I have a confession. I am scared of the dark. Not just scared - I HATE the dark. I can’t fathom how anyone can sleep in total blackness. Just the thought of it gives me heart palpitations!

Isn’t it funny the things that carry over from our childhood into our adult lives? I don’t ever remember a time when I didn’t sleep with a light on, which makes me wonder if one of my parents was also scared of the dark so left lights on for us kids. Either way, I’m a fraidy cat.

Therefore, as you may have guessed, this is not necessarily my favorite time of year. Oh I love the season! Just not the holiday associated with it. The dark, scary, holiday.

According to history.com, the tradition of Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated Nov. 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes, and eating treats.

This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of Oct. 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

So for those who see things through a more spiritual lens, like me, the celebration of Halloween is frightening on multiple levels. And while I basically may be scared of my own shadow, I used to love celebrating Halloween. Like most kids, I dressed up in costumes and made my way from one end of the small town I grew up in to the other, collecting a bag heaping full of goodies.

When I got a little older and it was no longer socially acceptable to beg for candy, I turned my sights to mischief - mostly harmless. Dumping over trash cans, spreading toiled paper, moving things around in people’s yards…that sort of thing. Hey, I never claimed to be an angel!

Then came my 20s, when I dressed up my own kids and sent them on their merry candy-collecting way. Meanwhile, I enjoyed dressing in costume and attending more “adult” celebratory get-togethers.

In my mid 30s, my life radically changed. I am not going to get into all the details here, but let’s just say I began to see things from an entirely new perspective. The big rubber spiders, fake webs, witch hats, and possessed-looking pumpkins were no longer decorating my home.

I still have plenty of friends and family members who enjoy dressing up, or even worse, going to haunted houses. That is their choice. But nowadays I prefer to sit in my home on Halloween night in front of my fake fireplace, sipping hot tea under my blanket while watching a Hallmark movie.

With a light on, of course.