Oct. 31 is synonymous with “Trick or Treat,” but Halloween's origins have nothing to do with candy.

The word “Halloween” actually originated from the Catholic Church. It's another way of saying All Hallows Eve. Nov. 1 is “All Hallows Day” or “All Saints Day,” a day which honors the saints.

During the fifth century B.C., summer officially ended on Oct. 31. This holiday was called Samhain (pronounced sow-en), the Celtic New Year.

The story goes, that on that day the spirits of all those who had died in the past year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. The spirits believed it would be their only hope for the afterlife. The living did not want to be possessed, so on the night of Oct. 31, the villagers extinguished fires in their homes to make them cold and undesirable. They then dressed in ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood to scare away the spirits.

The Romans later adopted the Celtic practices as their own in the first century AD. Irish immigrants who fled their country brought the custom of Halloween to America in the 1840s. See http://wilstar.com/holidays/halloween.htm for more information.

“The fun thing about Halloween is that you can act silly, look different and not be made fun of because that is what Halloween is all about,” said Lisa Browning, a sophomore at Palo Alto.

This year, PAC Friends is coordinating its Fifth Annual Halloween Costume Contest. Janet Rangel, adviser of PAC Friends, said that they are hoping for at least 20 students to participate. This year's contest will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 31, at noon in the Cafeteria. Prizes, such as t-shirts, caps and movie tickets, will be awarded to the top three winners.

E-mail PAC_Friends@yahoo.com, call Rangel at 921-5313 or visit her in the New Counseling Center, Room 106, to enter.

For those who would rather be frightened, haunted houses are an option. Nightmare on Grayson is in its twelfth season. It features two haunted houses for $10. It's open Thursday through Sunday. Fridays and Saturdays it's open from 7:30 p.m. until midnight, on Thursdays and Sundays from 7:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m., and on Halloween from 7:30 p.m. until midnight. If you go in a group of ten or more people, it's $8 a person. Reservations need to be made in advance. For more information, call 299-1555. The haunted house is located at 201 East Grayson, across from the Pearl Brewery.

Another haunted house is Terror Mansion, which features 17 scary rooms. It's open Thursdays and Sundays from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 7:00 p.m. until midnight. Admission is $13. If you're in a group of ten or more, then the cost is $10. Reservations are not necessary. Terror Mansion is located at 414 W. Laurel, two blocks from San Antonio College.