinds of magic."  (OCCULT ABC, Kurt Koch, p89)

Man, Myth, and Magic, a 24-volume encyclopedia on the Supernatural, says:

"All Hallow's Eve, or Hallowe'en, was originally a festival of fire and the dead and the powers of darkness."

Seeing this background on this day, which we can clearly see what the Devil's holiday in every aspect, we read the words of Jeremiah 10:2:

"Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen,....."

IS HALLOWEEN A CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY?

Listen to the following:

"Halloween is NOT a Christian holiday.  Though many believe that its roots are planted in Christian history and tradition, this is erroneous.  Halloween commemorates a pagan, this is, Satanic, festival occasion.  In early Great Britain, the powerful Druidic religious sect held a festival known as Samhain (pronounced so-wein).  This festival was held in honor of the Sun God, the universal deity among pagans, and their Lord of the Dead, Samana, the Lord of Death, the ghostly, skeletal figure with sickle in hand, which came to be known as the GRIM REAPER.  Samhain, or Halloween, was said to be the time when the dead wee loosed from their realm to mingle with the living.  It was a time, in fact, when the two realms, spiritual and physical, were thought to merge and become as one.  Halloween was thought to be the one time of year when the veil between the dead and the living is lifted.  The Druids practiced a decidedly wicked form of spiritualism and witchcraft.  Therefore, on Samhain (Halloween), Druid priests would conduct witchcraft and magic ceremonies to appease and pacify the spirits and to honor the Lord of the Dead....Some historians believe the Druids practiced human sacrifice.   Each year at Samhain (Halloween)...a young, innocent boy or girl would be sacrificed to the Sun God and the Lord of the Dead as a propitiation and appeasement.  Today at Stonehenge, in England, are the ruins and remnants of a circular stone worship site of the Druidic Priesthood..."   Wonder how many innocent victims were sacrificed there?

It continues, "Animals were sacrificed to the Lord of the Dead...and if (he) accepted the offering on behalf of the spirit world, the spirits would be satisfied and would refrain from doing harm.   If not, the Lord of the Dead would have 'witches' (or priestesses) summon vengeful ghosts and demons to appear and wreak havoc and pain.  Owls, black cats, and vampire bats were all thought to be associated with nights of wrathful vengeance."  (From THE AWFUL TRUTH ABOUT HALLOWEEN, p2,3 from the ARk Report, 8103 Shiloh Court, Austin, Texas 78745)

THE ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN

Pastor David Brown, PhD., gives a history of the origin of Halloween from his excellent book, THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN, (which can be obtained from Logos Communications, PO 173, Oak Creek, WI 53154).....

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 adds the following:

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,"
 

THE PAGAN RITUALS OF HALLOWEEN

While on May 1, the Sun God was worshipped, on October 31 the Lord of the Dead was worshipped.  Big festivals to appease the Lord of the Dead were celebrated.  It was believed that the souls of the dead who died in the past 12 months were allowed to return to earth to former places of habitation for a few hours as 'ghosts'.....the evil dead were condemned to bodies of animals, while the 'good' dead were reincarnated as humans.

Bonfires were lit to appease the Sun God as well, and it was believed the fire would scare away the evil spirits.  Human sacrifices were offered at both spring and fall festivals, as the Celtic pagan priests would recite prayers and chants to gods as the fire raged.  You may recall that our Bible refers to BAAL as this 'god of fire'.  BAAL or Belial is a synonym for SATAN!

Recall God's warning against this evil, Satanic practice in Deut. 18:9-12:

 "When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.  11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee."

TRICK OR TREAT?

It was the custom for several days before this 'New Year's Eve' (for they believed the New year started on November 1) that young boys would travel the neighborhood begging material for the great bonfires.  On Festival night (Oct. 31) food was put on the doorsteps for 'Good Ghosts' as a 'treat' in order that this particular home would not be 'tricked' in the coming year with misfortune and poor crops, meat spoiling, etc..

To 'scare' the evil deads' spirits away, people would dance around the bonfire with 'scary masks' on.....

The Druid Celtic pagan priests would wear animal head's as masks and skins believing this would help them acquire the strength of that particular animal.

