Apples are an integral part of Halloween celebrations. From candy-coated apples to party games featuring these delicious fruits, apples are an integral part of celebrating our favorite ghostly holiday. But where did this autumn tradition originate? While dipping one’s face into a bucket of floating fruit may seem harmless enough, the practice actually has an intricate and dark history tied with predictions and superstitions.

Bobbing for apples was once used as a love divining tool! Before secularization of this game, female guests would assign an apple to each potential suitor they were playing with and “bob” for it in a barrel of water; depending on how difficult or easy it was to bite into their apple, future courtship predictions were then made.

Reader’s Digest reported that one ancient celt belief about romantic destiny involved using the slipperiness of apple seeds to determine from which direction your future partner would come. Squeezing one between two fingers was believed to make the seed fly towards its future home, so they may provide another method for predicting romantic destiny.

Over time, superstitions were eventually replaced by more modern and scientific ways of determining fate, yet many traditions carried over from Europe and Ireland via immigration were brought over here and used to determine romantic destiny – though less superstitious than bobbing for apples, they remain part of many Halloween festivities today.