Bran Castle in Bran, Brașov, Romania Oct 31, 2025

Bran Castle in Bran, Brașov, Romania

Centuries ago, in parts of ancient Europe, the night marking the end of the harvest and beginning of winter was feared as a time when the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped. Communities lit fires to keep wandering spirits at bay, believing that on this night the boundary between the two faded. These rituals gave rise to Halloween, echoing in legends around Bran Castle.

© blue sky in my pocket/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Whos in this creepy copse?
Oct 31, 2023Füzér Castle in the Zemplén Mountains, Hungary
Oct 31, 2024Happy Diwali!

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jun 20, 2026Arched iceberg, western Antarctic Peninsula, Southern Ocean
A true symbol of heritage and royalty
Mar 14, 2026Celebrating Pi Day
Aug 1, 2024Floating fruit market, Kaptai Lake, Rangamati, Bangladesh
Where did you drop the fish, son?
Aug 26, 2024Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Let there be lights!
In the tropics, land greets sea warmly
Aug 16, 2024Roller coaster in Nagashima Spa Land, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Where can you find this cute creature?
The world’s greatest oasis?
Straight out of a fairytale
Apr 20, 2026Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah, United States
Festival fever
A bevy of buzzers
Feb 4, 2025Golden Bridge, Bà Nà Hills, Da Nang, Vietnam
A gorge-ous place to drop in
Nov 5, 2024Ranakpur Jain temple, Ranakpur, Rajasthan
Aug 9, 2025Raksha Bandhan
Feb 6, 2024Lake Tahoe, Nevada
May 31, 2026Highway through Xitai Jinaier Lake, Qinghai Province, China
Jun 7, 2024World Oceans Day
Mar 1, 2026African elephants in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Jul 2, 2025Spine-cheeked anemonefish
Jun 19, 2024Reticulated giraffe mother greeting calf in Kenya
Dare to delve into this dense swamp
Jun 30, 2024Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Dec 7, 2024Orchha Fort complex, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh
Apr 17, 2026International Bat Appreciation Day
Bungle beehives