Halloween 2026, and Q&A

Welcome to the Bible Answer Man broadcast with Christian Research Institute President Hank Hanegraaff. Our mission at CRI is not only to equip you with sound biblical teaching and spiritual discernment, but to help you become a winsome and fruitful witness of Jesus Christ. Because the credibility of our faith hinges on the answers we provide to life's biggest questions, there's often not a second chance to get those answers right.

To learn more or to find resources to help you grow in grace, call 888-7000-CRI. That's 888-7000-274. Or go to our website at equip.org. That's equip.org. The following program was pre-recorded. And now, here's Hank Hanegraaff.

Thank you very much, Randy. It's always good to be in the studio as we answer your questions throughout the United States and Canada today. I think it would be appropriate as we start the broadcast to talk a little bit about Halloween. The question always remains for Christians, how should we respond to Halloween?

Well, first, it's important to recognize that Halloween quite literally signifies Saints' Evening. That's far from merely secular. Halloween or Hallow's Eve is prelude to and preparation for the transcendently important Feast of All Saints Day. On this sacred holiday, or holy day, embodied saints around the world experientially engage that great cloud of witnesses who serve as exemplars in the race marked out for us. Apostolic fathers such as Ignatius of Antioch, who, upon approaching martyrdom, surrendered his body as the wheat of Christ, ground by the teeth of beasts to become pure bread. And not only that, saints who throughout history were persecuted because of righteousness, saints whose

inheritance is nothing short of the kingdom of heaven. Furthermore, it's instructive to note that in the early centuries of Christianity, the church observed the tandem of All Hallows' Eve and All Saints' Day on the Sunday following Pentecost. By the way, in evidence for that, we find reference to this sacred and satisfying observance in the 4th century writings of St.

Ephraim the Syrian, who is roundly remembered in the present for his brilliant commentary on Genesis, as well as St. John Chrysostom, renowned for the Divine Liturgy. Now, while Eastern Orthodoxy has perpetuated the celebration of All Saints' Day on the Sunday following Pentecost, Roman Catholics have altered their liturgical calendar, establishing the Triduum of All Hallows' Eve on October 31st, All Saints' Day on November 1st, and All Souls' Day on November 2nd, the latter inextricably woven together with the dogma of purgatory, an ecclesiastical innovation defined by the Council of Florence in 1439 and then defended, by the Council of Trent in the 16th century. Finally, while Halloween is rooted and grounded in sacramental spirituality, today, well, it is

largely secular, even pagan. And therefore, we should ask this question. How should a Christian respond? Should we participate, accommodate, or vigorously denounce modern iterations of Halloween? Well, in response to that question, we do well to remember the words of our Lord when He said, You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. And one way of doing that is to go back to when the church was young, to remember and to emulate the commitment of martyrs, saints, and confessors who are willing to stand for truth no matter the cost. Those who exemplify an experiential relationship with God that transcends all philosophical speculation.

And remember, even the skulls and the skeletons of modern-day Halloween festivities can be used as springboards or opportunities to share the truth in life that only Jesus affords humankind, not only now, but throughout eternity. Let's go right to the phone callers. First up is Frank. He's listening in Charleston, West Virginia. Hi, Frank.

Hi.

Thank you for having me on your show. I have a question. I had this dream last night. And in my dream, there was a, I guess I want to say a demon that was in my room. It like flew in my mouth and out of my mouth and just flying across the room. And, you know, I was quoting scriptures and you know, crying out to the Lord, rebuked the spirits. Okay, eventually the demon went away. But what got me is that when I woke up this morning, I had three holes in this t-shirt that I was wearing. Now, the t-shirt was braided, and this is the first time that I had ever worn it. But what I was going to say is that when I was in my younger years, I used to have these dreams. My dad was a pastor, and he always would tell me to

recite the Lord's Prayer or and that would work, and when it wouldn't work, I'd just take a Bible and put it up under my pillow. Is there anything that I can research? I know that we struggle not against flesh and blood, but what is it? How do you think these dreams, are they just dreams? Is it a trend?

