Halloween is Not What it Used to Be

Last year I took my daughter trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, only to find about half of the houses with candy simply left out on the front porch. I live in a largely rural community that has been inundated in recent years with new construction consisting of townhouses, single family homes, as well as those gluttonous McMansions that seem to be growing out of cornfields around my neck of the woods. I don't know what has happened to Halloween over the past couple of years, but the few houses that actually had people handing out candy last year, were to my astonishment, some of the meanest candy pushers imaginable. It seemed they were simply trying to rid themselves of their candy as some undesired, but completely required chore. No, they weren't simply playing a part, or keeping in character. They were genuinely scary.

Don't get me wrong, the houses were decorated with the friendliest Halloween decorations available, so as not to scare the overly pampered children in our area, or at least that's the impression that I had. Later in this not so hallowed evening, we encountered a home that was decorated so wonderfully scary, that my daughter was nervous and a little apprehensive as we approached the front door. She finally summoned up the courage to knock on the door, only to be let down when the door was casually opened by a guy with a white T-Shirt and jeans. What a let down. What fun is that? Maybe I'm just being a little nostalgic for the Halloweens of my youth, but even I was a little disappointed in this guy. All talk, and no action.