Writes Derek from Ohio: “I found this on an anthropological blog I follow and thought it would fit great on your site.” I agree, Derek, I agree!
related: No candy go away!
extra credit: Do I have to give candy to poor kids? [slate.com]
FILED UNDER: casual sexism · Halloween
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155 responses so far ↓
#1
KaylaB
If kids only stayed in their own neighborhoods, my kids wouldn’t have the opportunity to enjoy trick-or-treating. We have the only children in a neighborhood of mostly seniors and retirees, along with long driveways with lots of hills. So yes, we take our kids out of our neighborhood, and luckily not to the one this guy lives in!
Nov 4, 2014 at 8:02 pm rating: 90
#2
Teri
Really? My dad loves Halloween so much, he started packing away full size candy bars the first week of September so he could really give kids a nice Halloween. He was so disappointed that he had 25 of his 100 bars left. And that’s the way it should be. I can’t believe people get into such a tizzy about whether or not kids are “from OUR neighborhood.” My dad would’ve loved more trick-or-treaters, whether or not they lived nearby.
Nov 4, 2014 at 8:10 pm rating: 90
#3
Jami
Geez, Scrooge needs a visit from the ghosts of Halloween Past, Halloween Present, and Halloween Future.
Or just a swift kick in the head.
Nov 4, 2014 at 8:13 pm rating: 90
#4
Trish
We had dozens of trucks and cars lined up down our block with kids spilling out. I know I had at least 100, we give out whole bars and I bought about 30lbs of small candy. I have only small stuff left, even the cracker jack bags were snatched up. I don’t care if you’re from my neighborhood, old, young, in a costume, not in a costume. As long as you’re not a rude little rat I’ll give you candy. I’ve only ever denied 2 kids candy, and it was because they shoved some younger kids down my stairs after they saw whole bars trying to get to me first. Their parents didn’t like it, but oh well. I’ll never understand why people care that much. You buy what you’re willing to spend and turn off your light when it’s gone.
Nov 4, 2014 at 8:19 pm rating: 90
#5
Lita
Entitled bitchfaces like this make me very glad I live in an area where there’s no kids (we didn’t have a single trick-or-treater this year – much to my parents’ delight and my annoyance) so the poor little dears can’t be bitchfaced at by someone like THIS.
Nov 4, 2014 at 8:35 pm rating: 90
#6
Traci
Oh yes, one of THOSE people. I am in my 40′s and I LOVE trick-or-treaters (although I was sick on this Halloween and didn’t give out candy) and I love to talk to them and let them pick out their candy. My daughter and I drove around Monday to see who all got toilet papered. When I was a kid, it was like a badge of honor to get TP’d! Awesome times!!!! Some people just ruin it for everyone with their NASTY attitudes! I know who’s place needs to get toilet papered!
Nov 4, 2014 at 8:37 pm rating: 90
#7
Ajax
On Halloween, van-loads of kids and parents from out of the ‘hood descend on our neighborhood. Many of the trick-or-treaters who come to our door barely speak English. We welcome them all warmly. The extra expense on candy is worth it to show these individuals that, by and large, Americans care about kids, that our traditions are open to all and that we’re neighborly.
Nov 4, 2014 at 8:44 pm rating: 91
#8
Doug Pritchard
Really…..thanks for proving to me how truly uncaring some people can be. Deny candy to the poor kids. WOW like they had a choice in being born into a poor family.
Nov 4, 2014 at 8:46 pm rating: 90
#9
~Jenn
White person here. Lived on a two-block all-white stretch in South Philly in the ’90s, not far from a majority African-American public housing highrise. One year a neighbor sent out a notice that “our” Halloween would be on the 30th, so we should give out candy then and turn off our lights on the 31st. That’s right, White Halloween. We did the opposite. Life in those towers was awful for kids. They scrounged up clothes that kind of added up to costumes, we gave them lots of candy.
