Batland: Summer’s End

Bats have long been a symbol of Halloween, and the National Wildlife Federation has a good theory why. Halloween stems from the ancient Celtic festival Samhain, meaning ‘Summer’s End.’ The decaying of the land and oncoming darkness of winter was thought to evoke spirits from ancient burial mounds. To ward off those spirits, the Celts built huge bonfires — which attracted swarms of insects and also bats on the hunt, swooping to capture an insect before darting away. “They were interpreted to be the spirits of the dead, which would only be scared off by their gods’ divine fire.” This Pallas’s Long-tongued Bat was photographed by Mark Silverstein.