THIS IS ALL PAGAN AND OCCULTIC!   Doesn't it sound just like Satanic and witchcraft worship today?

Turnips or other vegetables were carved hollow and fire placed inside  and set on doorsteps outside the home in order to scare away the evil deads' spirits.

Candles were put in the windows to guide the 'Good' Deads' spirits back to their home.

Of course, all of this is nonsense and pagan to the core.

This Pagan festival continued down thru the centuries and eventually went underground.  It is still practiced today by those of direct Druid Descent.

HALLOWEEN BECAME 'CHRISTIANIZED' BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

In the 6th Century, Gregory the Great, Archbishop of Canterbury, retained the Druid practices and customs, and used them to celebrate the honor of the Christian dead saints!

In 800 A.D. The Roman Catholic Church moved their 'All-Saints' Day', in which they honored dead saints, from its original day in May to November 1.  All of the 'saints' who did not have a special day in their honor on the Catholic calendar were to be honored on All Saints' Day.  It was a time to pay respect by visiting their graves.  The 'new day' that was to replace the pagan vigil of the dead was called 'All-Hallow's Day', and the even before was soon called Hallow's Eve, which was soon shortened 'Halloween'. 

Pope Gregory III made it an official Christian holiday and called it 'All Hallow's  or "All Saint's Day"....

WHAT SATANISTS, WITCHES, AND OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT HALLOWEEN

Pastor David Brown, from his helpful book, which can be ordered from Logos Communication Consortium, PO 173, Oak Creek, WI 53154, gives some very helpful quotes from people very close to Halloween itself:

So, what do those who are involved in the occult say about Halloween? Do they acknowledge that Halloween is a pagan day past and present? Consider the following –

Witch - Doreen Valiente: "Halloween is one of the four Great Sabbats of the witches that everyone has heard about. To witches, Halloween is a serious occasion, however merrily celebrated. It is the old Celtic Eve of Samhain. With the coming of Christianity, the Church tried to Christianize the old festival by making 1^st November All Saints Day, or All Hallows as the old term was. Thus Samhain Eve became All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. But attempts to discourage the pagan celebrations were so unavailing that the festival was eventually banned from the Church calendar. It was not until 1928 that the Church of England formally restored All Hallows to its calendar, on the assumption that the old pagan associations of Halloween were at last really dead and forgotten; a supposition that was certainly premature."

Witch - Margot Adler: "All the Great Festivals of Paganism, wherever they may be found, correspond in common with the Solstices, Equinoxes, and other natural annual cycles of life. Most of these remain with us today in more or less disguised form as the so-called ‘Christian’ holidays of Christmas (Yule), Easter (Ostara), May Day (Beltane), Thanksgiving (Harvest Home), Halloween (Samhain) and even Groundhog’s day (Oimelc)."

Witch - Sharon Graham: "Salem (Massachusetts) is a mecca, especially around Samhain. It is our holiday, our new year, and a lot of witches come here from all over the world…"

Satanist - Anton Szandor LaVey (now deceased): "Two major holidays, HALLOWEEN and Walpurgisnacht are celebrated by the Church of Satan."

Gothic & Vampire Cults: I was the guest on a nationally aired TV talk show several years ago. I was speaking out against Halloween and warning of the dangers of occult practices. I was seated next to Catrina, who professed to be a vampire. After the show, we were assigned to the same limo to take us back to the airport. In our conversation it was clear that Halloween was a very important day for vampires. Also, many in the Gothic movement assemble at graveyards on Halloween for their bizarre celebrations.

The Day of The Dead: I should note as, well that many Mexicans celebrate El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) on October 31. Family members who have died are believed to return to their grave sites.

Voodoo: The Voodoo Museum in New Orleans usually offers a special Halloween ritual in which people may see true voodoo rites.

Followers of Crowley: Major-General J.F.C. (‘Boney’) Fuller was a devotee of the heroine addicted, sex pervert, black magician and so called High Priest of Satanism in Britain, Aleister Crowley (1875-1947). Crowley boasted of being "the wickedest man in the world" and openly despised Christ and the faith of his parents who were Plymouth Brethren. Fuller indicated that Samhain (Halloween) was an important ritual day to Crowley and his followers and it still is today.

