Tricks in your treats? Fact or fiction?
Millions of families take to the streets on Halloween night. The night air fills with an exciting energy as a sea of costumes hits the town. Decorations paint the night sky, flickering lights peek through the jack o’lanterns set out on the front porch. There’s a knock on the door, “Trick or Treat!”
Trick or treating is a classic halloween staple. The tradition evolved from a combination of ancient Celtic rituals and medieval European traditions like “going a-souling.” The term trick-or-treating later appeared in the 1920s. While this 
tradition is widely beloved, there are a lot of concerns and paranoia surrounding it. The most common fear is Halloween candy tampering.
Mia Holmes, a freshman at Helix Charter High School, experienced this a couple years ago when her mother told her, “people are injecting candy with drugs and stuff” and that her mother “wanted to make sure my friends and I were not just eating it.”
While intentional tampering with candy is a widespread concern, it is extremely rare.
There has not been a single confirmed case of strangers intentionally inflicting harm upon trick or treaters by tampering with candy, however the myth remains at large. This may be due to false claims made by attention seeking individuals.
According to Katy Kline from NPR ,“If you see videos online of people claiming to have found a needle in a candy bar, it’s best to be skeptical. It’s likely to be a hoax.”
This myth first appeared in the mid 1960’s due to an influx of reports later debunked by Sociologist Joel Best. His analysis concluded that all reports were fabricated, unrelated, or pranks. Yet the idea still resides in the back of every parent’s mind during the widely celebrated holiday.
Kline states, “For decades, Halloween-safety public service announcements and police officers have advised parents to inspect their children’s candy before letting them eat it. Generations of kids have been told bad people want to hurt them by tampering with their Halloween candy.”
Furthermore, Paul Fosler states in his article The myth of halloween candy tampering,“the urban legend of Halloween candy tampering has haunted parents for decades, yet the evidence supporting widespread candy tampering is nonexistent.”
While caution is understandable the widespread fear can be put to rest. Halloween is a holiday all about fright, goblins, ghouls, vampires, carved pumpkins and children dressed as power rangers eating too many sweets. Instead of fearing your neighbor down the street is passing out poisoned candy, focus on having fun embracing the holiday with loved ones. There is no reason to be concerned about strangers with malicious intent, still, if checking your candy brings you peace then by all means. Enjoy trick or treating, Happy Halloween!
