'Stranger Danger' and the Decline of Halloween by Lenore Skenazy

[HuckleB]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304915104575572642896563902.html?mod=ITP_opinion_0

" Halloween is the day when America market-tests parental paranoia. If a new fear flies on Halloween, it's probably going to catch on the rest of the year, too.

Take "stranger danger," the classic Halloween horror. Even when I was a kid, back in the "Bewitched" and "Brady Bunch" costume era, parents were already worried about neighbors poisoning candy. Sure, the folks down the street might smile and wave the rest of the year, but apparently they were just biding their time before stuffing us silly with strychnine-laced Smarties.

That was a wacky idea, but we bought it. We still buy it, even though Joel Best, a sociologist at the University of Delaware, has researched the topic and spends every October telling the press that there has never been a single case of any child being killed by a stranger's Halloween candy. (Oh, yes, he concedes, there was once a Texas boy poisoned by a Pixie Stix. But his dad did it for the insurance money. He was executed.)

...

Think of how Halloween used to be the one day of the year when gaggles of kids took to the streets by themselves—at night even. Big fun! Low cost! But once the party moved inside, to keep kids safe from the nonexistent poisoners, in came all the nonsense. The battery-operated caskets. The hired witch. The Costco veggie trays and plastic everything else. Halloween went from hobo holiday to $6 billion extravaganza.

..."


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


The piece may be in the WSJ, but it puts the economics of fear on display for all to see. Fear now runs our kids' lives, and as the author notes, that's never more obvious than on Halloween. Yes, there are real dangers. There always have been, and there always will be. However, actual risk assessment seems to be a lost skill for many in this country. And, dare I say, even at DU.

:hi:

:evilgrin: :hippie: :party: :toast: :silly: :freak: :dunce: :beer: :headbang: :popcorn: :hide: :patriot:

[sufrommich]

1. I'll be honest. I don't know anybody who takes their kids

to Halloween parties instead of trick-or-treating.How many people really do that?

[walldude]

3. My kids stopped at age 12. now we make a

Haunted House for the trick or treaters. We build it together and the kids man it and scare the neighborhood kids. Last year we had carloads coming from other neighborhoods, this year we enlisted more kids and made it bigger and better.

Not sure why I got into this but it is a great way to spend Halloween...

[sufrommich]

6. Sounds very cool. I love houses that go that extra mile.

:toast:

[HuckleB]

4. Plenty...

Luckily, I'm not friends with anyone who does the party thing instead, but I know parents who do through my work, and the Internet is full of information on parties, church events, etc... on the matter.

How to Organize a Halloween Party for Kids Instead of Trick-or-Treating
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1049366/how_to_organize_a_halloween_party_for.html

Trunk-or-treating becoming Halloween tradition
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1674041.html

I am looking for any Halloween Events happening in and around OK City this year. Events that I can take the girls (ages 8 and 10) to instead of trick or treating. Thanks for any help. S.
http://www.mamapedia.com/article/halloween-events-around-ok-city

A Family-Friendly Halloween Party
http://childparenting.about.com/od/halloweenparties/a/halloweenparty.htm

[sufrommich]

7. That's just sad. Way to ruin a kids childhood, Mom and Dad.nt

[LWolf]

44. Why is trick or treating more fun than a party? nt

[HuckleB]

49. Kids go to parties all year round.

I'm betting they enjoy the novelty of trick-or-treating a bit more, once a year.

[gkhouston]

57. Very true. My kid is totally jazzed about trick-or-treating. She even likes choosing

which candy we'll be handing out.

[LWolf]

96. I guess it depends on what kids are actually doing.

Neither I, nor my now grown sons, nor my grandson, ever went to parties all year long. I did trick-or-treat, but was done with that by the time I got to middle school. It was a "little kid" activity done only in our own neighborhoods. When my sons hit middle school, some of their peers were still trick-or-treating. They weren't. We made sure they got to trick-or-treat for a few years when they were little, driving into town to do so. I do know that neighborhoods generally don't appreciate people who aren't actually neighbors doing "drive-in" trick-or-treating. That's why my current town does the main street business trick-or-treating Halloween evening; so all those who live rurally outside the city limits can trick-or-treat. We've done that with my grandson. It's not quite the same as my childhood, though. It's really cold at the end of October here; most of the costumes they get all excited about are covered by winter jackets, caps, and gloves so they can be outside to walk from door-to-door. At the parties, they actually get to enjoy their costumes, because they're indoors.

