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People used to believe that the blood of the freshly executed was a health tonic and would pay executioners a little money to let them drink it warm.
That’s the kind of chilling tidbit you can expect from The Amazing Spooky Facts Jack-o’-Lantern—a special YouTube video from Mental Floss filled with seasonally appropriate facts backed by gently eerie songs that will set the mood for any Halloween party, séance, witchy ritual, demon summoning, pumpkin-carving extravaganza, etc. (Speaking of séances, Les Misérables author Victor Hugo conducted a fair share of his own, even claiming to have hobnobbed with the likes of William Shakespeare and Joan of Arc.)
As all good Amazing Spooky Facts Jack-o’-Lanterns are known to do, ours features a handful of grave-centric offerings, from the truth about Bela Lugosi’s burial garb (a not-so-subtle nod to Dracula) to the fact that cemeteries were once popular spots for picnics.
And not every detail is macabre; plenty are quite quaint. After It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown premiered in 1966, for example, Charles Schulz’s office was inundated with candy sent by kids who were upset that Charlie Brown’s Halloween haul was just rocks.
Press play below to learn all 55 facts—and happy Halloween from Mental Floss!
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