Trick or Treating, Tradition or Trap?

By: Mariam Wali, Opinion Reporter `  

With only a few major holidays a year, our spooky season is what many students look forward to enjoying. However, what happens when scares get out of hand, and serious fears may threaten trick or treaters?

Dating back to the 1800s, Halloween has always been a time for celebration and fun. Shaping itself into our modern practices, we’ve grown accustomed to dressing up in costumes, ringing doorbells, and holding out our bags for candy.

Yet the most innocent of fun mocks the most famous warnings, ‘don’t take candy from strangers.’ In the real world our monsters aren’t vampires or zombies, rather existing dangers emerge from those among us.

Halloween has become a subject of parental concern, their fears having nothing to do with scary movies or haunted houses, but the wellbeing of their children. 

Paranoia’s grown around the safety of trick or treating. The distraction of seasonal cheer poses opportunities for potentially dangerous individuals to spread tainted treats and poison unknowing mouths. 

However, this nightmare has yet to be a reality. With an absence of incidents or reports, the existence of weaponized treats has been debunked.  

WJPS senior, Lesly Gonzalez said, “Trick or treating is safe because communities come together.” 

WJPS junior, Ella Anayatian said, “Kids are safe and always with their parents when trick or treating.”

By taking precautions like checking our treater’s candy before eating and staying with an adult, Halloween can remain a safe tradition.

“Happy Halloween!!!” by Poster Boy NYC is licensed under CC BY 2.0.