T'Was The Night Of Samhain

A young boy watches the clock tick until it strike midnight. This young boy lost the person he cared the most, his elder sister. Tonight, when the clock strike midnight, and Samhain is upon the village, he will finally have the answer to his lifelong question.

This is the backstory of an Original Character of mine called Gabzryel David Summerfield, from my novel trilogy, The Shadow Paradigm.

I wrote this after seeing an Halloween marathon, filled with gory movies. I don't know what is the fascination with the modern and violent way of seeing Halloween; few seem to remember the original meaning of Halloween. For those familiar with Celtic folklore, Halloween, or Samhain, was the day when the veil between our world and the spirit worlds opened, and the spirit of those who died could once more walk upon the land that they used to know.

I was always fascinated by this Celtic's belief; I found it bittersweet that spirits could, for one day each year, visit their families and give them a sign that everything was allright in the spirit world. Of course, there were a few evil spirits, but nothing like the modern world spread as the norm. There were no evil Leprechauns, or Gremlins, or Halloween creatures. Just dead members of families who crossed the veil to visit their family and say "Hi!".

So, just to break the new tradition of Halloween stories, here is my take on the original meaning of the Samhain Holiday. And, of course, the explanation of one of the motives behind Gabzryel's eccentric life.