This year my grandson is 10. I take him to a party Saturday night, where he gets to wear his costume, be with a group of his friends, and spend 4 hours playing Halloween-themed games, doing crafts, and making snacks. They'll all come home with a small bag of treats, most of them made right at the party.

On Sunday, Halloween, he won't trick-or-treat. This year, he's in charge of handing out treats to the littles that come to the door. He'll get to wear his costume, hand out candy, and interact with all the neighbor kids. He's excited about it.

Somehow, he doesn't feel left out of the fun.

[HuckleB]

97. Actually, we have kids drive into our neighborhood every year...

... and no one cares. Most of us love to see even more kids walking around, in fact. The bottom line is that there is no viable reason for banning teenagers from trick or treating, nor for parents to throw parties because they think it's dangerous to go trick or treating. The rest is not of issue.

[LWolf]

99. Is this OP, or those responding,

claiming that trick-or-treating is somehow being "banned?" Or just offering opinions about those who choose not to trick-or-treat?

[HuckleB]

100. There have been two other OPs on that topic.

And that was only a small part of my post.

[LWolf]

102. I'm obviously not responding to other OPs. nt

[pipi_k]

48. Yeah, what a bunch of heartless, uncaring, abusive creeps!!!!!

Imagine...taking your kids to a Halloween party instead of allowing them to go begging for candy!!!

The poor kids will probably need years of therapy to recover from the trauma.


:eyes:

[HuckleB]

52. What ludicrous spin and drama.

The point is that parental fear and helicopter parenting are sheltering everyone from everyone, and there is no good reason for it.

Cut the fear!

[MissB]

12. Well, we do.

Kinda sorta. Our entire neighborhood trick or treats on one specific street in the area. It's a dead end street, and frankly it would suck to live there because literally everyone in the neighborhood brings their kids there.

It's a party. I usually have a drink (wine, beer, cocktail) in hand by the third house. Some houses have tents set up with juice (or beer, etc). Last year, one family parked their big screen tv outside so the dads could watch a game. One house hired someone to serve drinks as we walked in the door.

So it is a party, but the kids still go house to house and get candy.

[LWolf]

43. I do.

Sometimes. When you live rurally, you don't trick-or-treat. Our options? A private halloween party, a school halloween "festival" put on by the PTO, or driving downtown to walk mainstreet, where local businesses stay open with candy so that kids can do trick-or-treating.

Some years, we do one, some another. I'm taking my grandson to a halloween party Saturday night. His dad's taking him downtown to trick-or-treat Sunday evening.

When my boys were kids, since we had no neighbors, we made popcorn and hot cider and pumpkin treats and stuffed ourselves while we watched scary movies on halloween night. They liked it better, since they actually got more treats that way. Their "little kid" years of driving into town to trick-or-treat were fun, but we never let them eat all that candy. A few pieces a day for a week, and the rest was trashed.

[ecstatic]

66. My nephew will be trick or treating at the mall

Not quite the same, but I guess my sister doesn't trust her neighbors.

[ixion]

2. America: Land of the Enslaved and Home of the Terrified

Joy.

[HuckleB]

5. Ain't it a blast? -eom-

[walldude]

8. Funny, I got through my childhood

without helmets and pads, without a cell phone, without hand sanitizer. I used to eat things like dirt and paste, me and my friends played in the drainage tunnels under our town. We used to build ramps out of bricks and plywood and see how far we could jump our bikes. Poor kids nowdays don't know whether to shit or get off the pot. Parents are all paranoid about them going out but they don't want them to sit inside and play video games all day either... I split the difference. Lots of gaming and they can go ride their bikes without a helmet, pads, a whistle, a cell phone, hand sanitizer and pepper spray.

[ixion]

9. exactly.. I did the same stuff

I'm glad I was allowed to be a kid.

[HuckleB]

10. Indeed.

Although some safety advances such as helmets and car seats are not bad ideas.

[walldude]

14. Yeah I can't argue with that one...

But sometimes I see some poor kid wearing so much padding and crap that they can barely move. Way way overboard...

