Halloween Whys?

Halloween....I have never fully understood this holiday. When I was a kid I went to a private school, where we were taught that Halloween was Satan's birthday and that if we trick or treated we were worshiping the Devil. Of course my parents disagreed because, it is definitely not true. Every year we got dressed up and went door to door with our friends from the neighborhood. We were never allowed to dress up as witches, or goblins, or anything gross looking but, I think we always had the best costumes. I was Pippi Longstocking, a ladybug, Mrs.Clause, a jellyfish. etc. We always had more fun I believe getting ready for Halloween than actually celebrating Halloween itself, with all the pumpkin carving and hot chocolate drinking it was one of the greatest things of my childhood. But even after all of that I still had to go to school and listen to all my teachers and friends telling me how evil it was to celebrate this day of candy gathering.

Once I turned 13 or 14 I moved onto the teenager side of Halloween. Which I found I don't much enjoy. Yes the bonfires and hanging out part was all fine and dandy. The part that has not thrilled me or should I say thrilled me to much? This is the part of Halloween that I honestly just do not understand! Why would we go to a haunted house just to scare ourselves?! Why would we watch the scariest movies ever just to get nightmares?! Why?!?! I knew a girl a couple years ago, who around this time of year would get super duper skittish. Every little sound would make her jump and she would hardly ever go outside in the dark because, she was scared to death of "something" outside. I have never ever understood this whole lets go scare ourselves to death thing! If somebody has a good explanation of this whole thing I would gladly listen! I just want to know why the heck you would do that to yourself?!

The last thing that I don't understand about Halloween is why do some people just completely trash there yards for Halloween? Like I understand I few decorations, I'm talking about the people who cover every single living bush and tree with "spider webs" and orange and purple Christmas lights. Their yard is full of the blow up ghosts and goblins, and zombies and tombstones put throughout the front lawn. Don't you think that may be a bit over excessive?! Just a little bit?

Again if anyone has any explanations to these phenomenons please I would love to hear them, because I am either one confused person or one boring person who just doesn't want to have to go around being scared to death about taking a walk at night or in the woods. Give me the candy, and the pumpkin carving, and the hot cocoa, and the costumes. But lets just leave out the rest. Nothing in me wants to make myself scared about something not worth being scared about!