it was alwyas mischief night up here with no sweets and a turnip instead of a pumpkin – which smelt bad.

I’d say we’ve moved forward.

It’s become far too commercial and american nowadays. No one seems to recall why we celebrate the day anyway,

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allhallowtide

stabiliser – you’re missing the point entirely. If you want to join the merriment that’s fine but you should not be vilified if you do not want to. Some of the self-righteous people above are doing this, yourself included.
Terrible use of CAPS lock too.

Existed in my childhood. “Guising” in Scotland is a tradition that goes back to at least 1895 according to wiki.

Some things are particular to different parts of the country, I doubt I saw my first trick or treater until I was in my mid/late twenties (some time in the mid 1990’s).

You know this thread has a sense of déjà vuis about it.

No, you’re miserable gits.

The only reason ou don’t want to ‘join the merriment’ is so you can crow about it. Like the OP wanting to ‘join inthe merriment’ by spoiling it for the kids by giving them wasabi nuts rather than sweets. EDIT not necessarily the OP reading back but the kill joys further down the thread.

AANND YOU THOoouught THAT^ WaS BADDD?

stabiliser – you’re missing the point entirely. If you want to join the merriment that’s fine but you should not be vilified if you do not want to. Some of the self-righteous people above are doing this, yourself included.

Only in response to the accusations of begging, oiks harassing frightened pensioners with threat of extortion and menace. Response is maybe a bit OTT but you lot started it 😉

Like i said, if you don’t want to play, don’t put a pumpkin in the window. Or actively, put up a sign saying no trick or treaters please. I won’t think any less of you for it, nor will i brandish a breadknife at your window in response. If that happens, it’s not a problem of halloween, it’s a societal problem in general.

PCSO’s will be out tonight I’m sure. I hope they enjoy my costume……

. If that happens, it’s not a problem of halloween, it’s a societal problem in general.

Undoubtedly true, however also a totally rational reason to dislike trick or treating.

Lemonysam… Was that South Wylam? Doesn’t sound like it could have been West Wylam!

Wasabi peas removes the potential nut allergy issues. 🙂

(Ok, the central theme is burning a man alive, but hey, he was a bad man, right?)

Have you checked the veracity of this with jivehoney?

On another note – I’ll be out riding tonight so they can knock on my door all they want. My kids’ are at their mums this year – for the first Halloween in I don’t know how long!

One kid last year came round my house and googled jokes on her phone, didn’t know whether to compliment or condem.

FWIW – I do think it is a good way to get to know the kids in the neighbourhood so you know which ones to tell your kids to not invite back to the house. 😆

Undoubtedly true, however also a totally rational reason to dislike trick or treating.

Not rational at all. It’s like hating all cyclist as one time one of them was rude to you.

Not rational at all. It’s like hating all cyclist as one time one of them was rude to you.

Poor analogy, you’re confusing something that happened once with the normality of halloween in some people’s experience.

If you hated cyclists because 90% of them were rude to you and were threatening to you then that would be closer.

90% I sense some drama queen going on.

90% I sense some drama queen going on.

Then you’d be wrong and insulting, that is what halloween was like in that place and time.

I’m not against it, quite like Halloween infact, but it should be an opt in event. They always turn up just as little Bagstard finally drops off to sleep, then the dog starts barking…

Then you’d be wrong and insulting, that is what halloween was like in that place and time.

But it’s fair to say Wylam has a better Trick or Treater, one that doesn’t fit in with stereotyping that they’ll all will throw an egg.

2) Kids like to have fun playing harmless tricks is good fun

Got any examples of harmless tricks? When I was at school hedges would get toilet rolled, houses egged, cars egged, flour all over the place, stuff through the letterbox…

Harmless then.

Come on, how could you refuse.

Did you lot hit adulthood without passing through this stage?

I certainly did. There was no such thing when I were a lad. We had “mischevious night”. No treats demanded or given, just gates nicked and burning newspapers shoved up drainpipes. Proper tradition, none of this effete American nonsense.

[video]http://youtu.be/JDbe_3Qmkw4[/video]

[video]http://youtu.be/BGl7kg_OQ08[/video]

if you want to have your car wing mirrors ripped off, windows egged, dog turds put thru your letterbox.

So it’s extortion or the threat of criminal damage? This is exactly the problem it’s gone far from being something harmless or a little bit silly, to something that depending on your vehicle it’s going to be a big bill.

Existed in my childhood. “Guising” in Scotland is a tradition that goes back to at least 1895 according to wiki.

Aye, but guising was different – you were expected to entertain to earn your treat (tell jokes, sing a song, whatever). Much better vibe than “trick or treat”.