[Heddi]

21. yeah, but I"m an ER nurse and I see the kids that come in without the padding--brain bleeds from

skateboarding---10 year old kid last week came in, was skate boarding on the sidewalk and the board went from under him and he landed, hitting the back of his head on the sidewalk. Major bleed in his skull. went from the ER to surgery. No 10 year old should have brain surgery, and chances are he would not have had to have brain surgery if he was wearing a helmet. In fact, the chances are pretty much spot on that he would not have had anything more than a concussion had he been wearing a helmet.

A few days later, 19 or so year old with an even worse head bleed in 2 different areas and skull broken in several areas from non-helmet wearing during skateboarding.

Or broken elbows from no elbow padding. Knees totally blown from no knee padding.

Injuries happen, and that's why the padding is there, to prevent the injuries. And they work. God I can't tell you how many people are miserable from the road rash but living and walking because they were wearing a bicycle or motorcycle helmet during a crash

You know, I'm not for unnecessary precautions, but really, helmets save lives and padding saves surgery and rehab and loss of function at an early age.

[sufrommich]

11. Not only that, but on weekends we would leave the house in

the morning and play all day in the neighborhood until our Mom called us in for supper.Seriously, my neighborhood had roving gangs of kids, we played all over the place, I don't think my Mom ever gave it a second thought.

[HuckleB]

13. Exactly.

Most of us must have been abducted, though, right?

;)

[walldude]

15. My mom only gave it a second thought when she couldn't

get rid of me. "Get out of the house and play with your friends, and don't come back till I call you for dinner...." Then she would call me for dinner and the yell would pass from parent to parent, block to block until it reached me.

Now I sound like my dad... "Back when I was young..... :rofl:

[HuckleB]

17. Now you've done it!

When I Was Young
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur30bn_3G58

[sufrommich]

19. "and the yell would pass from parent to parent"

Lol! Yep, same in my neighborhood. "Suzy, your Mom says come home right now!"

[Arkansas Granny]

45. Not only that, but any parent who caught you acting up could scold you

or send you home. Your parents sometimes knew what you had done before you got home to confess your misdeeds. I believe that was the first neighborhood watch.

[cherokeeprogressive]

20. I could hear my Dad's whistle from two streets over. It was either that or when the streetlights

came on, whichever was first. Them was the rules. Otherwise, I could have been anywhere and they wouldn't have known.

[Nay]

40. Same here. It was great.

[Warren DeMontague]

39. Yes. It's so bad, I don't even go outside to verify what I already know about it.

Because it's that bad.

It must be. I'm sure of it.

[SammyWinstonJack]

46. EEK!

:evilgrin:

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

16. In the single stupidest moment of my university education...

I was subjected to a lecture by a womyns studies professor on "The Sexual Economy of Trick or Treating" in which she made her argument that the purpose of trick of treating was to introduce girls to the sexual economy of prostitution and sex in exchange for drugs. Even the walking stereotypes with lime green buzzcuts were looking at this woman in stupefied awe as she laid out her argument.

Personally, I was just there because a professor would give bonus marks to any male student who attended the gender studies symposium.

[HuckleB]

18. Extra Credit is always good!

And now you have a story you can tell forever!

:hi:

[mitchum]

27. I was gonna say that was a hilarious parody,,,

but so much of that...uh...uh...discipline...is already parodic.
I believe you. Good story.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

37. That was just the craziest of the night

Other subjects included "Male Privileged and the Transgendered", another presentation argued public spaces were subconsciously designed by men for trapping and raping women and finally how the patriarchy used sexual empowerment literature to coerce women into exploitative sexual relationships, that subject segued into a screaming match among the panel and audience on the subject of women having oral sex with men where to my astonishment the word "whore" was used liberally.

The professor just sat in "face palm" position most of the time, the next day in class she started off by saying "For the sake of clarification, I do not believe Helen Gurley Brown was a quisling of the patriarchy or that the parking lot was designed as a game reserve for sexual predators and just screw whoever you like."

[Generic Other]

79. Did she think high heels were a patriarchal rape tool?

I remember sitting through a lecture like that.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

83. Probably,

The thing that left the strongest impression with me was how similar the screamers arguments were to those of sexually repressed religious fanatics. I felt really badly for the serious presenters, there were some serious subjects and really thoughtful presentations which were immediately followed by something ridiculous. It was almost like the teabaggers trying to outdo each other and see who can stake out the most alienating position.

