Not strictly Halloweenish, since the scene described is the resurrection, but here’s my favorite bit of an early gospel which some scholars think antedates the ones eventually accepted into the canon. Enough to scare the kiddies, I should think.
ειδον εξελθοντας απο του ταφου τρεις ανδρας, και τους δυο τον ενα υπορθουντας, και σταυρον ακολουθουντα αυτοις και των μεν δυο την κεφαλην χωρουσαν μεχρι του ουρανου, την δε χειρα του υπορθουμενου υπ αυτων υπερβαινουσαν τους ουρανους. και φωνης ηκουον εκ των ουρανων λεγουσης εκηρυξας τοις κοιμωμενοις και υπακοη ηκουετο απο του σταυρου το ναι.
(“They saw coming out of the tomb three men, and the two holding upright the one, and a cross following them, and the head of the two reaching up to heaven, but the head of the one who was being held up by them going beyond the heavens. And they heard a voice from the heavens saying, “You preached to them that sleep?” And reply was heard from the cross: “Yes.")
Sorry, I copied the Greek from a bad text on the web, and translated it more the way I remembered the real text (which however I didn’t remember quite exactly). It’s his head all right. For την δε χειρα του υπορθουμενου (someone’s ill-judged attempt at emendation?) read του δε χειραγωμενου (and for the initial ειδον read ορωσιν). “… but (the head) of the one being led by the hand …”
It’s from the Gospel of Peter. “The one” is to be presumed to be Jesus. Context: the soliders guarding Jesus’ tomb see two men come down from heaven, the stone sealing the tomb entrance rolls away of its own accord, and the two enter. The guards wake up their centurion and the elders [this increases the number of eye-witnesses], and this is what they see.
It’s interesting to compare with the other gospel accounts, and with other tales of the supernatural.
In the (belated) spirit of the day I’ll offer this from Petronius 61-2. It’s half way translated but I keep getting interrupted and it looks like I won’t get 10 minutes to myself for a while. Yeah the English is shoddy since I’m just going by sight, I might tidy it when it’s all done. I’ll edit this post.
When I was yet a slave, we lived in a narrow street - where now the house of Gavilla lies. There, as the Gods willed, I began to love the wife of the inn keeper Terentius. You know (her) Melissa of Tarentinum, a most beautiful dancing girl*. But I, by Hercules, did not seek her for base reasons but for proper ones. If I ever asked something from her it was never denied me, if she made an assis I had a half-assis**; whatever I had I put into her pocket and I not once was I ever decieved.
One day her husband died at his villa. I took up my shield and my greaves and began to wonder in what manner I would get to her: as you know, in narrow straits your friends appear. It happened that my master was at Capua on some business. I took advantage of the situation and convinced a guest to come with me until the fifth mile, he was a soldier and as brave as the underworld. We rolled out around cock-crow and the moon shone as if mid-day. (When) we arrived at the monuments*** my man began to examine the steles while I, singing, counted them. Then when I looked round at my friend, he had stripped himself and placed his clothes by the roadside. My soul was in my nose, but I stood as if dead. He made a ring of water round his clothes and suddenly… turned into a wolf.
Don’t think I’m joking,
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Note, the text has bacciballum. No idea what this might be. Bacci could be a corruption of bassio < bassiare in a compound (kiss), ballo means I dance. I just randomly ascribed a meaning for the sake of the narrative. It is, to the best of my knowledge, a solecism? I’m not sure what the cool kids are cooling floozies nowadays.
** low denom coin. See Catullus V.1-3
*** Most likely tombs, since these littered the road side. Why is he singing? gods know.