to wonder where people who are too scared to answer the door to trick or treaters have got the idea that they are going to be mugged on their own doorstep?

[GoreRenewed]

I live in a quite gentle little town. It's not perfect and entirely crime-free, but it's not exactly Murder Central either. But I have spoken to several people this weekend who tell me that they won't open their door to trick or treaters because it's too risky. Asking for trouble. But none of them have been assaulted or robbed, and neither did they know people who had been.

DS2 and I walked up our road to see whether there were any potential trick or treatees. We have just moved in and we don't know the drill round here. No pumpkins and lots of 'bugger off TorTer' signs. And shadowy figures hovering in darkened rooms peering out at us presumably to see if we were dangerous It was like the eve of some terrible battle, not some silly festival for kids.

I have no problem with people not wanting to give to trick or treaters, it's entirely up to them and I can see it could be a pita. ANd yes, if you are elderly and frail and living alone, it could seem alarming.

But where did this automatic suspicion of strangers come from? When the evidence of most people's own experience is that strangers aren't scary and dangerous. Particularly when they are 3 ft tall and dressed as a pumpkin .

"but they still beleive it's dangerous because we are all constantly told that is the case"

that is a bad thing. Being in fear from strangers because we have been told we should not because there is any reason to be.

I am only talking about people who beleive TorT is dangerous - I'm not demanding that everyone participate I'm just saying that I don't know why those that don't do so because it's so risky think it is so when they have no experience of it being so. And someone asked how I know that is why tthey don't open the door - well I don't know that about all of them, but I had already spoken to several other people this weekend who told me that they thought it was dangerous.

I would only ever go to a house that I didn't know if it had some indication that they were getting involved - ie pumpkins. And there was only 1 in our road - our neighbours.

I took DD TorT last night - we go by the pumpkin/deccies rule and there were very few people who'd done it this year. She was very disappointed, poor thing.

However, we live in a very Asian area and it's Diwali atm, so she got given loads of money and sweets by various families going in and out of each others houses to celebrate, who were cooing over the little witch!

We'd left a bowl of sweets on our doorstep while we were out and when I saw the gang of teens who were running around the street in Scream masks bellowing HAPPY HALLOWE'EN! while we were going down the road I did think 'oh shit, there go the sweets', but no, they had only taken a few each. It was the crowd of wee kids with their parents who cleared us out completely and left a broken carrier bag on the doorstep (I know, cos we were right behind them coming home!)

When I blew out my pumpkin to watch the Xfactor results, we had no more callers, and those who came before then were lovely and polite, even the teens. I'm sorry for those of you who've had bad experiences, I was apprehensive myself tonight about late night callers, as DH is out of town on business, but I agree with Orm, I can't understand why, if you've had no such experience, you're so down on it?

And to those who call it begging.

Blimey riven, it's a different world And Bridgwater is meant to be rough as a Badger's arse!

"Being in fear from strangers because we have been told we should not because there is any reason to be."

The problem is, that you generally don't have a chance to do a quick background check to establish that you have no reason to be scared before you open the door.

Yes, if you can see there are three year olds outside before you open the door then that's one thing but if you can't or it is a gang of teenagers, how do you know that they are "nice" teenagers? Great probability is that they are, but why risk it?

My mum lives in a very nice area in Cheshire. She has had her house egged because she gave sweets not money. I tend to aovid gangs of teenagers because I got mugged and beaten up by a gang of 14 year olds on my way home from work one day. Has it made me think that all 14 year olds are evil, no. But on balance I prefer not to risk opening the door to them in the dark just in case.

as SGM says, her in Scotland it's traditional to go guising. we all did it when we were kids and i take my two out every year. we knock on anyone's house who looks at home, sing a song, tell a joke and get a sweetie.

i've never known anyone to cause trouble, never seen anyone get egged and we move on quickly if anyone's 'not in'.

it's very sad hearing all these horrible stories.

Well, I got trick or treated by four six year olds last night and I shit myself.

Obviously I need to man up.