Nov 4, 2014 at 8:54 pm rating: 91
#10
Cate
That’s awful! We have kids from a few apartment complexes in town come to our neiborhood. I love it! It’s just like in the movies with hoards of kids walking around everywhere. What a Scrooge! But a bag of Dum Dum pops .
Nov 4, 2014 at 9:03 pm rating: 90
#11
RedDelicious
Playing Devil’s advocate, so to speak, so just because you live in a better off to do sort of neighborhood, you’re expected to buy twice the amount of candy because greedy kids, who’ve already been through their neighborhood, get trucked in by the bus and van load for round two? There’s a big difference between driving your own kids to a neighborhood with families because you don’t live in one, and bus loads of kids banging on your door demanding candy who have already cleaned out their own neighborhood.
Nov 4, 2014 at 9:12 pm rating: 90
#12
vablueeyedlady
My kids are teens now, so no trick or treating. When they were younger, we HAD to go to other neighborhoods because trick or treating isn’t allowed in our apartment complex. It’s bad enough they restricted it to 12 and under only and between the hours of 6 and 8 pm.
Nov 4, 2014 at 9:25 pm rating: 90
#13
trick or treat
Send those kids over here! I decorate the yard and add something every year! We by a good amount of candy, and if we run low, just give out smaller portions. We ran out once, and I shut off the lights. An occasional kids knocked anyway, and I gave them a hand full of pennies and told them I was sorry, but I was out of candy. If you’re worried about the neighborhood kids so much, reserve a bag of good candy for them, and buy cheapies for the hordes. Had a neighbor growing up that gave homemade popcorn balls to those on her block ONLY. This gets my vote for douchiness!
Nov 4, 2014 at 9:26 pm rating: 90
#14
Michele
This person should have shut their lights off and let that be that. To put this sign out for children to see is disgusting. I would have erased it.
Nov 4, 2014 at 9:29 pm rating: 90
#15
Roto13
I must have missed the official Halloween memo stating that kids have to stay in their own neighbourhoods when trick-or-treating.
Nov 4, 2014 at 9:30 pm rating: 90
#16
catethulhu
I would have liked to erase it and replace it with “I’m a douche, no candy”. I should start carrying a marker around. This probably made a bunch of kids feel bad who didn’t deserve it.
Incidentally, we didn’t give out candy this year for various reasons. I wish we did though. I love Halloween.
Nov 4, 2014 at 9:55 pm rating: 90
#17
otisbright
fuck that greedy piece of shit.
Nov 4, 2014 at 9:58 pm rating: 90
#18
iola
In my neighborhood I see almost no kids who live here on Halloween. We see over 100 easy, and they are all welcome! If I were their parents and I lived where trick-or-treating was hard to do, I would do the same thing and take them to another neighborhood! Occasionally we get the rowdy teens, but mostly it’s just plan adorable kids and kind parents. Wouldn’t want to miss that!
Nov 4, 2014 at 11:09 pm rating: 90
#19
Limey
I love seeing the little kids, although the lazy teenagers who don’t ever bother trying to dress up bother me.
However, since I don’t give out candy, I just turn off my light outside and leave it at that. Simple and far less rude.
Nov 4, 2014 at 11:40 pm rating: 90
#20
Sir Puke
What a bitter person. This note writer’s lawn should be the target of neighborhood dog walkers.
Nov 5, 2014 at 12:37 am rating: 90
#21
ParadigmParagon
This person is an ass. Give out what you want to give out and when you’re done turn the lights off. Why make a bunch of kids feel crappy because you don’t like all the outsiders trick or treating in your neighborhood. It’s children in costumes, not roving street gangs. Geez. I live in a town with a lot of pretty rural areas and a lot of people aren’t located in places with very close neighbours so people bring their kids into the more dense neighborhoods like ours. We’ve always loved seeing all the creative costumes.
Nov 5, 2014 at 5:42 am rating: 90
#22
vonH
We used to sometimes go to other neighborhoods for one of two reasons:
1) they were full of decorated houses, and houses with awesome decoration were way more fun to visit (gasp shock, not even about the candy here)
2) I had friends. Not all of my friends lived in my neighborhood.
