"The carved pumpkin may have originated with the witches’ use of a collection of skulls with a candle in each to light the way to coven meetings". http://www.eliyah.com/hallween.html
By John Ankerberg, John Weldon and Dillon Burroughs
Are the specific customs of Halloween related to pagan beliefs?
Since Halloween itself originated in paganism, it is not surprising that its customs are related to pagan belief. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,
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 the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, goblins, black cats, fairies and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, 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.