Halloween Is A Recognized Occult Holiday

Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. 1 Corinthians 10:21

Halloween is a religious day but not a Christian day. Satanists, witches and other occultists will go to court for their right to perform their demonic rituals on this day. Halloween is a recognized religious Holiday. Here is proof --

A federal judge has set the wheels in motion to force a federal correctional facility in Jefferson County, Colorado to allow a prisoner to perform a Satanic ritual on Halloween. Tom McMillan of the Rocky Mountain Family Policy Council can’t believe it. ‘This case flies in the face of two upper Appeals Court cases, both of which held that Satanism is not a recognized religion and therefore the prison officials do not have to provide space and implements for the performance of a Satanic ritual.’ McMillan says Judge Edward Nottingham issued a preliminary injunction allowing the ritual, even though the prisoner admits it includes a destruction ritual, in which he visualizes the death of his enemies.

The Military Recognizes Halloween

A U.S. Air Force physical therapist who says she has been a practicing witch for four years won permission to take Halloween and seven other days off as ‘religious holidays.’ A spokesman at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio said regulations require that Patricia Hutchins...be accorded the same freedom to express her religious beliefs as any other religious believer.

The Prison System Recognizes Halloween

The Maine State Prison allowed members of a witch coven (the Coven of Dawn) to hold a two-hour service on the feast day they call Samhain (Halloween), after the Druidic festival of year's end. ‘This is our time to give praise to our lord and lady for the bountiful harvest,’ said the founder of the ‘goddess-oriented’ coven. He said that 75 inmates have been initiated into the religion since its start in 1981.

 

Conclusion

Witches and Satanists love Halloween. They get a lot of media coverage around that time of year. It's good P.R. (public relations) for them because the coverage, as a rule, portrays them in a favorable light. In addition, Halloween generates interest in "the craft" and is good for recruitment purposes. As Craig Hawkins put it: "With increasing vigor, witchcraft is coming ‘out of the broom closet.’ Many witches are actively seeking public understanding and acceptance."

Despite the public relations campaign to "sell" the public on the "virtues" of witchcraft, modern day witches and satanists still worship demon gods and goddesses, cast spells, practice bizarre and immoral sexual rituals, and certain individuals and groups offer animal and human sacrifices.

Texe Marrs, well known New Age researcher said this about the activities of witches on Halloween:

Our own research confirms that on this unholy night [Halloween], witches' covens meet, drink, dance, spit out curses and spells, conjure up spirits, engage in sexual orgies, induct new members, and offer up animal and human sacrifices. (Witches have become expert at covering up these sacrifices by use of cremation ovens and the use of privately owned land preserves for disposal of bodies in deeply dug graves.)

It is clear that Halloween is a religious celebration, but not a Christian celebration. It was and still is the holiday of witches, satanists and occultists. Read carefully the following words of a former High Priest in the Celtic tradition of Wicca -- "Halloween is purely and absolutely evil, and there is nothing we ever have or will do that would make it acceptable to the Lord Jesus."

Owen Rachleff gives us some additional food for thought.

Halloween can be, and to many is, a deadly serious affair. [It] originated with pre-Christian Druids or Celts in Northern Europe, who marked the year by four seasonal festivals. The autumn feast took place on November 1st. Early Christians, desiring a part in the traditional festivities, created All Saints' Day to coincide with the pagan rites. Satanists, acting true to form, reversed the Christian procedure. Because November 1st was All Saints' Day (All Souls' Day, November 2nd, memorializes the dead), Satanists established October 31st as an "All Demon's Night". As surely as the Christian martyrs and saints dominated their own holiday, so did the demons permeate the preceding evening. All Hallows' Eve predictably became a time of spells, curses, and horrors for those who did not believe, but for the Satanists, particularly the witches, it was a joyous festival and major sabbat. So it remains in a diluted form, ironically celebrated by Christian society ! far more vigorously than All Saints' Day.

Historically, Halloween is obviously and totally a pagan, worship day. It is still the most important unholy day for Witches, Satanists and other occultists. The Bible says, "…I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils."1 Corinthians 10:20 In another place it is written, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness…" Ephesians 5:11.

