Parents urged: Shun terrifying Halloween costumes for kids

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – A parish priest who has been performing exorcism is asking parents to avoid “attracting evil spirits” by not letting their children don scary Halloween costumes.

“I had once exorcised a girl from Barangay San Matias in San Fernando town for being possessed by the devil after donning a black lady costume for trick or treat,” Fr. Marius Roque said yesterday.

Roque said “negative images” such as terrifying costumes usually worn on Halloween “welcome the presence of Satan.”

While Roque has been performing exorcism for four years now, he was designated official exorcist of the Archdiocese of San Fernando by Archbishop Florentino Lavarias six months ago.

Halloween is not supposed to be horrific since the word comes from hallowed, which means holy, according to Roque.

Exorcism is a Catholic practice of expelling evil spirits from a possessed person or tortured soul with prayers.

Roque advised parents not to turn their children into horrible creatures such as vampires, zombies and witches.

“If your children are good-looking in your eyes, why make them look horrifying?” he said. “Evil spirits are attracted to children,” he added.

Roque said parishes all over the country are discouraging scary Halloween costumes and parties for children, adding these “contradict the sensibilities of the Catholic church.”

He also urged Filipinos to pray for their departed relatives and visit their tombs on All Saints’ Day.

The priest also discouraged ghost hunting in supposedly haunted places.

Roque cited the case of a female teenager who was brought to him for exorcism after she went ghost hunting with friends at an abandoned hospital in this former US military base.

He said that it normally takes three sessions of exorcism rites to free a possessed person from evil spirits.