When the pubs used to kick out at lunchtime we used to set up our penny for the guy outside a pub in harlesden.
All the inebriated ex pats of the Emerald Isle would unload the entire shrapnel content of there pockets before wandering off. I never had it so good.

The wife’s American and she’s not mad keen for it but does enjoy it. I have never been visited by trick or treaters though, not once in 26 years. Which is a shame, because unlike some of the grumpy old farts up there I’d give them something.

I have an inlaw who posts up facts about the history of Halloween on facebook every day as a sort of Halloween advent calendar and some of it is actually pretty interesting.

I’ve had to usher the kids away for a few hours.

It’s my next door neighbours funeral this afternoon, bless him.
Thoroughly lovely old man.

I don’t think the sight of a mini grim reaper would go down to well as the funeral party depart…. 😐

I blame Charlie Brown. It’s an Americanism and a modern thing. Didn’t exist in my day. Penny for the Guy was a public thing. Asking at doors was seen as bloody scrounging. The only exception was carol singing. Used to make a fortune that way. Well several quid which was a lot in the early 70’s.

So if you have a pumpkin in the window, this means you are cool with trick or treating? Genuinely never heard of that. Is that a regional or US thing or what?

It’s certainly become convention around our way. A pumpkin means trick or treaters welcome. Obviously if you put up a sign saying no trick or treaters that’s clear too and will be respected (admittedly, we live in a nice part of the world with lots of young families)

If there isn’t a pumpkin (real or a picture) or a NO! sign – then we won’t be calling. There are plenty who are happy to take guests that you don’t need to test out the maybes.

I love lemonysam’s complaints about woodhouse Leeds, 364 nights of the year the risk is teenagers with jumpers pulled over their faces or balaclavas demanding your phone and cash but he complains about the one night when the risk is their younger siblings in fancy dress wanting sweets….. or cash ….or your phone .

I love lemonysam’s complaints about woodhouse Leeds, 364 nights of the year the risk is teenagers with jumpers pulled over their faces or balaclavas demanding your phone and cash but he complains about the one night when the risk is their younger siblings in fancy dress wanting sweets….. or cash ….or your phone .

Have to say, by and large we didn’t find woodhouse too bad – lived there for 5 years and massively preferred it to Hyde Park. The difference with halloween* was that they came to your door as opposed to you having to leave the house to feel like you were going to get mugged.

*Actually, carol singing was even worse.

I seem to remember the main problem in hyde park was that about a month either side of bonfire night the local kids would just chuck fireworks around the place almost constantly (including once through a mate’s letterbox).

How old are the folk who say it didn’t exist when they were kids? I’m 38 and it existed when I were a lad, in Leicester any how.

We usually get a few young kids trick or treating usually with an adult in tow, and we’ll have a pumkin in the window to show we’re game and a bowl full of mini packets of haribo. If I get a couple of 14 year olds wearing tracksuits with no attempt at dressing up they get nothing. Same with carol singers if they sing they get goodies if they mumble and don’t know the words I tell them to come back when they’ve learnt them. They rarely come back.

I think it is too commercial nowadays but the kids like it and that has to be a good thing.

So cheer up misery guts and stop by the co-op on the way home and pick up some goodies, you get to eat the ones you don’t give away!!

My heart sinks every year I see Tescos et al rammed with overpriced trick or treat tat.

Per some of the other older Scots above we had Guising – something you practiced for weeks in advance with an instrument or a poem, or a story. And you were expected to be able to deliver it. Crap 10 second jokes didnt cut it back then ;-)We’d make or at least help with the costumes and our old boys would dutifully hack out a Turnip.

Completely spoiled now for the kids imo.

Per some of the other older Scots above we had Guising – something you practiced for weeks in advance with an instrument or a poem, or a story. And you were expected to be able to deliver it.

That does sounds like a much better tradition than the American trick or treat thing.

You could put some of this up 😉

Completely spoiled now for the kids imo.

Oh yes really spoilt. We have pumpkins outside, a ghostly figure thing that we’ve hung up for the last 8 years with a sign too. I’ve hung fake cobwebs on over the outside door, my kids are getting dressed soon to go out, we have a big bowl of sweet for the visitors to our house. Yeah totally spoiled for them.

I’m off to work soon so I’ll miss it all anyway,

Yeah. It’s much better now than when I was a nipper.

As above, it was turnip carving and guising when I was a boy. No pumpkins or trick or treating I think until the 80s/90s, probably the same time as American tv became popular.

Do they still dook for apples these days?