Wow, what a good service Pastor Brown has done in this book "The History of Halloween"!

THE ORIGIN OF SOME OF THE PAGAN PRACTICES OF HALLOWEEN

THE BONFIRE

On the evening of October 31, the Druids would build their huge bon fires, which they considered sacred.  They would burn crops, animals, humans as sacrifices to appease the Lord of the Dead.  The Oxford English Dictionary tells us the word 'Bonfire is derived from word 'Bone-fire' because it was a great fire in which bones were burned in open air.  The Druids called this great fire on the Eve of their great day of the dead, 'Bone-fire'.

HALLOWEEN SCARY COSTUMES

 They believed Samhain (or Saman, depending upon your source), pronounced So-wein, would let the evil spirits out on that night to return and bring evil to the people.  As the people danced around the Bonfire, they wore scary masks which they thought would scare away the evil spirits, which looked like the evil spirits themselves!   These 'evil spirits' must have been 'stupid spirits' if they could be fooled by such masquerading.  However, sadly, the real fools were the poor people whom their Druid Pagan Priests had deceived!  Listen to Romans 1:21

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,"

The Druid Priests themselves would wear the skins of animals over their body,  and the heads of the animals on their heads as their costumes during the pagan ritual. 

This wearing of costumes later became a way of hiding one's identity during the pagan and Satanic worship services, as do occultists such as witches and Satanists today.
 

DUNKING FOR APPLES

One of the practices during this night of the Bonfire was to divine the future, or try to foretell what the future would hold for the coming year, prosperity or failure.  As the animal and human sacrifices burned in the fire, the people would jump over the flames and dash through them, and sing and dance, which they felt would frighten the evil spirits away.  They would look for signs or omens in victims sacrificed as they struggled in the fire, to help tell them things about the future.  The next day, the Day of Samhain, they would examine the remains of the bones from their sacrifices which were in ashes of their 'Bone-fire' and practice divination, or foretelling the future, based upon what they saw.

The practice of dunking for apples came to be a way to discover your future mate and if you would be married that coming year.

HALLOWEEN COLORS

Good Housekeeping's BOOK OF ENTERTAINMENT on page 168 says the following: 

"Orange, red, and black, the devil's colors, are the colors associated with Halloween.."

HOUSE TO HOUSE TRICK OR TREATING

As we stated earlier, the evil spirits would be out in force on this night and people could set out a 'treat' in front of their house for the evil spirit.  If they were satisfied, it was believed the evil spirits would not 'trick' you by casting evil spells on you for the coming year.

David Brown tells us what former witch, Irene Park, says about 'Trick or Treat':

The Druids in Ireland would go through the neighborhoods and countryside on the eve of October 31st to collect offerings to Satan. They would carry lanterns, bags of money, and canes with very sharp points on the ends (currently known as leprechaun staffs, good luck horns, or fairies' wands). At each house, they would demand a specific amount. If the household would not or could not give the offering (penance or treat), the Druid would use the cane to castrate the male human or one of their prize animals.

In later years, James Napier, in his book, Holidays of Legend, says, "Irish farmers went house to house begging for food for their ancient gods. Good luck was promised to all who donated but threats were made against those who would not give." There is absolutely nothing in Trick or Treat that honors our Lord Jesus Christ! In fact it is a form of idol worship. One former witch who came to know Christ puts it this way --

Trick or Treat is a reenactment of Druidic practices. The candy has replaced the human sacrifices of old, but it is still an appeasement of those deceptive evil spirits. The traditional response to those who do not treat is to have a trick played on them. When you give out Halloween candy, you are, in essence providing a sacrifice to the false gods. You are participating in idolatry."  (The History of Halloween, David Brown)

THE JACK-O-LANTERN

It is difficult to pin point the origin of the Jack-O-Lantern carved-out pumpkin, but sources seem to indicate that it goes back originally to the carved out vegetables and turnips that the Druid people would set out in front of their house on the eve of Samhain. They would carve them to form scary faces and then would place a fire inside.  All of this they thought would scare the evil spirits away on that dreadful night.

