People in America and Europe celebrate Halloween as a fun folk festival kind of thing and it is associate with fun and games. Houses are decorated and children dress up for the annual Trick or Treat round. It's meant to be good clean fun, but the real meaning of Halloween is far more sinister.
More than 2000 years ago the Celts who lived in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales were celebrating a religious festival similar to Halloween. It marked the Celtic New Year and the festivities paid tribute to the Sun God for the harvest.
The Celtic priests, or Druids, held rites to honour Samhain, The Lord of Death on All Souls Day, or Halloween. They believed that this was the day when Samhain gathered together all the wicked people who had died in the last year and were condemned to live on in the bodies of animals.
It was believed that on this one night he dead returned to their houses and that if food and drink wasn't provided, they would cast evil spells on the people in the house.
In modern Satanism and Witchcraft, Halloween is the day when Satan himself comes together with his followers. We carry on these primitive rites and call them fun, but their origins are quite sinister.
The pumpkin, turnip (in UK) , skull which is know as the Jack-O-Lantern represents Samhain, God of The Dead. This lantern was originally meant to ward off evil spirits of the dead.
Witches, black cats and broomsticks are all linked to the celebration of the power of the "Black" witch and the black, orange and red colours of Halloween are the devil's colours according to ancient beliefs.
Skulls and skeletons were revered by ancient Pagans and they were worshipped as having sacred powers connected to the God of The Dead.
Apple bobbing was an ancient Druid method of divination. The apple was also considered to be a fertility symbol and a love charm and apple bobbing was connected to finding a lover.
Halloween this long and never knew quite all the background
Good research on the darker meaning behind Halloween.