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by Jennifer Winchester

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Walking through the streets on the evening of Halloween can lead to some frightful experiences! There are ghosts, witches, clowns, and vampires on the prowl for candy and trouble. Look out! That scarecrow is actually alive! Who is that masked creature? Screams and giggles fill the air. Chocolates and lollipops fill hollow pumpkin baskets.

Despite the costumes and attempts to look terrifying, what are actually most horrifying are the events that can happen on Halloween. How absolutely frightening that the local newspapers have to publish articles on how to keep your children safe from strangers. Parents are warned against letting their children wander their streets alone and are advised to thoroughly scan their child's candy before they allow them to eat it. Some areas of town forbid individuals from wearing masks, much like the infamous Scream mask, because of burglaries in the area in which the criminal wore a similar Halloween mask.

I remember dressing as a witch on the first Halloween my parents let me go downtown with only my friends. We had a blast as we ate caramel apples and walked through haunted houses. The streets were safe. Only one year later was I a punk rocker, wandering those same downtown streets, and was pulled aside by the local police because I was in the vicinity of a vicious fight and may have served as a vital witness. There was blood on the pavement and a boy in handcuffs and a cheerleader uniform. A crowd had formed around the scene and everyone in that crowd was pelted with apples and oranges as a truckload of teenagers drove by and threw the fruit out the window.

What has happened to the spirit and the fun of the holiday? No longer should children be afraid of the ghastly masks and gruesome costumes. Instead, they should fear the individuals behind the masks for they are, truly, most startling.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Winchester.

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