[Generic Other]

84. Back when Andrea Dworkin wanted adult booksellers to be charged with rape

for selling Hustler. I always thought she sounded like a religious fanatic too.

[Generic Other]

78. I would have been on the floor laughing and I am a rad feminist in most respects

You should have thrown candy corn at her!

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

85. I really didn't see the need to bring projectiles

Pretty much everything on the schedule was "TBA" - I really didn't think trick-or-treating, parking garages and Cosmopolitan as patriarchal propaganda was going to come up. Or a screed about transexuals consciously joining the patriarchy.

[Generic Other]

86. You are a brave and tolerant man to represent all your gender there

I hope she didn't look at you and glare to punctuate all her points.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

88. There were about thirty of us there,

Bonus marks are bonus marks.

The women were much too busy screaming at each other to concern themselves with us, "quislings of the patriarchy" and "enthusiastically sodomized whores" are much more contemptible than mere men.

[Warren DeMontague]

91. Wow. "Trick" or treating. Never thought of it that way.

Thanks, Smith College! :rofl:

[EmeraldCityGrl]

22. I'd love to see a study on the correlation between the rise

of children bullying and the changes in how children spend their recreational time opposed to
when we were growing up. We were never in the house. we were outside playing, having adventures, playing
sports, riding our bikes, building forts. It was as if we had our own little society and we had to learn to get along,
work out our differences and often make peace. Not to say there wasn't bullying, but it wasn't the malicious, life
or death type we see in todays world.

[HuckleB]

25. That's a very good point, or a collection of good points.

And all that time was face to face, which might just make a difference, us being humans and all.

:hi:

[Canuckistanian]

23. Oh, crap. Republicans.

[HuckleB]

34. +1

[TlalocW]

24. I often think there's a war on Halloween and not Christmas

I never gave a second thought to the whole stranger danger concept making trick-or-treating less common. I look more at the country's religious influence over it (but I may have to adjust my thinking now). I'm in Tulsa, and I'm surrounded by churches who have harvest or halo parties. On some of their websites, parents are instructed that scary or monster costumes aren't allowed at the parties so I guess that means princesses/fairies for the girls and ... I don't know, scarecrows for the boys.

A few years ago, I was in my garage when a teen from a local Baptist church came up and gave me a flier for the church's Harvest party. I looked through it and asked him why the church didn't just call it a Halloween party. He looked at me confused. I said, "Look, you're advertising a party with costumes, treats, games, hayrides, and a bonfire. You cannot get more Halloween than that. It would be like having an event where you have a re-enactment of the birth of Jesus, but you called it a Winter Festival. Halloween isn't evil - it's just a corruption of old English for All Hallow's Eve - the night before the day of the dead, which is a holy day in the Catholic Church."

I perform magic and twist balloons as a side business. I've been hired for several "Harvest" parties. Whenever I talk with potential clients having such a party, I always refer to it as a Halloween party just to make them say, "Harvest," with more and more conviction.

Anyway, it's just a shame. I have such fond memories of Halloween as a kid - listening to "scary" songs in music class, the weather getting cooler, being old enough to go out trick-or-treating by yourself but still young enough to be scared and having to walk by the biggest, spookiest tree on the block to get home, etc.

TlalocW

[mitchum]

29. I love how the fundy Baptists are insisting on fairies and scarecrows for the "Harvest Festival"...

I assume they are just too stupid to know what they are doing by striking these blows against Halloween.
It's beautiful.

[HuckleB]

30. I think outside the Bible Belt, Stranger Danger rules on this matter.

But there may be many factors at play. Thanks for sharing. Your post is most informative!

:hi:

[mitchum]

26. The poisoned homemade candy story was planted the year that M&M/Mars introduced "fun-sized"...

bars. Great for Halloween treats!
Good ol' Corporate America knocking out the competition.
True story.

[HuckleB]

28. Link?

[mitchum]

32. "As for the Fun-Size treat?

As I learned here,

The "fun size" candy bar was introduced in 1968 (the height of the posoined candy and needle-infested beownies and popcorn ball sumors) by the Mars candy company. The resulting "fun size" Milky Way candy bars were 25 percent lower in total calories and had 50 percent fewer calories from fat.