Down throughout the years tradition added to the story.  According to one source, an Irishman named 'Jack' who happened to meet the devil in a pub one night and tricked the devil into buying him a drink, saying if you will buy me a drink, as old as I am, I'll be happy to follow you to happily to Hades.  Jack said, "If you will change your self into six-pence worth of coins, I'll buy my drink.  The devil was happy to show his powers and did so, and Jack picked up the coins and put them in his purse.  He refused to let the devil out until he got the devil to promise he would not take his soul for ten more years.  That wasn't the end of the story.  Ten years later, Jack was walking in the country near an orchard when Old Satan came to collect!  But Jack had another trick up his sleeve.  "Before you carry me off to perdition," he asked of the devil, "would you be the gentleman I've heard that you are and fetch me one of those apples?  You can stand on my shoulders to reach it."  The Devil, who had learned little from their last encounter, climbed upon Jack's shoulders, whereupon Jack whipped out a pen knife and carved a cross in the trunk of the tree.  This left the Devil in the air, and as a condition of getting him down, Jack made him promise that he would never again ask for his soul.  And the devil, double-crossed, had to promise.   But of course, he had the last laugh.  When Jack finally died, he was turned away from Heaven for his sins, and when he then applied for entrance to hell, the devil said, "I cannot break my word."  So poor Jack had nowhere to go and was condemned to become a kind of Celtic wandering Jew.  "Give me at least a light to find my way, " he pleaded with the Devil, and in this the Devil obliged him, by hurling in his direction a coal from the fires of Hell.  According to tradition, Jack placed it inside a turnip he had been munching, and the Jack o'Lantern was born.  (From CURIOUS CUSTOMS, p172, by Toleja)

The carved out pumpkin of the Jack-O-Lantern in an ancient symbol of a LOST AND DAMNED SOUL!

BLACK CATS AND HALLOWEEN

Down through history, Black cats have been revered Occultism and Witchcraft.  They are believed by Occultists to possess special powers, and are believed to be 'transformations' of witches, sorcerers, and wizards. 

In Egypt, black cats were worshipped as deities!  At death, black cats were mummified in Egypt and buried in stone crypts or coffins and the people mourned them for weeks.

David Brown says the following about black cats,

In the 1959 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia under Halloween it says, Druid priests believed that cats were once human beings but were reincarnated as punishment for evil deeds. Because of this they held cats sacred and involved them in their idol worship of October 31st and November 1st. This is supported by The American Book of Days, by George Douglas which says, "Druids believed the cat was sacred and...that cats had once been changed (from being human and reincarnated) into that form as punishment for evil deeds."

The link between witches and cats has been well known for centuries. "Even after Christianity spread to Europe...oxen were sacrificed on October 31st...and in medieval Europe, black cats [were] chosen as victims in the belief that they were witches in disguise [and] were burned on that day (Halloween)."

It is plain to see that cats, particularly BLACK CATS were thought to represent EVIL. Further, they were a symbol of REINCARNATION.

Black cats are still associated with Halloween. Each year Humane Societies in many cities issue warnings to black cat owners to watch out for their pets. Additionally, the Society will not release black cats around Halloween for fear they will be mistreated or sacrificed. Their decision, in my opinion, is a wise one. I have been asked to evaluate occult sites on numerous occasions and sadly I have seen the remains of cats that have been sacrificed. Here is but one example. "Sergeant Lars Holden, yesterday told of the grizzly find of dead cats with their feet nailed to the floor, encircled by candles, in an abandoned beachfront building." If you have a dark or black cat, keep it in the house around Halloween.

         Are Witches Real?

We often picture the long-nosed witch in black cap on a broomstick as an innocent fairy tale of Halloween.  Are witches real?  Are they harmless?   Look at our page 'Are Witches Real?' on our website under the Halloween - Trick or Treat page.

Vampires, Werewolves

Another classic Halloween character is the Vampire, particularly COUNT DRACULA. You will see a number of these black caped, fanged toothed monsters running around this Halloween. But, parents, there are a several things you need to know. First, history records that people really believed in vampires and werewolves. Both were associated with black magic. Second, Dracula was a real person. Third, there are an increasing number of teens and young adults into the Gothic movement and Vampirism who really drink blood!

