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Halloween: Fact, Fiction, and Fun!
Don't let urban legends ruin the family fun of a great tradition and holiday. Keep your Halloween safe and fun for your child.
Were you one of those kids with parents who searched your Halloween candy for staples and razor blades before you were allowed to dig into your hard-earned stash? Do you do the same thing with your children? Have you been paralyzed with fear upon reading a terrifying chain-email describing the abduction of a child from a well-known discount store; her little head shaven in the bathroom to disguise her, as she's spirited out of the store, only to be rescued by vigilant security guards? It's enough to make you pass up the adorable costumes, skip the candy aisle, turn off your porch light, and forget Halloween altogether!
Before you deadbolt the door, take a breath and rest assured that you've been the victim of some of the dozens of urban legends floating around playgrounds, schoolyards, and now the Internet, for decades. The vast majority of these legends are untrue, and you'll be pleased to learn that Halloween can be a safe, exciting, and fun day for the entire family.
Poisoned Candy and Razor Blades
It's simply untrue. Joel Best, professor and chairman of the sociology department of Cal State–Fresno, is considered the best authority on what he calls Halloween sadism. In 1985, he conducted a study of Halloween terrorism—candy laced with poison, razor blades, or pins. He reviewed 76 specific stories and rumors reported from 1958 to 1984 in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, and The Fresno Bee. "We couldn't find a single case of any child killed or seriously injured from candy contamination," he said. "The Halloween sadist is an urban myth." When he did substantiate a story, sadly it turned out that the criminal was an eight-year-old boy's father, hoping to hide his crime behind the old "razor in the apple" tale.
Does that mean that you should let your children eat anything they're given from anyone at all? Probably not. Although the odds are that Halloween candy is safe for consumption, you never know when some weirdo is going to resurrect the old tale for his amusement. Sheriff Specialist Lori Hill of the Contra Costa Country Sheriff Department in Danville, California, puts it this way: "This is not a widespread problem, but safety is the better part of valor, so we recommend that children go through their candy with a parent and that only wrapped items or items from family and friends be eaten."
Related Links
- Article: Halloween Safety Tips
- Advice: Great Holiday Ideas
- Slideshow: Haunting Halloween Baby Names
- Quiz: What's Your Halloween IQ?
- Poll: When will you start taking your child trick-or-treating?
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