But knowing that doesn't change the fact that if I could, I'd go back in time and punch the inventor. Because seriously--there is nothing fun about less candy (but here are some suggestions for how to bring the "fun" back to fun size)."

cakespy.com

[HuckleB]

33. Where?

:shrug:

For Snickers it was 1979.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5800171/history-of-snickers-candy

Hmm.

[Lyric]

31. I make it a point to give my son more freedom than his peers get.

And god knows I've faced my share of judgement for it.

[Odin2005]

35. Growing up in the 90s my mom scared me with stories about razor blades in apples.

She was a kid in the 60s.

[HuckleB]

36. Indeed.

My parents were kids in the '60s, but they always made us dump our candy out, spread it around, and make sure that there were no torn wrappers before we began to eat.

I'm sure that scene was played out across the country.

[Ilsa]

42. A reasonable precaution against germs, much more reasonable than

having candy x-rayed. It still amazes me that a hospital would offer this as a free service. But if it appears candy has been opened, I'd rather discard it because of potential for food-borne bacteria.

[HuckleB]

50. None of it was ever opened, and it wasn't about germs.

It was because the media had them scared that someone might have poisoned the candy.

[kick-ass-bob]

56. I grew up in the 80s when they had Xrays...

at the hospitals for your candy.

I asked my mom - 'shouldn't we check the candy?'

She grabbed a Milky Way and ate it and said "it's all good".

[HuckleB]

98. +1

[Warren DeMontague]

38. If anything, I think Halloween is a lot more fun than it was when I was growing up.

More people are into it, more adults get dressed up... honestly I feel like the holiday has taken off.

I'm sorry, but I think this media hype about helicopter parents and overprotected, coddled children kept in bubble wrap is just that.. for years they sold magazines scaring people with nonexistent dangers, now they want to scare people about the nonexistent legions of people scared of the nonexistent dangers.

Handwringing, then more handwringing about the handwringing--

meta-handwringing, if you will.

Meanwhile, Halloween chugs merrily along.

As a parent out there in the trenches, I can tell you that the only definable cultural trait I can recognize that causes me any concern is the ridiculous overabundance of 3-7 year old boys with names that rhyme with "--aden". Braden, Jaden, Kaden. Etc.

Other than that, really, things aren't that bad.

[HuckleB]

53. Apparently, you don't know many current parents.

WOW! Sorry, but if you look at how Skenazy started her blog, you'd know this is no media created machine. In fact, MSM, is still mostly pushing the fear routine.

[Warren DeMontague]

59. Um, are you yourself a parent? How old are your kids? Be honest.

"I don't know many parents"- bullshit. I'm out there every day, and I am one. I don't learn what I know about current parents from what I read in blogs and newspapers, no.

[HuckleB]

60. Yes, I'm a parent.

My boy is four, and I work with parents all day long, every day, and have done so for 20 of the last 22 years.

If you are truly a parent, I don't see how you would make the post you made. Sorry, it doesn't add up.

[Warren DeMontague]

63. I have one in preschool and one in grade school. Im not "truly a parent" b/c I don't agree with you?

It 'doesn't add up'... right, I'm lying, because I don't share your view of reality. :eyes:

Yes, you and the Wall St. Journal make some high holy pronouncement about THE WAY THINGS ARE and it must be gospel truth.

Sorry, I don't see it. I see kids going out every year for Halloween, I see people having a good time, I see kids who are allowed to discover and make their own mistakes. Just as they did when I was growing up.

If you want to engage in hand-wringing about the excessive hand-wringing you imagine you see, knock yourself out. But I don't see it, and I absolutely am a parent. I'll be happy to mail you a plastic bag full of dirty diapers if you 'don't believe me'. :rofl:

[HuckleB]

64. Thank you for proving that your statement is completely baseless.

Your statement appears to be based on this single article posted in the WSJ.

I see what's happening to kids, to parents every day. It's not hand wringing. It's the real world. You can pretend otherwise, but that doesn't make your statement any less ludicrous.

[Warren DeMontague]

65. Oh god, not this goofy fucking game again.

Thank you for proving that every single statement you've ever made is factually incorrect.

I win! I win!


Neener neener.

[HuckleB]

67. It's not a game.

You showed that you made a sweeping assumption based on very limited knowledge.

