D Is For The Devil

And Dracula.

Really, D is for both of them.

I didn't want to make a decision on which one to write about because both are such heavy hitters when it comes to Halloween. These are probably the two most common Halloween costumes. At least they were when I was a child. Now I bet kids are dressing up like Kim Kardashian and that dude from the Jersey Shore. The one who can't keep his shirt down.

To be honest, they frighten me more than the devil and Dracula combined. Chances are they'd be more effective in driving evil spirits away anyhow.

These two have been battling it out for years to sit at the head of the spooktacular table. Little do they know, witches won the fight years ago. That's right. Witches are the bosses, the top dogs of terror - Halloween is their night to shine. It makes sense, really. There are more girls in the world than boys and every single little girl goes as a witch at one point or another.

Isn't it interesting that the main choices for girls when it comes to costumes is a witch or a princess. Doesn't that speak volumes?

That's getting off topic.

One of the things I love about the Devil is...Actually, I don't really have anything to add. I just wanted to start a sentence like that. Whenever I think about the Devil, images of horns, a tail and pencil thin moustaches comes to mind. When did Lucifer get this crimson persona? I mean, it makes sense that he is the Captain of the Occult and Halloween's head-honcho, after all he is the personification of evil, according to several religions, but when did he start wearing a cape? Why does he wield a pitchfork?

I mean, I know in religious readings such as Christianity he was a fallen angel and took the form of man. There are no horns and tails and pitchforks in those tellings. When it comes to paganism, I know the devil often comes from representations of the god Pan, who was often portrayed as a goat man, or horned god. But what's with the red? Is that simply because Lucifer is supposed to guard the gates of Hell, which is all about brimstone and fire,

Still doesn't explain the pitchfork. Unless it's what he uses to stoke the fires of Hell.

This, of course, is all just ramblings from my head.

Now, unlike the Devil, Dracula is more cut and dry. He makes more sense. Not so much mystery surrounding him. The Count first made his literary appearance in Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1897, but where did he come from? People believe he is based off Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, who was posthumously named Vlad The Impaler. His patronymic name was Dracula. This name was connected to vampirism by Bram Stoker and it is speculated that he found the name in a book about the Wallachia history. Regardless of where the name came from, Dracula is one of the most famous characters in pop culture and has been portrayed in a vast array of films and television shows. Of course, Bela Lugosi will go down in history as the most popular of these depictions.

So, there you have it. Two of Halloween's bigwigs fighting it out for the 'D' slot in this months A-Z Blogging Challenge. See you tomorrow!