The Tactics of Satan: Darkness Dressed Up as Fun (Halloween Edition)
Why the enemy wants the world to celebrate on October 31, and how believers can shine light into it.
To win a battle, you need to know your enemy. More importantly, you need to know your enemy's tactics. In this series we've looked at several of them, from temptation to fear and doubt to the way culture renames sin until it sounds normal. This time we're looking at a tactic that shows up every year, right on schedule.
Every October, stores fill up with skeletons, witches, tombstones, and demons. Neighborhoods hang fake bodies from trees. All of it is wrapped in a bright orange bow and sold as a fun night for the kids.
That's the tactic. Take something with a dark history, put a costume on it, hand out candy, and call it harmless. When you stop and look at where Halloween came from, you won't find anything godly in its history.
Honestly, I believe Halloween is the devil's holiday, and I don't say that lightly. However, knowing it's the devil's night doesn't mean God's people have to hide from it. It means we know exactly where the light is needed most.
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Where Halloween Really Came From
Halloween's roots go back more than two thousand years to Samhain (pronounced SOW-in), a festival of the ancient Celts that marked the end of the harvest and the start of the dark winter. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31, the line between the living and the dead grew thin, and the spirits of the dead walked the earth. Their priests, the Druids, lit bonfires and offered sacrifices, and people wore costumes, which many historians connect to the belief that disguises protected them from the spirits.
In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in Rome to all the saints on November 1, and the day eventually spread through the Church as All Saints' Day, or All Hallows. The night before became All Hallows' Eve, later shortened to Halloween. But a new name didn't erase the old customs. The bonfires, the costumes, and the focus on the dead carried right on.
Even the jack-o'-lantern comes out of a story about the devil. An old Irish legend tells of Stingy Jack, who tricked the devil more than once. When Jack died, God wouldn't allow him into heaven and the devil wouldn't take him either, so he wandered the night with a burning coal inside a carved-out turnip. People in Ireland and Scotland carved frightening faces into turnips to scare away Jack and other spirits, and when they came to America, pumpkins took the turnip's place. Today Halloween is big business, with Americans projected to spend a record $13.5 billion on it this year.
Even today, the darkness hasn't forgotten whose night it is. Many who practice witchcraft still keep Samhain as one of the most important nights of their year. The Church of Satan, founded by Anton LaVey in 1966, still names Halloween as one of its two most important holidays, second only to a member's own birthday.
When an organization bearing Satan's name openly embraces Halloween as a celebration of darkness, I believe Christians should pay attention.
Why the Devil Wants the World to Celebrate
Paul told the Corinthians to stay alert to the enemy's schemes, “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11). So let's not be ignorant. The first thing the enemy does when the world celebrates his night is make darkness look harmless.
Satan has never shown up announcing who he is: “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14)
A cartoon witch on a candy bag doesn't look dangerous, and that's exactly the point. When darkness is made cute, people stop recognizing it as darkness altogether. Isaiah warned about this kind of reversal:
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)
(Isaiah 5:20 is one of six woes in that chapter, and I walk through all of them in The Six Woes of Isaiah Chapter Five. Click here to read about it.)
On a night built around candy, Halloween puts sweet on top of bitter, and most people never taste the difference.
Satan is interested in the children. This is the part that troubles me most. Halloween isn't marketed to witches. It's marketed to our kids. Little ones learn to dress as witches, ghosts, demons, and the dead, and they are taught that it's all just for fun. But God told His people plainly that witchcraft, sorcery, mediums, and anyone who calls up the dead were an abomination to Him in Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
In Proverbs 22:6 we read: “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” The principle here is clear: what we teach our children matters more than we think, and the influences we allow into their lives can shape the way they view the world for years to come. You see, if the enemy can teach a child that darkness is fun, he doesn't have to argue with that child as an adult.
Another thing Satan does is turn fear into entertainment. Haunted houses and horror movies invite people to be scared for fun. Fear is one of his oldest weapons that he uses as a form of control. (I wrote about it in The Tactics of Satan: Fear & Doubt).
The spirit of fear that keeps us from living boldly for Christ does not come from God. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
The enemy wants to keep Christians either hiding or sleeping. If believers are frightened of October 31, they lock the doors and turn off the lights. If they're not paying attention, they join in without a second thought. Either way, the light stays off on the one night the whole neighborhood comes to the door. But Peter tells us to stay awake: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
Darkness Has Never Been God's Equal
The enemy wants us to believe his one night is powerful. It isn't.
When darkness covered the face of the deep, God spoke one sentence: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). There was no battle and no struggle.
The truth is, darkness isn't a rival standing toe to toe with God. It's simply what's left when light is absent.
“And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:5)
We Don't Celebrate the Darkness. We Shine Into It.
Scripture tells us what followers of Christ should never do: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)
Notice Paul doesn't say hide from the darkness. He says expose it. And the best way to expose darkness is to turn on the light. Jesus said:
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
(I wrote more about this in Celebrating Evil: What Your Actions Reveal About Your Heart.)
Halloween is the one night of the year when your neighbors walk right up to your door. Don't hide. Shine the light of Christ. Here are a few simple ways to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21):
Keep your porch light on and make it the warmest porch on the street, without the tombstones and skeletons.
Tuck a small card in with the treats that says “Jesus loves you” or shares a short verse like John 8:12.
Pray for every child and family who walks up your driveway, by name if you know them.
Learn the names of the neighbors you only see once a year, and follow up with them in November.
If you're not home handing out candy, spend part of the evening praying over your neighborhood.
A Defeated Enemy in a Costume
The darkest hours in human history unfolded as Jesus hung upon the cross, when darkness covered all the land from the sixth hour until the ninth (Matthew 27:45). Yet three days later, the tomb was empty. What appeared to be Satan's greatest victory was actually his greatest defeat. Paul describes what really happened at the cross: “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:15)
The enemy wasn't just defeated. He was disarmed and put on display. The darkness the world celebrates every October is a defeated enemy wearing a costume. And the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in every believer (Romans 8:11). Don't walk into October 31 with any fear. Walk into it knowing who is greater: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
Questions to Think About This Week
Have I treated Halloween as a harmless celebration without ever asking where it came from?
What are the children in my life learning about darkness from the way my home handles October 31?
How can I shine the light of Christ in my neighborhood this week, and in the weeks after?
Final Thoughts
The enemy has spent centuries dressing up his one night to look like fun, and he's very good at it. The good news is that we are not ignorant of his devices. We can call the darkness what it is without being afraid of it, because the One who lives in us has already won.
So don't hide on October 31, and don't celebrate it either. Shine into it, and let the light of Jesus be what your neighbors remember long after the candy is gone.
A Prayer for Halloween
Lord Jesus,
You are the Light of the world, and no darkness can stand against You. Give me eyes to see the enemy's tactics for what they are, even when they're dressed up to look harmless.
Protect the children in my family and my neighborhood, and keep me from fear. Help me shine for You this week, and use even small acts of kindness to point people to You.
Thank You that the enemy is already defeated and that the One who lives in me is greater.
In Your name I pray, Amen.
If this season feels heavier than you expected, or you sense the enemy pressing in, my free guide How to Pray Under Spiritual Attack walks you through how to pray when the battle feels close. Get it here.
Blessings,
Amy
P.S. If you'd like to wear the message this week, my Life Is Scary Without Jesus long sleeve tee pairs a little Halloween humor with Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It's the kind of shirt that starts a conversation, and that's the whole point.