Why not just admit it? It's very obvious.

[Warren DeMontague]

68. And you just proved that you wear oak bark for underwear.

How does it feel? Itchy, I'd imagine.

Just admit it.

[HuckleB]

70. In other words, you equate your actual statements with fictional statements about me.

:rofl:

[Warren DeMontague]

72. In other words, yargle bargle fargle blarb.

So. Exactly when did you stop skinny dipping in mayonnaise and cheez whiz, sir?

I can do this all day.

[HuckleB]

74. This is what you do all day?

I'm not surprised.

:rofl:

Hasta...

[Warren DeMontague]

77. No, actually, you're the one who has a habit of doing it.

Last time you played this game- and yeah, it's a game- you were arguing that alcoholics didn't need to avoid alcohol entirely, or some such goofiness. Same as in this thread, you were stating something as gospel truth, then insulting anyone who dared have a different take on the matter. I'm not sure what you get out of it, but there you go.

I'm sorry you and the Wall St. Journal think Halloween has been ruined. Really, I am.

Perhaps you just haven't found the right costume.

[TNLib]

87. I agree Halloween has really taken off

I see these spirit of Halloween stores popping up all over the place. They are filled with the most elaborate costumes, decorations ect..

The other day I saw a giant inflatable black cat the size of the person's home in the front lawn. This year we went to boo in the zoo. Trick or Treating at a zoo, how cool is that? Then we are having a halloween party on Saturday, then we are taking my 7 year old and her cousin trick or treating Sunday.

Halloween these days pretty much last most of the month of October with all the cool festivals and activities. Halloween seems way cooler to me now than it did when I was a kid.

[AsahinaKimi]

41. Halloween has sure changed since I was a kid.

We used to roam the Neighborhoods at 6pm at night and stay out going door to door till 10pm. Now kids have to go to "safe places" like to a mall, or a Walgreens drug store to get free candy. Where is the fun in that? The other thing is for parents to just give treats to their own kids, like its some kind of Christmas gift. WTH?

I remember hearing stories about the EROTIC EXOTIC ball in San Francisco, and how people showed up in all kinds of "sexy" costumes, and money was raised for a good cause.

Of course the best part was going to scary movies, like "The Blob", and "Night of the Living Dead" and even my all time favorite "Godzilla".

Times have changed. I don't know how young kids deal with it anymore. I am not sure they are missing out on things we used to do, since they don't do those now. Its enough to make the Holiday Dull, except for the Costume Parties at other people's houses.

I remember the scare about strange neighbors putting needles in an Apple, or giving out marijuana brownies as some kind of prank. Parents were told to go though the stuff, and make sure the candy had no suspicious breaks in the fabric of the wrappers, or look at fruit to see if it had been tampered with.

Halloween has been kind of spoiled by all of this stuff and I feel lucky each time I buy a bag of Candy Corns and Candy Pumpkins, that It reminds me of the sweet memories of doing stuff like bobbing for apples, drinking hot apple cyder and eating cinnamon donuts giving out by the local fire departments. Going to parties in paper mache costumes my dad would put together or wearing the $12.99 witches outfit my mom would get me at K-mart.

It will always be my favorite holiday, despite that there are people now out to try and ruin it for everyone.

[HuckleB]

58. +1

[Arugula Latte]

73. Do they not have the Exotic Erotic Ball anymore in SF?

I went one time when I was in college. Wow, was that eye-opening. :wow:

[HuckleB]

76. They have to have it, still.

Heck, they've had one like it in Portland for several years now.

[AsahinaKimi]

80. Not any more ..

I think those days are over.

[HuckleB]

81. Wow!

Bummer.

[pipi_k]

47. I don't think it's just parental fear for the kids out trick or treating...

there are also people who fear opening the door to strangers, not knowing what (or whom) they'll face.

"So don't open the door!!!" some will say. Yeah. Fine. What a choice. Either open the door and face a potential assault by an unknown person in a costume, or don't open the door and face property damage by disgruntled trick or treaters. Although, to be fair, that might only come if there are lights on in the house, so people that afraid might actually have to HIDE in their own homes with the lights off.

Who are these people? Well, some are like myself...people with anxiety disorders. People like my daughter, who was sexually molested as a child, and whose home was broken into while she was there one night about 6 years ago, the perpetrator stealing her purse off the kitchen table.

