From South Korea stampede to death of Harry Houdini, worst tragedies that happened during Halloween season

Youngsters in South Korea's Seoul had flocked to party place Itaewon on Saturday, October 29, to celebrate Halloween dressed as their spooky favourite. This Halloween season was special, as celebrations had resumed after nearly 2 years of Covid restrictions. 

However, little did the revelers know, it was going to turn into a real horror show. 

Over 150 people have died and several injured in Saturday's Halloween stampede in Seoul. South Korea has declared a period of national mourning as grief-stricken friends and family members of the victims ask questions about why the tragedy took place. 

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT – At least 149 people, mostly teenagers and young adults in their 20s, were killed in South Korea when a crowd celebrating Halloween surged into an alley in a night-life area of Seoul https://t.co/ZBB3cKhxO5 pic.twitter.com/evlVibGuUw

— Reuters (@Reuters) October 29, 2022

Victims were either crushed to death under a pile of people or suffocated to death in massively crowded narrow alleyways in Itaewon. 

The tragedy coming on the year's spooky celebration adds a layer of eeriness and darkness to it. Halloween is mostly a western celebration that started as a festival to ward off spirits. At this time, it is believed that the spirits of the dead return to their home, and people usually dress up as spooky beings to ward off the spirits. 

It is officially celebrated on October 31.

Horrifying incidents taking place around this season have an aura of eeriness to them. Here are some incidents that took place on Halloween:

1. Harry Houdini's death: Did you know that famed illusionist Harry Houdini died under mysterious circumstances in 1926 on Halloween? Houdini died after suffering from a ruptured appendix, however, conspiracy theories and doubts still surround his death. 

2. Dad kills son while trick or treating: Trick or treating is a Halloween staple for children, who go door-to-door collecting candies. However, in 1974, 8-year-old Timothy O-Bryan in Texas, US was killed after eating poisoned candy. The murderer was none other than his own father who wanted to cash in on his son's life insurance. 

3. Serial Killer predicts Halloween double murder: You must have heard of the American serial killer David Berkowitz, also known as the "Son of Sam" thanks to Netflix. Berkowitz was in prison when he predicted a murder that was to happen on Halloween on 1981. Nobody paid any attention then, but on D-day, 39-year-old Ronald Sisman and 20-year-old Elizabeth Platzman were beaten and shot to death in their Manhattan home. Berkowitz had claimed a cult carrying out the massacre and had also described the apartment layout.

4. Decorating with corpses: Halloween decorations are a competition in the West, with neighbours trying to outdo each other. In 2005, residents of Delaware were stunned to see one of their neighbours decorating a nearby tree with a very real-looking dead human body. Soon, the residents realised that it was not decoration, but a real dead body hanging from the tree.  

5. Funeral home disaster: Visiting funeral homes on Halloween needs extra courage. In 2011, a Halloween party at a funeral home in Michigan almost turned into a graveyard unexpectedly when the building's elevator broke down. The elevator's cable snapped and sent the box plummeting over ten feet from first floor to the basement. Fortunately, no one died or received any life-threatening injuries.