Oh the horrors that I would go outside of my own area code to have some fun!
Nov 5, 2014 at 6:38 am rating: 90
#23
TerriM
“Dear Prudence” just had a letter exactly like this. Her response was awesome: “Stop being callous and miserly and go to Costco, you cheapskate, and get enough candy to fill the bags of the kids who come one day a year to marvel at how the 1 percent live.” In other words, “Go to Costco, bitch!” Words to live by.
Nov 5, 2014 at 7:11 am rating: 90
#24
Common Sense
You know what’s funny? There’s no tangible proof that this was actually a sign someone put up. There’s nothing here that proves this wasn’t someone with a liberal agenda (much like the gay waitress with the stiffed tip that turned out to be a lie) and all you people are jumping right on the lynch mob bandwagon. Whatever happened to critical thinking skills?
Nov 5, 2014 at 7:20 am rating: 90
#25
jUstPunkin
We live in a neighborhood with LOTS of houses, close together and easy for kids to trick or treat; we expect lots of kids – and we get them. On occasion, my kids have gone with friends to other neighborhoods, similar to ours and have never had a problem.
A friend of mine faced something similar this year, with the guy asking her, when he saw her park her car and get out with her four kids, if she was from the area. Very rude.
There are kids who live in neighborhoods where it is not safe to trick or treat; I gladly welcome them – all kids deserve to have some fun.
Eggs and TP for this guy!
Nov 5, 2014 at 7:31 am rating: 90
#26
Whitley
In my neighborhood we dont even trick or treat. My family hosts a small carnival. With games food a hayride and a haunted trail. Heres the best part.. its all FREE. We just want kids to have a fun and safe halloween.
Nov 5, 2014 at 7:51 am rating: 90
#27
havingfitz
We didn’t get as many kids this year because it was pretty bad weather, and have a lot of candy left over. It was disappointing: I love Halloween. Everyone who comes to our door gets candy, no matter where they live. This person really does deserve to get egged.
Nov 5, 2014 at 9:36 am rating: 90
#28
ijterstellat
the 9pposite note kids I bought tons of candy the good stuff why you no visit my house. I lovehhanding out candy but no one comes to my house .
Nov 5, 2014 at 10:34 am rating: 90
#29
Christine
While our neighborhood has kids, we’re on a cul de sac with a steep driveway. I love Halloween and always buy way too much candy. To the whopping 12 kids total (4 doorbell rings worth) who decided our driveway was worth it, they got handsomely rewarded with “take as big a handful as you can manage!”. Miserly letter writer can send the “poor kids” my way. I would have loved to see them.
Nov 5, 2014 at 11:06 am rating: 90
#30
Ahava
We had a ton of trick-or-treaters this year. Since our kids are grown and out of the house, folks other than our immediate neighbors wouldn’t know if it’s “okay” to knock on our door, so we go outside with a big basket of candy and hang out outdoors so the parents can check us out, and the kids can see what kind of candy we have. It’s fun – and as for kids from other areas of town coming to our neighborhood, good. The more kids, the merrier. And it makes me feel even more grateful that I guess I live in the “good” part of town.
Nov 5, 2014 at 12:52 pm rating: 90
#31
Kat
Every Halloween, I hear the following complaints:
~Kids who aren’t from the neighborhood
~Kids who are too old
~Kids who aren’t wearing costumes
~Kids who take more than one piece of candy
It’s Halloween! Yeah, I’ll give you that it is kind of sassy when kids take more candy. We generally have full-sized candy bars in one bowl and then another bowl with little bags of crackers and cookies, and we tell the kids they can have one from each bowl. Sometimes, kids will just grab two candy bars. Big whoop though. They’re kids, it’s candy, they’re excited, they’re having fun! You don’t have to participate, just turn off your porch light.
