Halloween costumes - a step too far?

I hate it as it is now. When the kids were little we made pumpkin faces and put candles in them in the windows..played games like bobbing for apples but they were not allowed to go out knocking on doors as I believe its rewardinding the threat of bad behaviour. Also I thought the night was to celebrate the dead spirits returning to see their loved ones. Believe they have such a celebration in China but they celebrate it in a respectful way.

Grannyisland & Craftycat are spot on. I come from Yorkshire but lived not far from Pendle Hill - home of the Lancashire Witches. As children we had parties where we would dress up as Witches etc., no Trick or Treating - American import plus we had no close neighbours.

Teenagers & young Adults would often climb Pendle Hill, Police had a busy night when people got lost

Local pub (nearest lane onto Pendle) would close for evening to avoid trouble.

I hate all the "hype" now but DGS had a Halloween Disco at School, he is 6 & went dressed as a Zombie . Children love being scared in a safe environment, as long as it's harmless fun I don't mind

Really dislike Halloween. Another money grabbing highlight of stupid suckers!

My reasons for loathing Halloween are purely personal. For several years running, some time ago, our house was targeted for egg-throwing. We were on one corner of a T-junction, so there were three escape routes. I remember one notable year when I spent the whole of the next day cleaning the front of the house and car. Egg is really difficult to remove, and what a waste!
Saw some very small children in the U.S. dressed up for Halloween. They looked very sweet, one was a tiger, strangely, and they seemed quite bewildered.

Guess I just spent too many years in pathology, saw enough horrors and heartbreak everyday. Claudia winkleman at the moment, I,m thinking of. Her daughter is still undergoing surgery. How about having a happy party at a community centre having a cookery, supervised lesson, pumpkin pies, soup fritters, muffins, toffee apples etc, eating all their wares and having a little discoxx

i was in a highstreet store yesterday and they were selling in the childrens aisle a blood stained chainsaw !

My goodness Grannypiper, what did go through your mind at the time? I have 2 days respite a week, 1 day I catch up on most jobs, day 2 I try and chill out going to a garden centre and having a scone maybe. Cos my son and I sit at the table every night. Thank goodness for slow cookers. Are there any lonely, mistreated or isolated grans anywhere near Morpeth. Maybe we can all get together one day and a coffee. It would be greatxx

I can remember a Hallowe'en party when I was in my teens - a friend and I went to it on the bus dressed as witches and I blacked out one of my front teeth, good fun and amusing to the other passengers. But now I see Hallowe'en as part of the Americanisation of our country - Father's Day, Mothering Sunday has become Mother's Day, Disney has adapted some of our much loved children's stories. Up in Yorkshire we used to have Mischief Night - 4 November - probably reflecting the date when Guy Fawkes planted his gunpowder under Parliament. It could be a nightmare, gates taken off, youths being a nuisance but that seems to have disappeared in favour of Hallowe'en - yes, we've had eggs thrown at the house, what a job to clean off. I complained at the local Coop and they looked on the CCTV and identified the lads who had bought the eggs and warned the staff about selling eggs to youths.

Hi! Grandmama, I remember when my windows were popped for fun and eggs lunged at the car it,s like battery acid, horrendous to move, hope it,s alot better now. Booked a holiday in north Yorkshire for July 2017, hope weather is kind. Love and flowers ? to youxx

I never liked it either - I don't think our children ever did anything to 'celebrate'.
I thought that these traditions were because the following day is All Saints Day, and the night before all the mischievous, bad spirits go on the rampage to try to chase away the goodies of the next day?

My grandsons go out trick or treating because their father is American. But they go out with their parents and only visit friends.

I first knew of Halloween celebrations when my sons were small in the 1980s and they dressed up and went to a party at a friend's house. That was OK.
Nowadays we have small children without adults knocking at the door - unsafe for them. Also, teenagers wanting money - unsafe for me. Obviously most parents are with their children but those that aren't. how can they let their kids knock at strangers' doors?

They are only costumes and if they get people talking that can't be a bad thing .I am a Wiccan and could get upset about how people dressed up and disrespect Witches but I don't. The world is way to PC .If you don't like Halloween stay in for one night .

I am a Christian. I do not like Halloween or what it stands for. I do not think children should be told it is fun to threaten their neighbours with threats of scratching the car or throwing eggs at people's houses. So we do not join in the so called 'fun'.

Better I think, if you really want to celebrate something that is about witches and wizards, to stay in your own homes. Stop scaring people with your horrible costumes.

Haha antheacarol its staying in that seems a problem for some so think you ve missed the point really
I don't think anyone is complaining about a costume of a witch it's gone a lot further than that and that is what is worrying a lot of nastiness or at worst teaching kids to beg and be nasty if the giver hasn't given

A word of warning for those who do celebrate Halloween. You have seen the reports of these costumes suddenly catching fire haven't you? They are not fire-proof and a naked flame can send them in to a fire ball with your child in the middle. Please do not let your child be a victim because they will have to live with the scars for the rest of their lives...if they survive the flames that is.

Just so you know!

As my DD tells her children on a daily basis 'We are Scottish not American' We try to stay traditional with 'Guisers' (short for disguisers) and turnip lanterns as the family have done for generations but it is difficult when even the school asks for carved pumpkins (£2,50 from supermarket) instead of 'Neeps' (Free from the garden)

Awwww... Granny23, love those carved neeps!

In the US, Halloween has gotten out of control with too many nights of kids and adults running riot.

I was in a small Welsh village one Halloween here and the pub did a kids party with costume contest (one kid came with a box over his head draped with white cloth and his head was covered in plastic fruit as a centrepiece, not a head to be carved!), apple bobbing and painting faces on pumpkins (safer). Nothing went to waste, lots of pumpkin soup was made and put into the freezer. Yum. I asked.. hey what about pumpkin pie? That's one US treat I do like, but guess it's not popular enough here.

I personally don't like the trick & treat thing, I never have. It's quiet around here and I haven't had any problems since moving here but it was bad at my old house. It is very much an American thing, that I prefer to avoid

Apart from possible fire risk Some of the costumes are really nasty and scary. They could certainly really upset younger children. There should be a way of making it less scary and more fun.