why is it called the witching hour 
in folklore the witching hour refers to a time at night usually midnight associated with supernatural events when witches demons and ghosts are thought to be most powerful the name witching hour was likely chosen in the financial context because of the heightened volatility and increased trading volume which often occurs at heightened levels before the stock markets version of midnight the end of the trading day as these derivatives reach their expiration traders are often scrambling to close roll out or fulfill their option and futures contracts leading to a flurry of activity and sometimes unpredictable market moves much like the chaos in store for some during the witching hour of folklore 