• The History of Vampires & Werewolves

The word vampire is from the Slavonic word wampyr. The early Slavs actually believed that "the vampire is actually a living corpse, which sleeps in its tomb by day, and leaves it at night to prowl in search of blood, by which means it sustains its unholy live. The Slavs call such hideous creatures of darkness Nosferatu, ‘the undead’" A strong belief in vampires was held in Britain up until the early 1800’s. Vampires and their practices have always been associated with black magic. It was believed that those who practiced black magic in their lifetime were particularly likely to become vampires after their death according to witch Doreen Valiente. In Britain vampires were so feared that it was the old British "custom of burying the unhallowed dead at a crossroads, with a stake through the corpse’s heart. The object of this practice, which was not abolished by the law until 1823, was to prevent the corpse becoming ! a vampire." It should be noted that "some occultists today believe vampirism to be a fact…" Further, there is a modern revival among the youth subculture to become involved in some of the practices of vampirism.

What about Werewolves?

The word werewolf (also spelled werwolf) is explained when you understand that the "were" in Old English meant man. Hence you have a man-wolf of werewolf. An acutal cult werewolfery is connected with the worship of Zeus Lycaus. This cult was a part of Ancient Greek worship and was known to still be in existence in 176 A.D.

W.B. Crow writes –

The idea that a human being could be transformed into an animal was widespread among ancients…It was thought that powerful witches could do such things, and many witches were alleged to turn themselves into wild animals, particularly wolves. This is mentioned in Pliny. Sometimes it was voluntary, sometimes involuntary, the result of a curse. The phenomenon is technically called Lycanthropy which, according to derivation means the transformation of a man into a wolf and vice-versa. The worst kind of witches were thought to indulge in it, as their behavior whilst in the form of wild animals gave them means to satisfy malice.

There are several things that must be pointed out at this point. First, many do not realize that the origin of lycanthropy is found in what God did to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:4-16 and 31-35. Verse 16 says, "Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him…" For seven years Nebuchadnezzar wandered the fields, ate grass and behaved like an animal. Now, my point is this. Satan often tries to counterfeit the power of God! Occult lycanthropy is the Devil’s imitation of God’s power.

Second, I know of modern day witches that go into a trance and howl at the moon and cast spell. Shamans go into a trance and turn into power animals. History records bizarre practices of the Leopard Men and Panther Men of Africa.

Third, "modern doctors regard the delusional aspect of lycanthropy as psychological in origin. The World History of Psychiatry(1975) explains that hypochondria could sometimes develop into lycanthropy, and gives a disturbing contemporary account of a 30-year-old patient, who fell into melancholy, then developed a monomania which made him believe that he was transformed into a wolf (lycanthropy); he fled from men and sought refuge in the mountains, where he spent the nights howling, visiting graveyards and invoking the dead."

To be sure, we would consider someone mentally ill who behaved as the person in the preceding paragraph. But, people don’t actually believe in the black magic aspect of werewolves do they? The answer to that is yes. Several years ago I interviewed a young man from Wisconsin who had been heavily involved in Gothic Vampirism. In his public school library he found a book that told him what he needed to make the magical unguent to anoint himself to become a werewolf. By performing this incantation and ritual, drinking blood and performing other vampire rituals he succeeded in becoming demon possessed. He said two familiar spirits that possessed him "would give me power and the things that I wanted in life so long as I lived my life according to their rules." This man went on to tell me, "everything seemed great at the time, but in the end I know now exactly, where they were taking me and that was to Hell."

I might add to Pastor Brown's section by Kurt Koch in his book OCCULT ABC on page 148 concerning werewolves, lycanthropy, and metamorphosis of a demon-possessed person into an animal:

"I will start with the example of HYENA MAN.  Near to a mission station live a pagan whose neighbors said he turned himself into a hyena at night and fed himself while in that form.  During the day, he needed no ordinary human food."

Another example of hunters in Africa he records on page 148 which tells of shooting a leopard.  When the leopard is hit they hear a woman's voice say, "You are a murderer.  You have shot me."  They run over and see a woman shot.  They administer first aid.  The relatives of the woman took the hunter to court in Africa.  The Judge acquitted the hunter and later stated why.  He said, "I know the hunter was telling the truth.  This woman was my first wife.  I divorced when I discovered she could turn herself into a leopard."  That is African Justice.  The governor finished the story by saying, "We in our Government know that there are leopard people.  So we have a law which prescribes the death penalty for such offences."

