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{{RecurringCharacters
|image= [[File:Samhain001.jpg|350px]]
|name= Samhain
|actor= [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573134/ Don McManus]
|dates= ???? – 1408 ([[Exorciseexorcised]]d in 1408)<ref name="four07">[[4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester]]</ref><br>Exorcised in 2008 (exorcised by [[Sam Winchester]])<ref name="four07" />
|location= [[Hell]]
|occupation= [[Demon]] [[Demon Mutations|Upper-class DemonMutation]]<br>The Lord of the Dead<ref name="essential">[[The Essential Supernatural: On the Road with Sam and Dean Winchester]]</ref>
|episodes= [[4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester]]
}}
{{Quotation
|title=
|text= Dean, Samhain is the damn origin of Halloween. The Celts believe that October 31st was the one night of the year when the veil was the thinnest between the living and the dead, and it was Samhain’s night. I mean, masks were put on to hide from him, sweets left on doorsteps to appease him, faces carved into pumpkins to worship him. He was exorcised centuries ago.
|author= [[Sam Winchester]]
|source= [[4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester]]
}}
==History==
Samhain is a special type of [[demon]]or more a "[[demon mutation]]<ref name="essential">[[The Essential Supernatural: On the Road with Sam and Dean Winchester]]</ref>". When he reigned on Earth on Halloween night, people kept their children in that night, inside and wore masks to hide from him, carved pumpkins to worship him, and left sweets at their doors to appease him. In this way, Samhain was the origin of modern-day Halloween. He is was known to have had brother and sister [[witch]]es serving him; these witches would later be known by the aliases [[Don Harding]] and [[Tracy Davis]]. At the time, Samhain took Tracy for a lover as well as a servant. In 1408, Samhain was [[exorcise]]d by an unknown force.<ref name="four07" />
Samhain can be summoned out of the confines of [[Hell]] by two witches through three human sacrifices over three days, the last of which must occur on the final day of Celtic harvest, the 31st of October, the American Halloween. This ritual can only be attempted every 600 years. As such, Samhain's servants had to wait and prepare until the year 2008 before they could attempt to raise him again. They succeeded, but Don was killed for the third sacrifice and Tracy was murdered by Samhain himself, with Samhain using Don's corpse as his host.<ref name="four07" />
==Characteristics==
Samhain has pale gray (or possibly blue<ref>''[[Supernatural: Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting]]''</ref>) irises, black pupils, and white sclerae.<ref name="four07" /> . His unique eye color may mean that he is somewhere between the possibly be due to his poor eyesight. He could be classified as a third [[white-eyed demonsdemon]] as Anna Milton's drawing of him possessing Don Harding shows him displaying white eyes. Howsoever, such he's classified as a [[Lilithdemon mutation]] together with the [[Acheri demons]], the [[Seven Deadly Sins]] and also the black-eyed [[demonCroatoan Virus]]s, such as .<ref name="essential">[[RubyThe Essential Supernatural: On the Road with Sam and Dean Winchester]].</ref>
===Powers and Abilitiesabilities===* Once Demonic energy – Samhain can emanate a demonic blast of white energy from his palms that can decimate almost any target.<ref name="four07" />* [[Necromancy]] – As the Lord of the Dead once on Earth, Samhain can raise supernatural creatures (such as [[ghosts]] and [[zombies]]) at will, without the use of any [[spell]]s.<ref name="four07" />* Samhain has superhuman Superhuman strength and durability– Samhain strength power far exceed that of regular demons.<ref name=He was shown to be resitant to [[iron]] as well as the [[demon-killing knife]] when Sam slices his arm. If Sam realized that the whitish-eyed demon is as he self said "four07So, this demon’s pretty powerful" />* , he has been hinted that Samhain can emanate a demonic blast of white energy from his palms that can decimate almost any targetmay have been truly immune to it's killing power.<ref name="four07" />
===Weaknesses===
