I remember as a little girl going trick-or-treat with my mom or my brothers and sisters. Once going to a Halloween party with my best friend. We were both dressed like clowns.

What are yours? :)

I remember when Halloween was alive around here.

It's been literally dead in recent years, not even the vandals are out. The majority of people in my neighborhood don't decorate.

There were a few times in recent years when my doorbell never rang once. That wouldn't have happened around here over 10 years ago.

As far as adults go, the NYC night-life scene is very much alive on Halloween night.

I can remember going trick or treating and not having to have your parents worry about you.

There was an entire street that would have an outdoor Halloween party, all the adults would be dressed in costume handing out candy to all us kids as we walked down the middle of the street.

On our street down at the very end there was a house, when you knocked on the door the door would open and there was a person laying in the entry hall, on his chest was the bowl of candy, we'd then hear a voice say "You must grab the candy before he knows you're here" or something like that.

Also every October our Elementary School would have the Spookery- haunted house set up in one of the gyms, carnival games, cafeteria with all the treats. Also on every Friday night in October in the cafeteria they would show family friendly spooky movies.


We don't get any trick or treaters around here anymore(except the young couple next door and they will bring their little ones over), but the first year when my family and I moved here, my daughter was 5, and one of my sisters brought her kids and we took them around the neighborhood, a lot of the neighbors decked their houses out in decorations. One of the houses they had a coffin out in the drive way, and when we approached the coffin lid slowly opened and all the kids got scared and didn't want to go onto the driveway. Eventually they did and the guy gave them lots of candy.
Sadly no one decorates as much, no trick or treaters...the main reason being the lack of street lamps out here.

I remember going around my neighborhood on Halloween and then going to my Grandpa's House and Trick-or-Treat there.

My biggest halloween memory was when I took my little sister to a halloween party at her school,she was dressed as a gourd. We took a shortcut thru the woods and were attacked by a lunatic, lucky for us, our strange neighbor killed the lunatic with a knife. Oh.. I'm sorry, that was To kill a mockingbird.

Here are a couple of pics of me on Halloween as a kidlet:

i have many great Halloween memories, but my favorite was when we went to Church on Halloween. At first i cried, but my family had reservations on the Holiday, which have since lightened up. But yeah, i thought we would all get together, and sing Give Thanks all night (Great song btw) but instead, everyone was dressed up, we played games, had cake and pizza, and it was the best Halloween EVER!! Even had a pinata, that's how we got our candy. Much funner than trick or treating IMO. :D

I remember loving Halloween as a kid. But the candy is something I can live without (for health reasons). This Halloween, I'm going to watch a few eps from a Roseanne Halloween DVD I came across.

Thanks for sharing your memories guys and thanks Monika for sharing your pictures. :)

I loved Halloween when I was a kid. My sister and I would go around the neighborhood, sometimes with friends. The one that really stands out was when I think I was about 8. My sister and I ate a sandwich at the kitchen table, and it was already about dark. I saw a meteor through the window. Then we watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. After that it was off to fill our bags with goodies. That was back when you could still get homemade treats and not have to worry. Good memories of better times. :)

We always had trick or treat after dark; nowadays it seems like most towns have it during daylight hours, for safety reasons.

We always trick or treated within our own town, now you have kids from other towns coming in and doing it, and that's OK but it takes away from the homey feeling of knowing everybody that you give out candy to (or take it from). My mom used to ask kids who they were under the mask and most of the time she'd know the parents, etc. You rarely if ever see that type of thing now.

I remember watching Charlie Brown's Halloween special each year, and walking in the town's Halloween parade to the fire station where they judged the costumes and gave out treats. They had a similar parade at the school.

One of my favorite recent Halloweens my friend and I worked at the local outdoor spook show, then afterwards went to a free midnight screening of the original Amityville Horror. Great fun.

Another great Halloweem was the one where my brother got his halloween candy stolen by loser high schoolers. After what happened to my bro, i was too depressed to go trick or treating. My dad felt bad, and took us to Fred Meyer to buy as much candy as we wanted. Wow, quite emotional talking about it now. When we got home, our mailbox was full of candy from my bro's best friend, Jake Phillips. Had to have been over half of his candy. Amazing!! :)

Growing up in a rural area, we had to be driven around to the houses to do our trick or treating. That made for some interesting moments trying to get in & out of the car with our costumes always getting in the way. But it was still fun. I also liked trading candy with my brother & sister because we all had different favorites. My sister loved those pixie sticks, I liked the Reese Cups & my brother liked the kit kat & nestle crunch bars.

I also liked trading candy with my brother & sister because we all had different favorites. My sister loved those pixie sticks, I liked the Reese Cups & my brother liked the kit kat & nestle crunch bars.

My favorites was Hershey's chocolate bars and reese cups.

This isn't my earliest Halloween memory, but when my best friend and I were in junior high we were in the pep squad. We still liked to go out trick-or-treating in her neighborhood and we wore our pep squad uniforms and went as cheerleaders!

My church choir would always have a weekend retreat on Halloween weekend and we had the most awesome Halloween parties there!

Now my memories consist of going on a date night with my husband. We don't have kids and therefore don't like to stay home and hand out candy. But we do buy candy and leave it out for the kids in a bowl. Then we go out and go to the movies and dinner.

