Would YOU walk barefoot at midnight throwing beans to scare away ghosts?

The Lemuria Festival: Rome's Spooky Ghost Days!

When Ancient Romans tried to shoo away ghosts with beans!

Ancient Romans threw black beans at midnight to chase away ghosts during the Lemuria festival!

What if I told you that ancient Romans believed ghosts came to visit their homes every May? Spooky, right? On May 7th and other nights during the Lemuria festival, Romans performed one of the weirdest rituals ever!

Here's how it worked: At midnight (yes, MIDNIGHT!), the father of the house would wake up, walk barefoot through his home, and throw black beans over his shoulder while saying special words nine times. Why beans? Romans believed ghosts LOVED beans and would follow them right out of the house!

But wait, it gets weirder! The dad couldn't look behind him — not even once! He had to bang bronze pots together to make loud noises to scare the spirits away. Imagine your dad walking around at midnight, throwing beans and banging pots! Your neighbors would think he'd gone bonkers!

The Romans believed that during Lemuria, the spirits of people who had died — called 'lemures' — wandered the earth. Some were friendly ancestors, but others were grumpy ghosts who might cause trouble. The bean-throwing ceremony was meant to keep everyone safe.

💡 Romans had to say 'Ghosts of my fathers, be gone!' exactly nine times — they believed nine was a magical number that spirits couldn't resist!