* Unusually [[Demon-killing knife]] – While the knife was able to cause Samhain great pain, it is unknown if it could have killed him. As Sam self said "Might take more than the usual weapons" that means that Samhain maybe truly immune to Ruby's knife.* [[Exorcism]] – Like all demons, Samhain can be exorcised back to Hell. While in Hell, the ritual to raise Samhain can only be attempted once every 600 years.<ref name="four07" />* Poor Eyesight – Unusual for a [[demon]], Samhain has 's eyesight is incredibly poor vision. In this way, he can be tricked by obstructions to people's faces (e.g. blood, a mask) into believing them to be dead or non-human, and leaving them alone.<ref name="four07" />* The ritual to raise Samhain can only be attempted every 600 years.<ref name="four07" />* It is possible that Samhain can be killed with [[Ruby's knifeSpecial Children]].<ref name="four07" />* – [[Sam Winchester]] is was shown to be immune to Samhain's white light attack and can was able to [[Exorcism|exorcise]] him Samhain with his powers even when low on [[demon blood]], albeit with great concentration and difficulty.<ref name="four07" />
==Episodes==
Wanting to summon Samhain, two [[witches]] named [[Tracy Davis]] and [[Don Harding]] (actually centuries-old siblings) start performing the sacrifices needed to summon Samhain. This draws the attention of the Winchesters and the [[angel]]s as the raising of Samhain is one of [[the 66 Seals]]. [[Sam]] and [[Dean]] kill Don, but Tracy reveals herself and successfully summons Samhain, breaking the seal. Samhain possesses Don's body and recognizes Tracy before killing her. Samhain is unable to tell that Sam and Dean are alive due to a "mask" of blood they smeared on their faces so he leaves them alone.
Samhain travels to a mausoleum where a bunch of high school students are having a party, locks them in and summons [[zombie]]s and at least one [[ghost]] that attack. Sam and Dean rescue most of the kids and Dean deals with the monsters while Sam faces Samhain. Sam proves immune to Samhain's power so they fight hand to hand, but even with the [[Ruby's demon-killing knife]], Sam is no match for the [[demon]]. Finally, in the end, Sam manages to [[exorcise]] Samhain with his powers and sends him back to [[Hell]]. ===[[4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer]]===A drawing of Samhain can be seen in Anna Milton's journal. The description says "Samhain. The next seal is broken." In Anna's drawing, Samhain's eyes are completely white, implying that Samhain may be classified as a third white eyed demon.
==Samhain in Lore==
Samhain - properly pronounced "sa-win" as opposed to how the [[demon]]'s name is pronounced in the show (which is as spelled) - . It is the name of a Celtic festival that originated as a Celtic an end of summer and harvest festival and was named after the Celtic name for the month. It later became associated with the Christian [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls'_Day All Souls' Day], also known as the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) in Spanish cultures. Some of the rituals associated with Samhain are now seen in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween Halloween] traditions.
==Trivia==
* Samhain may be classified as a third [[white-eyed demon]], but unlike Lilith and [[Alastair]], his eyes have pale gray irises and black pupils, possibly due to his poor eyesight. Howsoever, Samhain self is etablished to be the Lord of the Dead and an [[demon mutation]] alongside the [[Acheri demons]], the [[Seven Deadly Sins]], the [[Croatoan Virus]]. [[<ref name="essential">[[The Essential Supernatural: On the Road with Sam and Dean Winchester]]</ref>* [[Tracy Davis]]'s complaint about her experiences when waiting 600 years to summon her master indicates that Samhain was [[exorcise]]d in the year 1408. Stephen King fans might recognize this number as the title of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1408_(short_story) short story] King wrote which was first published in 1999 and later adapted into a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1408_(film) 2007 movie], about a mysterious, malicious entity that warps the minds of anyone who enters Room 1408 at the Hotel Dolphin, and ultimately kills them. 1+4+0+8 also adds up to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_(number) the number 13], which has a number of meanings but is most notorious as an unlucky number to the superstitious.
==External links==
* [http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallo_sa.htm The myth Myth of Samhain: Celtic god God of the deadDead]* [http://www.circlesanctuary.org/pholidays/Samhain.html Celebrating the seasonsSeasons: Samhain]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain Samhain] on Wikipedia
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Canon]][[Category:Characters]][[Category:Demons]][[Category:Demonology]]
