Halloween animals

 Scary paranormal creatures and ghosts are one thing. Nature itself has made some creepy animals much associated with the season of Halloween/Samhain. Here are some of these animals that Halloween wouldn't be without.

Black cats, most often associated with Halloween and appears as a shadowy feline with witchcraft links. The cutest and friendliest, although the Halloween black cat is viewed as a symbol of bad luck. So sad this time of year many black cats are left abandoned. It goes back to centuries of superstition that black cats are magical and many superstitious people believed they're are the familiars of witches. This means people thought black cats are not natural but are witches and demons in disguise. 

Our view on this: Black cats are awesome. They'll get rid of vermin in your house. Black cats don't fear creepy crawlies either. These cats are guardians of the home and they can protect people from evil spirits. Stop being cruel to cats and give them a decent loving home. They're a blessing. Once upon a time, cats were favourites and worshipped in ancient Egypt. The goddess Freyja loves cats. 

Spiders, the one thing I fear the most while sat down with tea and a book, when a spider scurries along the floor and gives me the shock of my life. I honestly have arachnophobia, mainly because I grew up in a household with a warm conservatory, greenhouse and second bathroom, which attracted great big spiders! I understand why spiders are a Halloween beastie. 

Shadow Girl's view: Spiders are more afraid of you than you are afraid of them. You're size compared to a spider is enormous. You're the size of a mountain and a spider regards you as a giant. Without spiders, there would be much more terrible bugs infesting everywhere causing problems such as disease and famine. Spiders are a very important part of nature as it's part of the stable food chain.

Wolves are often associated with Halloween and night time. Mainly the full moon itself, and Autumn season is when it gets darker so nights are longer, bringing with it fears of the wilderness outside. In centuries passed, people even in the British Isles hid indoors because packs of wolves used to howl. This terrifies people even now. And not forgetting werewolves that are supernatural creatures associated with the full moon, and these are always connected to Halloween.

Our view: Wolves are much more active during Autumn season because of their prey having certain migration changes. This is when wolf pups have grown bigger and joining the adults for hunting. It's when wolves are out preparing for winter. 

Ravens are very much associated with Halloween. Most ravens as well as crows are believed to be bad luck omens, connected to magic and death. Often portrayed as being in graveyards, beside skulls and ghosts, this imagery of them is because of superstition and folklore. 

Our view: Ravens and crows are very intelligent and they have good memory. These are scavengers and they eat carrion. Plenty of gothic works of fiction made about ravens and crows link them with the supernatural. They can recognise individual people and they remember who was nice to them. Ravens are also able to be trained to speak. We love these birds.

Bats are so Halloween and many believe these are vampires turned into bats. It's believed that they're blood drinkers and some still think bats are blind. Associated with vampires and also the night. Bats are often out at night, which superstitious people believe connects them to vampires. 

Our view: Bats are nocturnal creatures and active only at night. During Samhain and Bonfire night, the fires attracted insects that also drew in bats who hunt them. Many bats are mostly active during autumn months when they prepare for their winter hibernation. European explorers in South America stumbled upon vampire bats who fed on blood of animals. The majority of bat species are insectivores and herbivores who mostly eat fruit.   

Storm Valkyrie and Shadow Girl