Halloween: "Thrills, Chills or Other Zany Ill's."

In 2014, two-thirds of all Americans had plans to celebrate Halloween, spending an average amount of $77.52 on candy, costumes, and decorations. Half of Americans planned to give out two pieces of candy to 42.1 million trick-or-treaters, ages 5-14 (CNN.com). In other words, Halloween in America remains a significant celebration. But what is it about Halloween?

What is it about being terrified and fascinated at the same time, like watching for Freddy Krueger peeking from behind a door, fearing someone will die, but fascinated by the method to be used in the process? Halloween is a celebration that holds a similar mystique not only for children, but for adults as well.


With 66.7 percent of Americans decorating their homes and offices, Halloween exceeds Thanksgiving Day for most interest and creativity in the way it is observed. Only Christmas creates more interest and candy sales. "As one of the world's oldest holidays, Halloween is still celebrated today in several countries around the globe, but it is in North America and Canada that it maintains its highest level of popularity"(www.novareinna.com/festive/world.html).


When I was a child, we were not allowed to go outdoors on Halloween, but Trick-or-Treat happened the night before, and whatever distance we could travel before returning home by midnight was acceptable. We spent weeks eagerly planning which outfits we would ask our mother to make. On this important occasion before Halloween, my siblings and I would leave home, dressed to impress. We would then scout the best neighborhoods near our side of town in order to fill large decorated brown bags (made strong especially for trappings of Halloween like candy apples, oranges, bags of marshmallows, bubble gum, and candy bars of all types and sizes). We'd start out at dusk and return home by midnight, a tribe of five older children who brought home enough snacks to share with those too small for trekking through dark streets and following porch lights that signaled it was okay to knock on the doors and request, "Trick or Treat."


After returning home, it was a quick bath and off to bed, but in the morning, it was finding a separate corner in which to examine and categorize the goodies before deciding which treats would be shared and which would not. In separate areas of a bedroom, each of us would discard any unwrapped treats, tossing them into the trash no matter how delicious they looked. If caught eating anything unwrapped, the entire bag of goodies would be confiscated. Eating as much candy and junk food as a body could handle was gluttony, which was considered a sin, but on Halloween, it was allowed.


It was a frightening experience, following our brother and his twin sister because all we could see in the darkness was their backs and the houses on opposite sides of the street, so we simply followed and prepared for the worst as the two eldest led us through winding streets, around creepy corners, and past noisy, barking dogs. We expected giant spiders and gooey spider webs; green-faced witches and grotesque goblins; big, angry black cats trying to cross our paths; drooling monsters of all kinds. Along the way, we saw many action figures and superheros, and a few real-life bullies hoping to steal bags of goodies from the smaller children without doing any of the hard work. The only surprise was having a heavy bag split open, spilling candy all over the sidewalk and ground like gummy bear guts.


Arriving home with a bag of treats intact was a miracle in itself, and arriving home with no poisoned treats was even more so. That was the way it was throughout our years of trick-or-treating on our own--kids and the neighbors celebrating together--until somebody gave poisoned fruit to some kids and taking treats from younger children led to warnings and curfews being put into place. 

For me, Trick-or-Treat is an event that conjures fond memories that are as vivid today as they were yesterday, and even with all of the mystery and element of surprise, I wouldn't change a thing. What are your best memories of Halloween?