WEBVTT 00:00.013 --> 00:04.626 Halloween—Party Fun or Satanism? 00:04.626 --> 00:11.360 Halloween—an occasion for many children, teenagers, and adults to celebrate a spooky yet fun horror party. 00:11.360 --> 00:17.083 It's the day when children roam the streets, pretending to be evil spirits, and go from door to door 00:17.083 --> 00:20.433 asking for candy with phrases like, "Trick or treat!" 00:20.433 --> 00:25.920 Anyone who doesn't hand over what's demanded can expect to be met with insults or vandalism. 00:25.920 --> 00:33.283 At horror parties, adults dress up with slit throats and similar effects, and stores sell a wide variety of party 00:33.283 --> 00:37.606 gimmicks, such as “zombie snacks: brains and liquid blood.” 00:37.606 --> 00:43.043 At horror parties, people eat “chopped-off finger sausages,” and experimenting with occult practices—such as 00:43.043 --> 00:49.696 consulting oracles, tarot cards, or pendulums—is becoming increasingly popular, and not just at these events. 00:49.696 --> 00:55.600 But what are the origins of this bloody festival full of creepy faces and terrifying figures? 00:55.600 --> 01:04.512 And could treating these occult or eerie customs too lightly possibly be harmful, and where might that ultimately lead? 01:04.512 --> 01:09.280 These questions are usually not asked—or are dismissed as a killjoy. 01:09.280 --> 01:15.387 As for the origins of Halloween, the prevailing view is that the rituals observed on 01:15.387 --> 01:19.424 October 31 can be traced back to a Celtic tradition. 01:19.424 --> 01:25.248 It is said that druids sacrificed humans on this day to honor their god of the dead, “Samhain.” 01:25.248 --> 01:31.816 The custom was brought from the British Isles to the U.S. East Coast in the 19th century and 01:31.816 --> 01:35.424 later made its way back to Europe from there. 01:35.424 --> 01:41.280 It developed at a rapid pace and underwent a variety of transformations over time. 01:41.280 --> 01:48.806 There is no definitive historical evidence of a continuous evolution from Celtic customs to modern Halloween traditions. 01:48.806 --> 01:54.820 What can be substantiated, however, are the clear connections to Satanism, whose sacrificial 01:54.820 --> 01:58.944 rituals have been taking place in secret for millennia. 01:58.944 --> 02:08.256 Anton Szandor LaVey, the founder and high priest of the “Church of Satan” in the United States, also confirmed this connection. 02:08.256 --> 02:15.072 LaVey claimed to have been the first to define and organize modern Satanism. 02:15.072 --> 02:23.822 In 1969, he wrote *The Satanic Bible*, which states, among other things, that October 31—the eve of All Saints' Day—is 02:23.822 --> 02:28.293 considered one of the most important holidays in Satanism. 02:28.293 --> 02:34.632 Jack Roper, a researcher on the occult, notes: "...the time of year when the highest rate of 02:34.632 --> 02:38.693 satanic-occult ritual crimes occurs is Halloween." 02:38.693 --> 02:45.888 One person who knows from personal experience the reality of magic, witchcraft, and Satanism—as well as 02:45.888 --> 02:50.080 the Halloween cult and its effects—is John Ramirez. 02:50.080 --> 02:55.200 Ramirez grew up in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in a family of Satanists. 02:55.200 --> 03:00.104 Be sure to watch our program on this topic: “Escaping Hell—John Ramirez, Former Satanist,” 03:00.104 --> 03:03.006 which we’ll be rebroadcasting right after this. 03:03.006 --> 03:06.780 Today, he is explicitly warning people about Halloween: 03:08.900 --> 03:13.200 “I wish I could say that it was all just harmless fun. 03:13.200 --> 03:17.312 That there is nothing real behind ghosts, demons, and the devil. 03:17.312 --> 03:19.880 But I can't do that. 03:19.880 --> 03:24.820 I have had experiences with dark forces that I must warn others about. 03:24.820 --> 03:30.560 That's why I can't pretend that Halloween is just a harmless spooky holiday. 03:30.560 --> 03:34.273 Many people don't believe that the devil really exists. 03:34.273 --> 03:37.920 But unfortunately, my experience has been different. 03:37.920 --> 03:43.026 Satan is real, and his power is destructive. 03:43.026 --> 03:52.706 Among Satanists and in witch circles, Halloween remains the most important holiday—a celebration of horror and death. (…) 03:52.706 --> 03:59.020 It's a sad fact that most children go missing at this time of year. 03:59.020 --> 04:05.480 (…) And yet everyone acts as if Halloween were a fun, harmless costume party. 04:05.480 --> 04:09.856 The devil loves Halloween—I used to know that very well. 04:09.856 --> 04:14.966 Because people turn to him on that day with complete innocence and naivety. 04:14.966 --> 04:18.944 In a playful way, they open themselves up to ghosts and demons. 04:18.944 --> 04:22.266 But you can't mess with the dark forces. 04:22.266 --> 04:32.000 "Believe me, as a voodoo priest, Halloween was a spiritual highlight, and I was fully immersed in it." 04:32.000 --> 04:38.634 According to this, the Halloween tradition would not just be a fad of our event-driven society, nor merely a commercial 04:38.634 --> 04:45.504 ploy sandwiched between summer sales and Christmas merchandise, but a day on which genuinely cruel acts are carried out. 04:45.504 --> 04:50.588 It is true that on Halloween, children wander the streets unsuspectingly dressed as demons, and 04:50.588 --> 04:56.320 teenagers unwittingly have their first experiences with occult practices such as consulting spirits. 04:56.320 --> 05:01.993 Even adults naively put themselves in the path of dark forces through their wild parties. 05:01.993 --> 05:09.792 But at the same time, satanic occult ritual crimes are being committed elsewhere within occult and elitist networks. 05:09.792 --> 05:19.836 Numerous testimonies from victims and former members—such as the Dutch banker Ronald Bernard—have since confirmed the practice 05:19.836 --> 05:24.946 of ritual violence, torture, infanticide, and cannibalism. 05:24.946 --> 05:29.982 Now, let everyone decide for themselves whether they want to continue believing that 05:29.982 --> 05:32.920 Halloween is completely harmless—or perhaps not.