Well, Frank, let me say that I cannot ferret out every single anecdote that people give me because I don't know all the circumstances. And while I certainly do not want to dispute your story, let me say that I can test your story. First of all, Demons are non-physical beings. They're non-corporeal. They don't have physical prowess. They can't bite you.

They can't scribble on your body. They can't put holes in a t-shirt because they're non-physical. They can tempt you. They can, as it were, sit on your shoulder and whisper into your ear. The whisper can't be heard with the physical ear, but it does penetrate the ear of the mind. And we don't really know how that kind of mind-to-mind communication works. I mean, even in an age of scientific enlightenment, we can't fully explain how a mind can cause the physical synapses of a brain to fire, but that they do is incontrovertible. So when it gets to spiritual warfare, we shouldn't invoke magical formulas. Rather, we should put on the full armor of God, which is precisely what we are instructed to do by the Apostle

Paul in Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 20. And the basic point here is that if you put on the full armor of God, you're invincible in spiritual warfare. If you do not, you're a, well, a guaranteed casualty. So we put on the full armor of God, and then we can withstand principalities and powers of darkness.

Okay, okay.

Well, that's comforting to know, because like I said, this has always bothered me. I'm like, well, the T-shirt thing was the first time that's ever happened, and when I see these demons, they just have a little form on them. There's no person that I could ever identify.

So I didn't know.

Well, remember that demons cannot take on physical form. They don't have creative prowess. Angels, by God's creative prowess, can take on physical form, but fallen angels cannot. So to see them is an aberration in and of itself. But look, what happens when you wake up from a dream is... powerful and potent in a lot of ways. I have woken up from dreams and could not tell the difference between my dream state and my awake state. I couldn't differentiate between the two. So if I was having a vivid dream that involved demonic beings or whatever, in my wake state I couldn't tell the difference whether it was real or not real, and you have to take that into consideration as well. And that's why I say Feelings

are notoriously unreliable.

We have to test them.

I gave an illustration the other day of fact and faith and feelings walking along a narrow ledge. Fact never stumbles, and faith, as long as it has its eyes on fact, likewise will never stumble. But the moment it turns around, and starts focusing on feelings, both faith and feelings fall off the ledge. They both stumble. So it's important to keep our eyes firmly facing facts. And that's why I say our faith is fact-based. It's not a blind faith.

It's faith in irrefutable evidence or fact.

Right, right.

Okay.

Well, I appreciate that. Like I said, it's had me kind of worried all day.

Well, and remember, feelings are notoriously unreliable. Subjective experiences are notoriously unreliable, and that's why you have to test them. And if you don't, you get into all kinds of difficulties. This is one of the reasons that God has left us His way. word so we can test all things. He's given us everything necessary for faith and practice. So the more you know the word of God, the better you can discern what's going on in your life. And of course, studying the Word of God is both an art and a science. It's a science in that certain rules apply. It's an art in that the more you apply the rules, the better you get at it. And so this is what we have to now take to the Word of God because it is the very thing

that sustains a believer in the midst of a trail of tears. We are coming to the station break. We'll be right back in just a few moments. Please don't touch that die.

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Copy, call 888-7000-CRI and make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's mind-shaping, life-changing outreaches. That's 888-7000-CRI. Or visit us online at equip.org. That's equip.org. Don't tune out. Hank Hanegraaff will be back with more right after this. The Complete Bible Answer Book Collector's Edition is the comprehensive collection of the most often asked questions Hank Hanegraaff has received throughout his four decades as host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast. With more than half a million copies already in print, this newly revised and expanded Collector's Edition Help seekers and skeptics alike sort through the truth on topics such as reliability of the Bible, religions and cults, the

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Once again, Here is Hank Hanegraaff.

Back to the phone lines. We'll talk to Lance next, listening in Lake Ozark, Missouri. Hi, Lance.

Hi, Hank.