Nov 5, 2014 at 1:52 pm rating: 90
#32
Jason
This year I decided I didn’t want to sit outside my house and hand out candy to all the little brats in my own neighborhood. So I took my ten year old son and 18 year old daughter to our church “trunk-or-treat” party. We had a lot of fun there and I didn’t have to spend any money on candy.
Nov 5, 2014 at 2:30 pm rating: 90
#33
kaetra
This guy needs a good dose of Halloween cheer. The Halloween fairies should visit his house with a trebuchet and a giant sack of dirty diapers. Splat tastic!!
Nov 5, 2014 at 2:50 pm rating: 90
#34
K
I wish they trucked them into our neighborhood! We only had about 15 this year because of the composition of our neighborhood (not lots of kids, houses are on about .3 acre each, people across the street from us and next door don’t give out candy…). I was super bummed and have a boatload of extra candy. I love it. It’s fun to see what they dress up as, talk to them about favorite candy, and basically just watch them enjoy everything that Halloween is about. Kids are hilarious. Makes me remember my days as a kid on Halloween. Lots of people gave me lots of candy and made my Halloween. Now I get to pay the universe back.
Nov 5, 2014 at 3:10 pm rating: 90
#35
DasUmilaut
I live in a college town in the middle of nowhere and it’s not safe for the kids to trick-or-treat around town. So my college decided to have them come around to the dorms to get candy. It’s the BEST idea. Since I live off-campus, my roommates and I will head over to an on-campus friend’s dorm and sit outside handing out candy from two bowls, one for their room and one for our apartment. The kids love it because college students are super generous with candy, the parents love it because it’s indoors, it’s safe and well-lit, and it helps bring the community together.
Nov 5, 2014 at 4:33 pm rating: 90
#36
Rjb37066
I have no children but still Purchase chocolate bars, twizzlers and the like for the munchkins that find their way into my neighborhood. Even have dog treats for 4 legged ones.
I don’t really consider myself someone who likes kids even, but it’s once a year, hand out candy.
It’s not about who lives in your neighborhood, a religious cause or greed. It’s costumes + kids =candy.
Nov 5, 2014 at 9:46 pm rating: 90
#37
N_V
Due to weather, our house got out the BBQ and made hotdogs to go with the candy. We don’t get a lotta kids, but on that cold night we totally rocked it.
Plus, I got to be part of my neighbour Leo’s entourage. He’s five, and went as Spider-Man. Sometimes, I got some candy, too! As long as he’s around, I have a great excuse for dressing up and touring my neighbourhood other than “It’s for a con” and “I let loose a fire hazard, has anyone seen it?”
Nov 5, 2014 at 11:38 pm rating: 90
#38
gb
Why do Americans celebrate this again? I don’t understand. And slowly the infection is spreading here too… Christmas is annoying enough as it is.
Nov 6, 2014 at 1:44 am rating: 90
#39
ballz
I live in a tightly packed military neighborhood in the nicer side of a town with a lot of rough areas. We had hundreds of trick or treaters prowling the streets in their costumes. Judging by the dozens of extra cars I’m guessing most of them weren’t from our street but you know what? It was awesome. Everyone was having a great time, commenting on eachother’s costumes, admiring decorations, all that. I think spending a COUPLE DOLLARS more on candy was worth helping make a great memory for a lot of kids.
Nov 6, 2014 at 6:51 am rating: 90
#40
Roxy Random
My mom loves Halloween. She loves seeing all the kids in their costumes, and she always buys plenty of candy. I had to work this Halloween night, but I gave out candy anyway.
Our mall, after years of trick or treating, decided to cancel it this year (too bad they didn’t tell anyone beyond a tiny notice on the corner of a sign everyone walks past). We got some kids anyway, and since a lot of the stores brought candy in that they had bought themselves, Halloween was saved! And we didn’t ask where the kids were from. Everyone was welcome.
Nov 6, 2014 at 7:00 pm rating: 90
#41
Jami
When my best friend, Erin, was alive I’d go celebrate Halloween with her and her mom. We’d do a whole Hogwarts set up complete with a “sorting hat.” The kids would put the hat on and they’d reach into a caldron to pull out a slip of paper with their house name on it.
