Opinion: Halloween — what do witches do?

Alert: In a few nights, there will likely be a couple of ghosts, perhaps a few goblins, and about a thousand Barbies at your door. They’ll be expecting a treat, preferably something sugary. In the “good, ole days,” my ex and I made candy-coated apples the first year that we owned a home. We figured that there were somewhere between a dozen and two dozen children in our neighborhood. Of course, we tested the apples to make sure that they were as delicious as they looked.

We were overwhelmed by the onslaught of kids we’d never seen before. Nobody warned us that Trick-or-Treaters would arrive in the back of pick-up trucks, or be bused in, or — for all we knew — be dropped by parachute. Within minutes, the apples were gone, and we searched the cupboards for things to give away. Finally, we resorted to giving coins — nickels, dimes, quarters. Finally, we had to turn the lights off and pretend that we weren’t home.

We learned our lesson. Those “good ole days” of candied apples and home-made costumes had been replaced by a mass candy-grab by kids in store-bought witch and wizard costumes. In the following years, we stocked up on miniature boxes and bars of candy, like everyone else. But it took most of the fun out of Halloween for us (and, to some extent, for the kids, as well).