My question is on ghosts and spirits and stuff like that. I was wondering about when Jesus said, look at me, I have a body. If I was a ghost, I wouldn't have a body. Why would he.

Mention that if they weren't real?

Well, look, in terms of ghosts and spirits, there is a difference. There are spirits. For example... fallen angel could be talked about in that sense. They're not material, but they are spirits that exist immaterially, but nonetheless in a very real sense. They may not be physical, but they are as real as the very flesh upon your bones in terms of the fact that they exist. There's a big difference between that and the spirits of those who have been called home or those who have died. there is no evidence whatsoever that the souls of the departed are going to be returning to this time-space continuum. The truth of the matter is the only time those spirits will return is when Christ appears a second time. He said,

all who are in the graves then will come out. Some will rise to live and some will rise to be condemned. And in that, he is talking about the spirit returning to the body and the body being resurrected Immortal, imperishable, incorruptible. So I would make three basic points in this regard. Souls of the departed are either comforted in the presence of God or in agony apart from his loving presence.

And we see many examples of that, including Luke chapter 16. The second point that I would make is ghosts are the stuff of superstition. And it is foolishness to feign communication with the dead in the guise of enlightening those who dwell in the land of the living. The third point that I would make, and I think this is a crucial point, it is that ghosts exist only in mythology, but demons are more happy to feed upon unbiblical delusions than one might imagine, and therefore this is a dangerous kind of a superstition to embrace. So again, there's a difference between a fallen angel and the soul of the departed coming back to haunt people. No evidence for that whatsoever, and ample evidence against it in Scripture.

Well, in Scripture in the Old Testament, he speaks of, you know, the king threw those out who could consult with the dead, that consult with the dead or familiar spirits.

Right, but that again is a superstition. That's the point. It is a superstition. So this is the very thing that.

Was there a demon spirit that came up and rose up and told him he would lose his kingdom now, you know, and lose his... that he was seeking knowledge of?

No, the Witch of Endor was a real witch, and that's why she's called the Witch of Endor. and she was involved in a narrative in which God sovereignly raised up Samuel. That raising up of Samuel was not by the witch, but in spite of the witch by God's sovereign power. Not only that, but this is a non-normative event, and I think you're wise to relate a bit of the context when you ask the question, because Saul was the first king of Israel. This was an epic event, as he lost the kingdom, and eventually, as you well know, David became king.

Yes.

Thank you so much for your call. Let's go back to the phone lines. Talk to Dalton, listening in Alberta, Canada. Hi, Dalton.

Hey, Hank. I have a friend who's a Wiccan witch, and I would like to know how to minister to her. I recently learned that she summoned demons, and I... starts to make things make a lot of sense. Now, what's your take on this?

Well, actually, what Wicca is, is a neo-pagan, earth-centered religion. And in this worldview, all reality is divine. And they have a supreme manifestation of deity as a nature goddess, called the triple goddess, or the moon. So they worship creation as opposed to what a Christian does, worship the creator.

They also have a reed. And that reed is, if it harms none, do as ye will. And that makes religious truth ultimately relative. So once again, it sets itself apart from a biblical worldview. It's also an esoteric occult practice that's designed to manipulate reality in concert with the Wiccan's will. So all of this has to do with what the Bible condemns as occult practices which are detestable to God. So the Wiccan worldview is not about killing animals, or making sacrifices, that has to do with Satanism. Wiccan is completely different from that, and a lot of people get the two confused.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure she hasn't been confused as well, because I believe that not only has she also told me that she has summoned demons as well, and I didn't ask how she did it, but I'm thinking that there's a lot of truth that I need to bring into this.

Yeah, and I've written about this in the Complete Bible Answer Book Collectors Edition, and the reason I wrote about it is Wicca has experienced dramatic growth of late as teens reject what they perceive as Christian paternalism, homophobia, insensitivity to the environment, and things like that. And so the stereotypes of Wiccans as Satanists, because it has grown so fast, has been part of The problem in that Christians in repelling it are dealing with a straw man as opposed to actually dealing with what Wicca teaches. So that's why I laid this out in a memorable format in the book I just mentioned.