There are so many reasons for fear, and I don't think it's particularly kind to put people down for having fears. Those fears might seem silly to many people, but for just as many others, they are real and they are often debilitating.

[HuckleB]

51. Thank you for repeating your baseless fear routine.

Your rants have been shown to have no basis over and over again, and yet you let fear drive the repetition of these baseless posts.

Fear is what it is, and it should not drive people to make laws that do nothing but abuse the basic rights of others.

That's the bottom line that you continue to ignore. If fear runs the community, then that community is going to trample on itself, and that is what you are advocating.

[sufrommich]

62. "face a potential assault by an unknown person in a costume"

How many times has that actually happened?

[Posteritatis]

89. Reminds me of the annual panicfest over Halloween in my neck of the woods

Increasingly people are convinced the whole holiday's evil and unsafe and everyone gets murdered and so on and so forth. The last two or three years there were hordes of parents calling for the holiday to be banned because of "all the kids in town who get murdered every year."

To the best of my knowledge, the number of kids murdered on Halloween in the entire province over the course of my lifetime is zero. But no, people convinced themselves it's skyrocketing...

(Ed. Not referring to pipi a few posts above there; I get personal anxiety issues as a reason to dislike the day. Those are based on one's own mindset, which one usually knows well enough, however, while the fear about crimes and poisoned candies and so on are, with the exception of one or two hyped-up anecdotes, invariably lies.)

[HuckleB]

95. +1

[ecstatic]

69. I definitely don't plan to open my door, but I might leave a bowl outside

my front door with a sign that says "Take One." But it'll be interesting to see if kids actually obey.

[Posteritatis]

90. The standard signal here is to leave the living room lights off

That's taken as a sign that there's either nobody home or that there's nobody answering for the evening, and kids generally pass darkened-on-the-main-floor houses by.

[HuckleB]

92. EXACTLY!

[aikoaiko]

54. Pins and razor blades in apples

That was the fear message when I was a kid.

[KossackRealityCheck]

101. That's how I remember it starting also

razor blades in apples ended trick or treat for a while back in the 60s.

[xchrom]

55. i loved trick or treating as a kid -- great memories. recommend. nt

[rucky]

61. Halloween is my favorite holiday.

My daughter's too.

I would never put a damper on it for her.

and when she's too old for trick or treat, I'm buying her some eggs :evilgrin:

[Arugula Latte]

71. Halloween still kicks ass where I live.

Lots of participation, and we always go in a big group, the adults with wine glasses in hand. Fun, fun, fun. The best holiday of all, hands down.

[HuckleB]

75. It does, for the most part, in our part of town.

In other parts of town, not as much. We have friends bring their kids from the more fear-filled areas (which are actually wealthier areas than where we live) to our neighborhood to go trick-or-treating.

[Dulcinea]

82. Same here.

My DH takes our kids trick-or treating, I hand out candy to the neighborhood ghosts & goblins, and some friends of ours have a kick-ass party every year on the Saturday closest to Halloween. We have more Halloween decorations than Christmas decorations!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays too! It's all about fun for us!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

93. Ronald Clark O'Bryan killed it. That was in 1974.

The Candyman of Deer Park, Texas, killed his own child (for insurance money-dumbass) with cyanide-laced Pixy Stix. There were other kids who possibly were recipients of the poisoned candy, as a cover-up, but if so, they did not eat the candy.

I grew up in the next suburb over and I was over trick or treating age. I was in college by then.
It was a pretty sensational crime.

I'm more worried about the churches taking over the holiday and prohibiting witch and monster costumes than I am about stranger danger. Gawd ferbid a kid should dress up as a monster, say "BOO!" and then take off his mask and realize he can role play and it might help him not be afraid of the dark. (SARCASM)

[HuckleB]

94. Yeah, that was mentioned by Skenazy.

In other research, however, she has noted that this fear had been pushed since the mid-60s, and that was why the guy thought he could get away with it. He thought that kids being poisoned by candy on Halloween was common.

[Lars39]

103. The deliberate "demonization" of Halloween also fractures communties...

what better way to *not* meet the neighbors than discouraging walking from house to house with your kids, meeting new people. It's also harder to organize a community if no one knows each other.