The Threshold Between Worlds Continued: Why October Feels Haunted
October has always carried an otherworldly weight. The air sharpens, the light shifts, and even the quietest nights seem to hum with unseen presences. It’s no wonder we call this season haunted—for October is the month when the veil between worlds thins, and we are invited to walk that liminal edge between the living and the dead.
The Liminal Season
October is a threshold. It does not belong wholly to summer or to winter but rests in that mysterious in-between space. The days shorten, twilight lingers longer, and fog rolls in to soften the edges of the world. These natural rhythms create the sense of standing on a doorway—half here, half elsewhere. Writers, mystics, and dreamers have always found inspiration in these thresholds, for they are the moments when anything feels possible.
Ancestors In The Shadows
Many cultures believe that October is when the spirits of our ancestors draw closer. The harvest is complete, the earth grows quiet, and the veil thins enough to allow whispers from beyond to slip through. Through Celtic traditions, my ancestors honored Samhain as a sacred time to remember the dead and to keep the hearth fire burning as a guide for wandering souls. Even today, the flicker of a candle in a window or a pumpkin glowing on a porch feels like more than decoration—it is a beacon.
Why We Feel The Presence
October stirs something primal in us. The lengthening shadows remind us of mortality, while the rustle of leaves across empty streets can sound like footsteps that don’t belong to the living. Haunted houses, ghost stories, and Halloween traditions may seem like playful entertainments, but they reflect a deeper truth: we know we are not alone. Whether it’s the echo of a loved one gone or the impression of lives that walked these roads long before us, October heightens our awareness of unseen company.
Embracing The Haunted Beauty
Feeling haunted does not have to mean feeling afraid. October’s ghosts are often reminders—of memory, of connection, of continuity. To feel the brush of something beyond is to recognize that life does not end, it only changes form. Lighting candles, telling stories, visiting graveyards, or simply listening to the silence of a foggy night can become rituals of reverence, honoring those who walk with us unseen.
Closing Reflection
October feels haunted because it is. Not in the sense of endless fear, but in the way it carries echoes of every October before, every ancestor who has lived and died, every story that lingers in the earth. The veil between worlds does not separate us completely—it only softens, reminding us that love, memory, and presence cannot be bound by time.
So when you step outside on an October evening and feel that familiar shiver down your spine, know this: the haunted beauty of the season is not here to scare you away. It’s here to remind you that you are part of something timeless, walking both with the living and the spirits of those who came before.
By Candlelight,
HN Staples
“October is not just a season—it is a doorway, and the veil reminds us we are never truly alone.”
-HN Staples