Kurt Koch, expert in the Occult, continues, "To a man of Western education, the idea that a human can transform himself into an animal seems incompatible with reason.  But anyone who has spent many years traveling from one mission field to another finds that he must change his thinking about many things.  The power of Satan becomes especially evident on the mission field.  Correspondingly, one comes to value all the more Jesus' victory over the power of darkness."

A Look At Dracula

In 1897, Bram Stoker published his now famous novel Dracula. Since then more than 300 movies have been produced which feature him. But, Dracula was a real person! In the book DRACULA, A Biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431-1476, by Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally we read that Dracula was a maniac monster, the Hitler of his day. During his six year rule it was estimated by a reliable source that Dracula massacred 100,000 men, women and children. And how did he impose death? Let me quote Pope Pius II who tells how he killed 40,000 of his political foes shortly before 1462.

He killed some of them by breaking them under the wheels of carts; others, stripped of their clothes, were skinned alive up to their entrails; others placed on stakes, or roasted on red hot coals placed under them; others punctured with stakes piercing their head, their navel, breast, and what is even unworthy of relating, their buttocks and the middle of their entrails, and emerging from their mouths.

No one was excluded, not even babies. Dracula decapitated, cut noses, ears, privates and limbs. On one occasion he even nailed the turbans on the heads of some Turks because they refused to remove them in his presence.

On another occasion he saw a man poorly dressed walking by his home. He called the man into his presence and said, "Your wife is assuredly of the kind who remains idle. How is it possible, that your shirt does not cover the calf of your leg? She is not worthy of living in my realm. May she perish!" The man protested, saying that he was satisfied with her. Dracula said, "You will be more satisfied with another, since you are a decent and hardworking man." His wife was fetched and immediately impaled on a stake. In the meantime the new wife was introduced and carefully shown what happens to a lazy wife. The book says, "Consequently the new wife worked so hard she had not time to eat."

Let me relate one last atrocity of this warped, demonic inspired madman. Dracula devised a plan to rid society of the burden of all the country's beggars, sick, old, lame and poor. He invited them all to a feast. Little did they know that it would become a house of horror for them. He fed them well and got them drunk and then made his personal appearance and asked them, "Do you want to be without cares, lacking nothing in this world?" Naturally they all said yes! Dracula then ordered the palace boarded up and set on fire. No one escaped. Dracula was a madman. I do not want my child associated in any way with such a degenerate reprobate, do you?

Tragically, there are an increasing number of teens and young adults into the Gothic movement and its offshoot Vampirism. And I must tell you they really drink blood! I counseled a young man for quite some time that got involved in this. He had been a Bible College student, but was expelled after he was caught drinking his own blood. Another young man told me of how he and his girlfriend were into Vampirism. Part of their ritual included sex and then cutting his arm and drinking the blood. He said "the blood lust soon overpowered the desire for sex. It is a demonic craving and desire. It grows and feeds." He went on to say, "I’d see people in certain situations and wonder what it would be like to taste their blood, the saltiness of their blood."

Or consider the article in the August 9, 1998, issue of The Journal Times published in Racine, Wisconsin.

Nelson told investigators that he heard Buck, then 39, threatening to kill himself with a wooden stake. In the room with Buck was a 16-year-old girl, identified in court documents only as Melissa J. He reported that the teen-age girl was drunk, and that Buck…offered her a razor blade. Melissa complied making several criss-cross slashes on her inner forearm, which were ‘bleeding profusely,’ Nelson said. Then Buck – a severe looking man with a pale complexion, long dark hair and long sharp fingernails – sucked on the girl’s arm for several minutes…Her arms continued to bleed for about 15 to 20 minutes. The case…was the latest in an isolated string of vampire-like events in Wisconsin and elsewhere. In Wisconsin, police have uncovered a handful of cases in the past few years in which vampire-like activities played a role in crime.

I add to Pastor Brown's section once again from Kurt Koch, renown Occult expert, in his bo