In my youth 'Halloween' was called Tucking Apple Night, where we would invite our friends to come and enjoy some food and games in the house. We had apples hung from strings, apples in barrels and a lucky dip, with nibbles and crisps to eat a lucky dip and a few little prizes for those who managed to eat an apple but mostly we got soaked in the barrels and never actually managed to grab and apple. We had fun no one was dressed up or scary it was just a fun way to enjoy October 31st without all this hoohaa, decorations and dressing up that came from across the pond and it cost next to nothing.
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The great Halloween debate: ghostly or ghastly?
It's no secret that a lot of we Brits don't quite know what to make of Halloween - in stark contrast to our American cousins and their colourful annual celebrations. We hear from two bloggers on opposite sides of the pond - and opposite sides of the Halloween argument.
First up is British blogger and author, Christine Human, who is firmly ensconced in the anti-Halloween camp...
Halloween - a bit of fun, or commercialised nonsense?
The grandchildren call, hauling in impossibly big pumpkins, and meet the same glazed eyes that my children saw when Halloween was mentioned - I try not to purse my lips. It's a grandad job, carving pumpkins, so they go straight through to the garden and I do enjoy watching them scooping out the contents, chatting away. I provide sausages in bread rolls and squash. I find the tea lights ready to tuck inside. The discarded innards hit the food recycling immediately.
Even Mary Berry cannot persuade me to make pumpkin pie.
I don't know of any other occasion that provokes such a reaction - it's definitely a 'love it or hate it' occasion - and I hate it. Every supermarket shelf turns orange, or so it seems, and those giant online retailers keep trying to persuade me to buy Halloween outfits, even producing a range for pets – well really!
I believe its roots lie in the idea that the spirits of the dead take to wandering about looking for bodies to inhabit and that the living put on scary costumes and make loud noises to stop them. I don’t care – I don’t like it. I know it's big in America and I don't care – so is campaigning for presidency and look where that's leading them. I fully expect Donald to appear in pumpkin costume and Hillary, claws out, as a hissing sleek, black cat.
31 October, it's lockdown night in our household, and the warm welcome usually offered to callers is subject to a twelve-hour curfew. Wartime rules apply -
"put that light out".
31 October, it’s lockdown night in our household, and the warm welcome usually offered to callers is subject to a twelve-hour curfew. Wartime rules apply - "put that light out". A quick trip to the front garden to padlock the gate, flick off the security light, and double-check for reckless illumination from within. Hastily recruited triple A batteries achieve undeserved status sitting alongside precious ornaments, the naked shell of the bell exposed confirming its demise. The large brass knocker on the front door swaddled with a duster and secured with brown tape. The insipid yellow streetlights interrupted by frigid swaying branches cast spooky shadows on the walls, the only sound a tomcat howling.
Satisfied, we retreat to the back of the house, and settle down in front of the gas fire, put subtitles on the TV to ensure no indiscreet leakage which may indicate occupancy.
My neighbour's house will receive all the attention, their windows packed with silhouettes of black cats with hunched backs, a glaring full moon, witches on broomsticks, skeletons and impossibly big plastic spiders with black hairy legs dangling from lintels. They are prepared to have hoards of over-excited children playing trick or treat and will willingly administer an overdose of sickly sweets from large orange supermarket buckets.
One smirking group who dared to mention 'trick' had eggs dropped on them from a bedroom window one year. Retaliation resulted in them having flour bombs hurled at them from the house. From the ensuing laughter I suppose they all had fun.
Meanwhile I am tucked away in subdued lighting, hearing every little crunch and clank, hoping that tonight I don't need to call an ambulance.
You can read more from Christine over on her blog, A Dangerous Age.
By Christine Human
Twitter: @adangerousage
In the pro-Halloween corner, we have Deborah Drezon Carroll - Executive Editor of US grandparenting magazine, GRAND, and staunch Halloween enthusiast.
Halloween - a bit of fun, or commercialised nonsense?
