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Ex-witch, urban legend madman screwed up Halloween
October 31, 2007It is Halloween -- one of the really fun kid holidays of the year --- and one that grown-ups have been trying to screw up for years.
When my kids were little, my wife refused to have anything to do with Halloween.
It was Satin's day, she said.
Anybody who goes trick or treating is worshiping the devil.
Bull hockey!!!
Dressing up like Popeye and going out and getting candy from the neighbors will not cast a kid or his parents into an eternal lake of fire.
So I took the kids trick or treating every year -- Ms. Satin herself stayed home.
When I was a kid, we trick or treated all over town.
We even walked to the rich neighborhood where the Ebner family gave out hot dogs and their friends handed out carmel apples or sometimes even nickels and quarters.
I only allowed my kids to go to houses of people I knew.
They trick or treated in the neighborhood and then I drove them around town to knock on the doors of people we knew. We also hit all the businesses giving out stuff.
The reason: There was some madman out there putting razor blades in apples.
I have heard that for years.
And now I learn it was only an urban legend.
My ex-witch -- I mean ex-wife -- probably made it up to spoil Halloween.
Even Ann Landers wrote about this stuff in a 1995 column.
"In recent years, there have been reports of people with twisted minds putting razor blades and poison in taffy apples and Halloween candy."
She wrote those words -- and none of it ever happened.
There was a Houston man who laced Pixie Stix with cyanide and murdered his 8-year-old son on Halloween 1974. He did it to collect on a big insurance policy.
The mad dad was executed by lethal injection in 1984.
The Tyneol murders scared us in the early 1980's.
Seven people died from Sept 29 to Oct. 1 of 1980 after taking Tylenol that had been laced with cyanide.
Those were random murders that never were solved.
But they, too., screwed up Halloween for several years.
They also made it where I can no longer open an aspirin bottle -- but that's a story for another time.
Happy Haloween.
I'm going as Shrek tonight when I take my grandson trick or treating.
Sure wish I knew somebody who was handing out hot dogs.
Posted by at 1:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Comments
I remember my Mom and Dad would not let us have any candy until we got home and they could check our candy for pin holes and any unwrapped candy. Remember when the hospital used to let you bring your candy down and they would x-ray it!! Wow!
Sadly, the stories are not all merely the stuff urban legend. A simple search of Google News Archives reveals that people did indeed do such evil things to harm our children.
Halloween is supposed to be a fun holiday. Parents should check all candy and other goodies before any is consumed. Anything suspicious or odd can be thrown away or if truly malicious, reported to authorities. By sticking to familiar territory and trusted neighbors, parents can limit the chances of receiving tainted treats.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group