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Episode 2

When Trick or Treat Was a Threat

18 min 23 sec

Before trick-or-treating meant free candy, it sounded a lot more like a threat. Caleb and Hazel explore Halloween mischief, the curious history of jack-o'-lanterns, and the rise of haunted houses.

Episode Summary

In a 1917 Canadian newspaper account, children called out “tricks or treats,” and a coin could spare a household from their pranks. It was a rather different bargain from the friendly Halloween greeting we know today.

Caleb and Hazel explore the days when Halloween mischief meant soaped windows, flour thrown at streetcar passengers, and even overturned outhouses. In 1920, Anoka, Minnesota, tried a different approach: a parade, a bonfire, and treats for children. In Des Moines, Iowa, children eventually began telling jokes to earn their treats. After World War II, candy companies helped make sweets an expected part of the holiday.

The episode also investigates the name jack-o'-lantern, the folktale of Stingy Jack, and an old American prank involving a carved pumpkin. Finally, Caleb and Hazel discover how homemade haunted houses grew into amusement-park attractions, including Trimper's Haunted House in Ocean City, Maryland. Halloween didn't lose its love of tricks. Americans found new ways to enjoy them.

Interesting Discoveries

  • Anoka, Minnesota, held a Halloween parade in 1920 to redirect mischief. Police received no reports of pranks that night.
  • A Canadian newspaper described children calling “tricks or treats” in 1917. Giving them a coin bought temporary protection from their mischief.
  • In Des Moines, Iowa, a local Halloween custom developed in which children performed for their treats, often by telling jokes.
  • The term jack-o'-lantern once referred to people carrying lanterns and to mysterious lights before it became the name for a carved pumpkin. Stingy Jack's story is folklore, not a proven origin.
  • A 1937 haunted-house party guide suggested raw liver and damp sponges as scares. Trimper's Haunted House, designed by Bill Tracy, opened in Ocean City in 1964.

Sources and Further Reading