My fondest memories of Halloween are not about the candy. Okay, not all about the candy. Rather, I recall those cool, crisp fall nights, roaming the neighbourhood with my friends and delighting in the joy of friendship, the total abandon of pretend play, and the soundtrack of crunching leaves beneath my feet. When you're a kid it doesn't get any better than that.
Plus, unlike other holidays, Halloween was guilt-free. Some holidays came with strict rules: you had to go to church or synagogue, you had to visit the cousins you never see and never want to see, you had to dress up and wear uncomfortable shoes, you had to show up with a creative gift, and so on.
But Halloween had only one rule. Have fun. There were parties and no gift was required. There was the ability to play out your fantasy and no one would think you were crazy. You could be Peter Pan or Spiderman, Cruella DeVille or Buffalo Bill. So when my children were born, we continued the Halloween traditions in much the same way I remembered.
recall those cool, crisp fall nights, roaming the neighbourhood with my friends and delighting in the joy of friendship, the total abandon of pretend play, and the soundtrack of crunching leaves beneath my feet.
My legacy included the Great Candy Swap. I had done it with my sister and described it to my daughters so they could do the same. After returning home from trick-or-treating, you spread out all of your candy on the floor. The sight of that pile of sweet, sugary goodness is simply a thrill. Then, with a careful eye, you take stock of your booty and that of your siblings. Then, the great swap negotiations begin.
"I'll give you one Kit Kat for your Milky way."
"I'll give you two Snickers for two Reese's Pieces."
The goal is to figure out which ones your siblings don't love and make them an offer that suits your sweet tooth. This goes on until everyone has managed to give away much of what they don't like, except for lollipops because nobody wants those and you can't give them away!
It's a great way for kids to learn the art and science of deal-making!
And Halloween isn't just fun, it's also a therapeutic strategy to overcome a fear. Afraid of ghosts? Not on Halloween when you can walk right up to them and say, "I ain't scared of no ghosts!" Scary monsters freak you out? On Halloween you realise there's no substance in that fear, it's just your neighbour Norman in face paint, fur, and feathers.
So, in summary, I'll just say "BOO" to anyone who doesn't think Halloween is a day deserving of respect!
Deborah is Executive Editor of GRAND, a US-based lifestyle magazine for grandparents. Find out more on the website.
By Deborah Drezon Carroll
Twitter: @GRANDMMagazine
My husband loves Halloween. He's a dentist. Makes a fortune from it 
Deborah - so true about the lollipops!!
Rubbish American import. Our celebration used to be Guy Fawkes night.
The American version of Hallowe'en suits the supermarkets and decoration companies. Look at all the rubbish that's now available. Costumes, plastic pumpkins, skeletons, ghosts ....you name the rubbish they'll make it and that's before you get onto the special Hallowe'en food which is normal food with a sticker or edible bit of rice paper on it.
However, you can't stand in the way of progress even if you don't agree with it so I'll buy some mini choc bars and be suitably scared when I open the door to little witches, werewolves, vampires etc. It's only once a year and it's an excuse to eat chocolate as there is bound to be some left over
After all I doubt the pagans were overjoyed when the Christians plonked their celebration of the dead on top of Samhain.
I'm sorry to hear of your experience LadyGracie, but those sorts of vandals will just find any excuse to be horrendous - it can't really be blamed on Halloween. No matter what the films would have you ebleive It's not like a bad spirit comes out and makes everyone evil!
I agree with Grandma2213 that it's as commercial as you want it to be. My GCs love dressing up - what child doesn't? - and the parents are mostly considerate about what outfits they wear (nothing too scary) and how many sweets are consumed on the evening. Usually they are allowed one or two and then the rest are put away and either metered out over the weeks although sometimes even forgotten about by the littler ones.
Personally I love all the crafty things you can do with pumpkins and I've been busy with the 5 yr old making cute ghost and bat paper chain decorations - great fun! 
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