Now come on cupcakes, six year olds dressed as zombies can be very scary!

They were so cute :) I left two pumpkins outside my front door and only got one group or ToTers :(

Personally, I didn't take DS as there are too many people like some of the people on this thread. But I don't mind other people's kids knocking for sweets.

Kids on Halloween you don't get kids on Halloween well I don't call 15+ year olds annoying people, kids.

It was a surprisingly silent night actually, first halloween in this place I am on the third floor but there wasn't even so much as a firework, amazing since I am only 20 mins away from where I used to live where the windows got egged, little pukes hanged around in gangs and set off fireworks, I guess there is something to be said for living away from the shopping centre, plus this area has a really bad reputation, maybe even the little idiots in hoodies are frightened of the people round here.

I think the best thing to do is put up a sign and either go out or pretend to be out if you really want to avoid trick or treaters. Put the sign up inside on the window so it can't be taken down.

However, I know people who have put up a sign and they got egged.

I also know people who have been egged when they've genuinely not been in to answer the door despite it being pitch black and obvious no one was home.

People say to stick to the pumpkin etiquette but I have a friend who went to a house with a pumpkin and they didn't answer the door despite obviously being in I always put our pumpkin in the front window cos we have had it stolen from outside before and I know people who have had fireworks put in them

Also if it's just the getting up and down that you can't be arsed to do but you don't actually have anything against giving out sweets to trick or treaters, a good thing to do is put out a carrier bag of sweets (wouldn't risk putting a bowl out incase it got stolen unless you used a disposable one) with a sign saying please take one each and leave some for the next people. Or if you don't want to give anything to trick or treaters do the same but put an empty bowl or bag outside and make it look like you've just run out or put a sign up saying please do not knock we've run out of sweets. It could avoid being egged.

It's rather unfortunate that those regulation "no trick or treating here" signs look like Halloween decorations.

If you put sweets out though, you do risk some selfish twits taking the lot.

Well, I don't know what happened last night. Every year I get back and my bowl is still there with a handful of sweets at the bottom so I have assumed everyone is being very polite. Yesterday, as the actual bowl disappeared, it could be that the first ones took the lot.

All this halloween hype is just americanisation of Britain!

When I was wee we went guising and had to do something for a sweetie-tell a joke, sing a song and we only went to people's doors who we knew.

Pah!

it is bloody stupid to have to pretend your out just because you don't want to play a game.
I really hope it is banned soon.

"It's rather unfortunate that those regulation "no trick or treating here" signs look like Halloween decorations"

Yes they do! We had to go right up to a few front doors to check! Maybe that's why the householders were lurking.

Carol singing is 'encouraging children to bed' as well. So is guising and 'Penny for the guy' - all old British traditions. The egging/thuggishness is unfortunate but banning it is not the answer. I really do despise the mindset that wants to stop some people's harmless fun (ie the kids who like to dress up, the householders who like to see the outfits/get creative with their pumpkins) because ooh, wah, there are Nasty People in the world so everybody avoid strangers, don't have any fun, fun is always a Bad Thing and everything needs to be banned,and if you don't agree with putting a stop to your own harmless, considerate fun because someone somewhere else doesn't like it then you are a Nasty Person too, bwaah!
Banning doesn't stop thugs misbehaving, intimidating people, burgling etc. Acts of violence and criminal damage are already illegal.
It's actually very important to fight for the right to have fun rather than watch it on the television.

Yeah! What solid said.

My mum came over to ours last night. She was scared of being at home on her own - last year she had several groups of teenagers at her door. When she gave one of them a sweet he told her it wasn't enough and she'd need to do better. Maybe he was joking but it's frightening to some people. I don't agree with ToT personally - carol singing is usually for charity round here - just can't get to grips with giving the message to my DC that you knock on people's doors and ask for money or sweets. There were several halloween events here - we live in a small market town. My DC dressed up and went to one of these.

Maybe solid but until the police are will to do something about those acts of vandilism and not just say oh it is a bit of fun because it is halloween. How exactly are you meant to put a stop to it without banning it?