After she died (she had cystic fibrosis) I didn’t celebrate for several years. Then one day someone gave my mom this really ugly house dress and I was inspired to turn it into a hippie costume.
While remodeling our house at the rental we were in we didn’t get any trick or treaters. When back in our home our yard was too unsafe. So we took our treats and went to Balboa Island and handed them out as we walked around. Basically, instead of the kids coming to us, we went to them. My dog, Minnie, also was pulled into this. She was very popular when I dressed her as The Doctor and myself as the TARDIS. People always noticed her first. I made a little pouch that I tied to her harness to hold a toy sonic screwdriver, she wore a white shirt and a black cape – and I even found a tiny fez. So I kind of mixed up a bunch of different Doctors to make her an “unofficial regeneration.”
Without fail someone would say, “Oh my God, look at the dog! It’s The Doctor!” Then they’d notice me and said, “OH MY GOD YOU’RE THE TARDIS!”
It was damn fun, being a mobile treat unit.
Nov 7, 2014 at 12:20 am rating: 90
#42
DLW
Man, what a miser.
I’ve rarely had trick-or-treaters, living out in the country. I just moved to a larger city and live in a big apartment complex with lots of kids (I have no kids myself) so I thought I’d get a bunch! I guess not many wanted to trek all the way up to the third floor though, which is a pity as I was giving out handfuls of fun-size chocolate bars with plastic skeleton hands stuck on ‘em. At least the ones who did come had fun.
As to the whole trucking kids around…no duh, some neighborhoods just aren’t for trick-0r-treating! If you don’t want to have to buy more candy, give out what you’ve got and turn off the light! Why make a production out of it, good god. When I grew up on an AFB we were able to walk door to door, but when we moved out to the rural NC countryside my parents had to drive us around. No one seemed to mind.
Nov 7, 2014 at 12:11 pm rating: 90
#43
Corviddreams
For those complaining about teenagers, my youngest trick-or-treated right into high school. He didn’t want to do what his friends were doing, which was hang out at an alcohol and drug fueled party. Please, let them be kids a little while longer, even if they are sullen and have crappy costumes! The sullen ones needs the candy-love the most!
Nov 7, 2014 at 4:48 pm rating: 90
#44
KristyLane
For the most part, I don’t mind the teenagers as long as they are still having fun and dressing up – you know, in the spirit of the holiday. But there comes a point when they really are too old. And that’s why God gave us individually wrapped cough drops to hand out.
Nov 10, 2014 at 9:40 pm rating: 90
#45
EpicBoxx
Wow. This is just wrong man. Halloween is for everyone. No matter where you live or where you are from.
Nov 12, 2014 at 3:44 am rating: 90
#46
oi
Where are all these kids? We had none.
I was so eager to hand out candies to all Elsas.:(
Nov 12, 2014 at 5:38 pm rating: 90
#47
oi
Where are all these kids? We had none.
I was so ready to hand out candies to all Elsas.:(
Nov 12, 2014 at 5:40 pm rating: 90
#48
G. Jay
People like these are so annoying, and by being like this we can only concur that they probably are jerks about most things. It’s one day out of the whole year, suck it up and give kids candy because no matter what “neighborhood” they’re from, they still deserve to have a happy childhood experience on Halloween. I gave handfuls of candy to kids and the looks on their faces are priceless. This person (and people like him/her) needs to stop acting like a child and stop hogging candy from actual children. Scrooge!
Nov 14, 2014 at 2:19 pm rating: 90
#49
D. Sloan
Heaven forbid people should drive their kids into neighborhoods that are safe, well-lit and actually have candy. That note is code for “keep your brown children out of our white neighborhood.” Personally, we have a lot of kids driven into our neighborhood for Halloween. I don’t participate when Halloween is on a work night, but this year I went through 15 bags of candy, and had a drink for every “Elsa” who came to my door. It was fun until the hangover.
