Todayis Halloween and that sparks images of scary Halloween animals. Several animals are associated with Halloween including bats, black cats, crows, spiders and owls.
But do these so called scary Halloween animals really deserve that moniker? Why are these animals in the spotlight as the stars of this spooky, yet fun holiday where people dress up in costume, kids go door to door for candy, and dress up as scary things like ghost, zombies, etc.?
Bats are tops amongst scary Halloween animals
Bats are at the top of the list of animals associated with Halloween.
There are 1,000s kinds of bats, from the common brown bat to the toothy vampire bat. Bats are nocturnal, which make them perfect to scare people on Halloween, a holiday associated with darkness and things that go bump in the night.
Actually, bats are very useful and help to control pests by eating thousands of bugs like mosquitoes every hour on their nightly patrols. Even the vampire bat is just trying to survive and mainly feeds off other animals and rarely bothers humans, and they only take a few drops.
Black Cats: Bad luck or just superstitious nonsense?
Black cats are another animal associated with Halloween. Cats have been both loved and hated for centuries, especially black cats, which were thought of as witches’ familiars.
Black cats are no different from other cats except for their color, but sadly are among the last to get adopted and the first to get killed in animal shelters.
Crows and Owls: Birds of the Night
Some consider both crows and owls scary Halloween animals and part of the necessary party decorations. Crows are considered by some to be a bad omen that means death is near.
In fact, a group of crows is even known as a murder! The truth is that crows are very intelligent and social birds. They mate for life and do things like use tools, recognize faces and can even be taught to count or use tools.
Owls are creepy due to their huge eyes, terrifying screech, rhythmic hooting, and their ability to turn their head almost all the way around.
They are nocturnal and seem scary when they silently swoop down looking for prey, but they only eat small animals like mice or rats and don’t normally attack people.
Spiders creep out Halloween followers
Then there are the creepy, crawly eight-legged creatures called spiders. They aren’t cuddly, and they build sticky webs that can really ruin your day if you run into one. Yes, some are poisonous and dangerous like the Black Widow or the Brown Recluse, but most are harmless to people, and are very good at helping us to get rid of pests like bugs, flies, etc.
So, have a happy and safe celebration. Whether than worry about scary Halloween animals, you should worry more about getting a tummy ache from all that candy or ending up with a hangover from too many libations!