Yes.

All right. So what do I do about the other part of this situation where she has summoned demons?

What's your take on that?

Well, I think what's important is to recognize that in the ultimate sense there are only two kinds of people. There are those who commit themselves to the Prince of Light or those who commit themselves to the Prince of Darkness. And so if you are a Satanist, if you are someone who worships Satan or summons Satan, then you're one who belongs to the realm of darkness. And the only way to expel the darkness is through light. And the antidote to spiritual warfare, making your stand against principalities and powers of darkness, is given to us in Ephesians 6, 10 through 20. I wrote a book on that called The Covering.

All right. Thank you very much, Hank.

Hey, you got it. Back to our phone callers. Next up is Larry, Long Beach, California. Hi, Larry.

Hey, Hank.

The question I had was, as far as demons, can they enter a believer? For example, if I go somewhere to someone's house and I pray for them, Do I have to worry about demons on my clothes, or can I bring stuff home with me? I've been hearing teaching on this, and I don't believe so, but I want to hear your perspective on it, and if you do have some scriptures.

It's really sad that people are actually teaching this kind of superstition that you have to worry about demons coming out of unbelievers and then attaching themselves to your clothing. We should never be worried about anything of the sort. In fact... Jesus uses the illustration of a house when he says, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Well, of course, in the case of a demon-possessed person, the strong man is obviously the devil.

But in a spirit-indwelt believer, the strong man is God. So the force of the argument by Jesus Christ leads inexorably to the conclusion that in order for demons to possess believers, they would first have to bind the one who occupies them. In other words, they'd have to bind God himself, perish the thought. If we're unoccupied by the Holy Spirit, we subject ourselves to the possibility of being inhabited by demons. But if we are occupied by the Holy Spirit, The devil finds no place in it. So the first scripture that I would use is the scripture whereby Jesus makes this very argument in Matthew chapter 12.

But there are other scriptures as well. I think of John chapter 8, where Jesus makes the point that being demon-possessed and honoring God are mutually exclusive categories. And on top of that, there's not a single credible example of a demonized believer in all the scriptures. So if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, the king himself indwells you, and then you can rest assured that the one who is in you is greater than the one who is.

In the world.

Okay.

So what if I am open to hear or believe in this stuff? Can I actually, as a believer, make myself open to this, or is it still impossible?

Well, not as a believer. As a believer, you can never be demon-possessed. Now, obviously, the demons and the devil can tempt you. They can harass you. They can, as it were, sit on your shoulder and whisper into your ear. The whisper cannot be heard with the physical ear. It can penetrate the ear of the mind. And that's why the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 6 tells us to put on the full armor of God. If we put on the covering or the full armor of God, then we're invincible in spiritual warfare. But if we do not, we're guaranteed casualties.

Okay, got it.

Thank you. You got it, Larry, and I've written a book about this. It is available. Check it out on the web at equip.org. It's titled The Covering, God's Plan to Protect You from Evil. Spiritual warfare is a reality, and therefore we are implored by the apostle to put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand and having done everything to stand. We'll be right back next time with more of the Bible Answer Man broadcast.

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All this and more at equip.org. Again, the address is equip.org. The Bible Answer Man broadcast is supported by listeners like you. We're on the air because life and truth matter. The Complete Bible Answer Book Collector's Edition is the comprehensive collection of the most often asked questions Hank Hanegraaff has received throughout his four decades as host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast. With more than half a million copies already in print, this newly revised and expanded Collector's Edition Help seekers and skeptics alike sort through the truth on topics such as reliability of the Bible, religions and cults, the resurrection and afterlife, and many more issues vital to a better understanding of God in Christ and our relationship to Him.

To receive your copy of the complete Bible answer book, collector's edition, revised and expanded, call 888-7000-CRI and make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's life-changing outreaches.

888-7000-CRI or visit us at equip.org.

Halloween 2026, and Q&A

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