Before Halloween, before Día de los Muertos, there was Lemuria — an ancient Roman festival that had one goal: to keep the dead from coming back.
Unlike Rome’s grand public holidays filled with feasting and parades, Lemuria was a private, shadowy affair, steeped in fear, superstition, and ritual. It was believed that during these nights in May, the lemures — restless, angry spirits of the dead — could roam the world of the living. And it was up to the head of each household to send them back.
Join us on our Ancient Rome Ghost Tour to find out more.
In Roman belief, not all spirits were peaceful. The manes were honored ancestors — the quiet dead who received proper burials and continued to be venerated. But the lemures were different. These were the unquiet dead:
Souls of the forgotten
Spirits of those who died violently
Ghosts denied proper burial or rites
They were thought to haunt the living, cause illness, bring misfortune — even drive people mad. In a city like Rome, where executions, assassinations, and untimely deaths were common, these spirits were everywhere.
A Roman memento mori mosaic: reminders of death were common in Roman homes — but some souls, like the lemures, refused to rest quietly.
Lemuria was observed on May 9th, 11th, and 13th. On these nights, each Roman paterfamilias (head of household) would rise at midnight and perform a ritual to banish any lurking spirits.
The ceremony was eerie and exact:
He would walk barefoot through the house.
He’d wash his hands three times in spring water.
Then, holding black beans in his mouth, he would spit them out one by one, saying:
“With these beans I redeem me and mine.”
Behind him, he’d hear — or imagine — the ghosts gathering.
Finally, he’d clap his hands and shout “Ghosts, depart!” nine times.
If done correctly, the lemures would leave in silence. If not… well, perhaps the nightmares would start.
Romans feared spiritual unrest just as much as civil unrest. A ghost with no grave was a threat to the living world — and Lemuria was the city’s way of restoring balance between the seen and unseen.
Interestingly, the Church later replaced Lemuria with a feast of its own: All Saints’ Day, moved to November 1st. It’s one reason some historians believe Lemuria helped inspire Halloween as we know it.
The Lares, Penates, and Manes were spirits meant to protect the home and family — but Lemuria reminded Romans what happened when the dead were forgotten instead.
Image – Carole Raddato
Yes, the animal.
The lemur gets its name from the lemures — those same restless, Roman spirits. Early naturalists thought the wide eyes, ghostly cries, and night-time habits of these creatures were a little too familiar.
Because nothing says “cursed but adorable” like a tree-dwelling primate named after a soul in torment.
Lemurs owe their name to Rome’s most feared spirits — the lemures. Cute, eerie, and apparently undead.
If you think ghost stories are a modern invention, think again. The Romans feared the dead so much they designed rituals to keep them away — and left behind chilling tales of spirits, revenge, and ritual that echo through the centuries.
On our Ancient Rome Ghost Tour, we walk the very places tied to these stories — from imperial executions to ghost-ridden hills, from ritual sites to grim legends buried beneath modern streets.
Come see Rome’s spiritual underworld — and discover what the Romans truly feared.
They used black beans to keep the ghosts away. You can voluntarily walk towards them
Join the Ancient Rome’s Dark Side Tour.
Lemuria was just the beginning.