Nov 14, 2014 at 5:32 pm rating: 90
#50
Kate
Wow, amazed that was standing long enough to take a photo of considering all the “thugs” coming into the neighborhood. If you can’t afford to give out candy, just turn out your lights. If you’re a racist, just burn a cross in the yard… Jeezzz….
Nov 15, 2014 at 9:21 am rating: 90
#51
GenuineNerd
I remember trick-or-treat well. As a child growing up on the east side of Cleveland, OH, one year I remember my mother taking me to a street in Shaker Heights (one of the “rich” parts of town), because some of the homes were giving out full-size 5-cent candy bars (this was around 1962 or 1963), instead of the usual “fun size” bars or penny candy. I did make out like a bandit that year candy-wise…but I do see the point where some residents living in more well-to-do areas are reluctant to hand out candy to youngsters from other parts of town. I stopped trick-or-treating when I was 12, when at least one person denied me candy, saying “candy for the little kids only.” As an adult, I have lived in areas where there was little or no trick=or-treat activity, mainly due to either living in apartment buildings or upstairs of duplexes, or where there were few houses on the street. I have given out candy every year at one place where I lived for 18 years…but the crowds dwindled year after year as the neighborhood changed for the worse. Where I used to have almost 100 or so kids come over went down to only about a dozen or so…and I end up sugar rushed for several days from the candy I wasn’t able to give out. However, Halloween does being back some childhood memories for me.
Nov 16, 2014 at 5:29 pm rating: 90
#52
humoradda
Halloween always gets ruined by these kinds of people who just want to hoard chocolates
Nov 18, 2014 at 10:48 am rating: 90
#53
LudditeProgrammer
We had two buckets of Haribo left after Halloween.
Partly poor turnout (Kent weather) and partly us both getting stuck with overtime so only the stragglers caught us at home.
I’da given – well – two buckets of Haribo to have seen more trick or treaters. They’re just so great when they still think £2′s worth of acetate actually makes them look like witches and vampires and Spiderman. You can kind of see what _they_ think they look like in their costumes and it’s awesome.
Nov 21, 2014 at 10:13 am rating: 90
#54
Amanda
In my hometown there is this one street where an awesome resident began carving lots of pumpkins and the neighbors kicked in and helped. It was a safe street for kids so after awhile police blocked off road traffic and the kids went wild. The community would pitch in with jackolanterns and candy donations to help. This became so well known it was tradition and the street was renamed “Pumpkin Alley.” The original awesome homeowner unfortunately passed and everybody on the street now refuses to continue the tradition which took place for over 40 years. It’s really sad to see. I get it really but everyone of these people bought houses on Pumpkin Alley well aware of how important it was to the community. I’m just glad my children got to go when they were little.
Nov 24, 2014 at 3:34 am rating: 90
#55
Theorangemenace
I am totally with this person. Where we live the houses are close together and its flat. We buy good candy and I know who lives in the neighborhood and surrounding streets. I don’t appreciate people leaving their cars in front of my house to come back and be noisy and inconsiderate when my small child is trying to sleep. I don’t appreciate parents sending their kids up to the house a third time because they think I won’trecognize them. I spent $60 on candy to only have enough to hand out for an hour and a half only to be told I am cheap for turning out the light at 7:30. I had two kids open my front door and walk in that I didn’t know with no parent in sight, I am just grateful I got to the dog before he got to them. A big part of bad behavior is the I don’t live here who cares if I behave poorly attitude from the kids and parents alike.
Nov 24, 2014 at 8:37 pm rating: 90
#56
Sarah
These people are asshats! When I was a kid our neighborhood was swarming with kids and they weren’t all from our neighborhood. Now my parents get depressed because they hardly have any kids come to the door. Most of their candy goes to my kids. I didn’t realize there were people out there who got upset by kids coming from other neighborhoods…People get pissed by the weirdest things.
Dec 20, 2014 at 6:02 pm rating: 90
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