HOLLOW-EEN

[whitefang]

I didn't pass out candy this year for a few good reasons. But just by cursory attention I noticed there weren't a whole lot of kids going around beggin' this year. Compared to last year anyway. And the weather here was the best it's been for Halloween in a long time.

 

How was the turnout in YOUR neck o' the woods?

Whitefang

[skipclone 1]

Halloween in Tokyo has morphed into an insane all night costume party for adults-it`s worth putting up with youtube just to search for `Shibuya Halloween`. I was at an overnight event at a club in a nearby part of town. There`s still the kids` version-I taught a private class the week before. But every year I am entirely off the radar on the actual weekend.

[Winston Psmith]

The short answer is . . . not one kid! Anybody want a Butterfinger?

 

Our block has never been a destination for Halloween; we hardly get anyone coming out any year. This year, it seemed like a lot of families, even whole neighborhoods, decided to have their Halloween over the weekend, rather than drag the kids out on a Monday night, when everyone has school or work the next morning.

[hurricane hugo]

I'e never given out candy on Hallowe'en because I've learned that kids aren't going to walk up my 140-foot driveway for a fun-size candy bar.

 

I did look outside about 30 minutes after trick-or-treat started, though, and none of my neighbors had their porch light on. I hope no kids did come up this part of the street, because they would've been wasting valuable time.

[Sharkman]

The normal trick or treating hours here are 6:00 to 8:00. Nobody came to my house until 6:47, which was surprising, since we had pretty nice weather last night. I was giving out those small funsized candies, five to each kid. I didn't keep count, but I think there were about thirty kids at my house.

[Dannyalcatraz]

It was bizarre: we had good weather, but a lower than expected turnout. I thought I had underbought...instead, we have significant leftovers.

[Larryz]

I had about 100 or so and it did rain off and on...it was fun having the grand kids come by and seeing all the costumes. The little ones are real cute. All of the kids were well behaved and courteous. There were 3 teens that were not so nice so I had to invite them to leave or the Sheriff would have to be called. They decided to leave...hope that's the end of it and I'll be more prepared for them next year. All in all it was fun!

[jimmac]

I quit passing out candy about 4 years ago. The number of kids dropped off from about 60 to 30 to 5 or 6 the last couple of years so I just stopped. I think the organized church and community centers started having parties saying it was safer and the kids could load up on candy with one stop so they quit coming by. Jim

[whitefang]

Yeah, many church groups in my area started what they call "Trunk or Treats". They all park their cars in a circle in some municipal parking lot and the kids walk around gong from car to car. Seems to me that it takes much of the FUN out of trick or treating. My sister in law belongs to some church that does this. She's all for it, citing, "It's a good way to prevent kids from getting any booby trapped candy." Which one city cop told me was largely an "urban legend" to begin with. "for 15 years, the city paid upwards of $50,000 each year in overtime for police and the x-ray equipment and others to examine any candy brought in by concerned parents. In all that time we've never found ONE PIECE of candy that had been tampered with. And officers in other cities. when we asked them, said the same."

 

I remember when all those stories started circulating. Here, we heard some little girl almost lost her tongue due to a razor blade in an apple in Garden City, MI. I once asked a guy at work who lived and grew up in Garden City if he knew that little girl. He chuckled a little and said, "WE heard it was some kid in TAYLOR, MI!"

Whitefang

[desertbluesman]

I live in a 55+ community, no kids allowed to live here. But us oldies but goodies had a nice party at my neighbors house, 4 huge Poppa Murphy's pizza's, and a bunch of associated goodies, and plenty of happy hour drinks. A great time was had by all.......

[ashevillecabbie]

I get the impression Halloween has morphed from a kiddie Holliday to a young adult holiday, at least in Asheville. People even decorate their houses (anybody else from here dig that crazy person's house on Haywood Road in west avl?).

[whitefang]

I live in a 55+ community, no kids allowed to live here. But us oldies but goodies had a nice party at my neighbors house, 4 huge Poppa Murphy's pizza's, and a bunch of associated goodies, and plenty of happy hour drinks. A great time was had by all.......

 

A 55+ community with NO KIDS ALLOWED?

 

Sounds like the kind of place where the parties go on until the WEE HOURS of the AFTERNOON!!

 

How often do y'all hold RASCAL RACES?

 

I can't imagine living ANYWHERE I can't hear children playing.

Whitefang

[Eric Iverson]

I didn't see nearly as many kids this year.... and they go out with their parents in the afternoon, so I very much doubt if there's any DANGER involved.

I remember as a kid in Des Moines, Iowa, in the mid-'60s, times were more innocent. We kids went out alone and no one was worried that anything would happen to us!

And while it was true that witches and wizards and goblins were part of the scene, what we kids cared about was the CANDY, LOL!

[whitefang]

Yeah, I remember that to US, the more hideous and frightening the decorations were, the "cooler" we consideed the house that HAD those decorations. I've gotten tired of seeing all those "non threatening" decorations that poeople have opted for in the last decade or so. One funny thing I remember(and probably never will forget...)

 

A few years ago, I went to a local WALGREEN'S for one thing or another. In the front of the store, they had a display of different Halloween decorations they carried. One was one of those big BLOW-UP lawn displays like you see at Christmas time(like a SANTA popping up out of a big chimney). THIS one was a huge JACK O'LATERN with something popping out of it's top. I walked in just as whatever it was receded back into the big pumpkin, so I stood there waiting to see what it could be. I was wondering just WHAT horrifying and frightening figure would rise up and suddenly THERE IT WAS! Up out of the top of the huge Jack O' latern rose the terrifying visage of.....

 

WINNIE THE POOH!!

 

AIEEEEEEEE!!!!

Whitefang

[skipclone 1]

Well-while steering WAY clear of any specific finger pointing, particularly of the religious type...there has been an amount of grumbling and whining, even around the Harry Potter films. Some libraries won`t carry the books.

What do I think of that-ya, I`ll just leave that cauldron shaken not stirred. But, sign of the times it is.....

 

Okay, about anything that looks PAGAN.

...there, I said it. throw me in irons.

[whitefang]

The HISTORY channel had a program that traced the origins of the day, and it DID at one time, have religious connections, but they faded over the centuries into the largely secular celebration we now have in this country. Originally, it seems to have been a celebratory "day of the dead" like MANY cultures had, and some STILL have. In Mexico they still observe it as DIO DE MUERTO, and centuies ago it was held at the beginning of summer. After Spanish conquest, it eventually shifted to coincide with ALL HALLOW'S EVE, a term that over time morphed into HALLOWE'EN to now the same word without the apostrophe. THAT'S the reason for the ghost, spooks and goblin and witch type decorations I think.

Whitefang

[Scott Fraser]

Dia de los Muertos.

It's a big deal in a majority HIspanic city like Los Angeles, & one I observe. The candles, not the makeup.

[whitefang]

They DO acknowledge it, but not in such a BIG way, up this way in Southwest Detroit( one of America's largest Latino communities),where many stores on Vernor Highway start displaying all sorts of candles, T-shirts and stuff for sale during it's period. When I moved there after splitting with the ex, was when I first became aware of it.

Whitefang