[QUOTE=JamesG]I remember when Halloween was alive around here.
It's been literally dead in recent years, not even the vandals are out. The majority of people in my neighborhood don't decorate.
There were a few times in recent years when my doorbell never rang once. That wouldn't have happened around here over 10 years ago.
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That what is around my area too. A good portion of people now are in their 60's. As you see I live in snoozetown.
My memories of decades ago when I was a little girl, my neighbor would dress me up in fairy tale characters and I would go to the the grade school halloween party. There was a contest to was the best, prettiest, home made costume etc. I would win many years. After the contest the kids would eat ice cream sundaes and watch a Tom and Jerry type cartoon. My mom was delighted someone else could decorate me for she either didn't have the time or just knew Marge could do better. I did do a little trick or treating, more families with young children then. My last trick or treating was age 14. I was a little old but I looked 10.

One of my favorite Halloween memories is from 1995. My husband and I went to our first Harry Connick Jr concert at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. I had seen a poster there that said "Spend Halloween with Harry!" I thought it was so cool that he did a concert on Halloween night!

1975 brought the most infamous Halloween Event I ever observed. It was my High School's Homecoming Parade. The Homecoming was scheduled the Saturday before Halloween, so whoever was in charge decided to theme it "Haunted Homecoming". The Parade started on one road and headed east for one mile before turning onto another road, where it would go north two miles to the School. As the parade turned that corner, a Funeral Procession came up from the south and was let into the parade by the Police Officers tending the Barracade! (The Junior Class Float, a Cemetary had just turned the corner, so the Officers thought they were part of the parade!) When Spectators along the final two miles saw the procession behind the Cemetary Float, they cheered LOUDLY at it! (I thought some students had connections with a Funeral Home and had arrainged to borrow a Hearse and some Funeral Flags to stage a "Mock Procession"). During the Halftime Show of the Football Game, the Halftime Show consisted of judging all the units of the parade. This was where we found out the Procession was NOT part of the Parade, it was the real deal! :eek: Needless to say the School Administration was P:censored:D! One of the Casulties of the "Fallout" following this incident was BANNING Halloween as a Theme for any future Homecomings.

And how did the game end?

Never mind for whom the bell tolls!

Franklin High School (Visitors) 45

Thurston High School (Home) 3

In 1972 A lady caught me soaping a window on her house during "Devils Night" (October 30). She made me clean every one of her windows in her house inside and out that Saturday, but she did feed me lunch. (Many people would be doing their Fall Cleaning, and they would set up "Sucker Traps" (AKA "Sting Operations") making their houses look unoccupied, then when a kid went to do his prank BOOM! Lights go on, nowhere to run, BUSTED! That person had his or her "Helper" for that weekend). :rofl: There was Chivalry among both sides, it was "The Hunter and the Hunted". Those who got caught took their punisment like a Man. Then things got out of hand, and instead of being irratating sombody decided to be destructive. :angryfire Today the Police go out in full force to prevent Vandalism and Arson. If it rained on Devil's Night it was "Pranksters, Man your Phones!" Now with Caller ID you cannot do that anymore!

In 1973 I wore my Father's old World War II Navy Uniform for my Costume. :D

My last year "Trick or Treating" was 1976 I went out as a "Bank Robber" (Ski Mask and a Plastic Machine Gun). As I approached each house I'd tell whoever was passing out candy "Hand me all your Sweet Tarts, and nobody gets hurt!" :lol:

Been passing out candy ever since. :)

In 1972 A lady caught me soaping a window on her house during "Devils Night" (October 30). She made me clean every one of her windows in her house inside and out that Saturday, but she did feed me lunch. (Many people would be doing their Fall Cleaning, and they would set up "Sucker Traps" (AKA "Sting Operations") making their houses look unoccupied, then when a kid went to do his prank BOOM! Lights go on, nowhere to run, BUSTED! That person had his or her "Helper" for that weekend). :rofl: There was Chivalry among both sides, it was "The Hunter and the Hunted". Those who got caught took their punisment like a Man. Then things got out of hand, and instead of being irratating sombody decided to be destructive. :angryfire Today the Police go out in full force to prevent Vandalism and Arson. If it rained on Devil's Night it was "Pranksters, Man your Phones!" Now with Caller ID you cannot do that anymore!

In 1973 I wore my Father's old World War II Navy Uniform for my Costume. :D

My last year "Trick or Treating" was 1976 I went out as a "Bank Robber" (Ski Mask and a Plastic Machine Gun). As I approached each house I'd tell whoever was passing out candy "Hand me all your Sweet Tarts, and nobody gets hurt!" :lol:

Been passing out candy ever since. :)
We used to call the night before halloween picket night. Trees got Toilet papered,windows got waxed,pumpkins got kicked in. The next night, they would reward us with candy for all the damage we did. Very strange custom,I must say.

We used to call the night before halloween picket night. Trees got Toilet papered,windows got waxed,pumpkins got kicked in. The next night, they would reward us with candy for all the damage we did. Very strange custom,I must say.

I was told in Florida the thing to do on the night before halloween was to go "Pool Hopping". One would jump over a fence into someone's yard, jump into the pool, swim to the other end, get out hop the fence to the neighbor's yard, swim in their pool, then on to the next yard. :lol: Those who got caught would receive punishments simular to what we'd get if caught. :crazy: Things aren't the same these days. :(

I remember spending Halloween occasionally at my grandpa's house and then trick or treating around his neighborhood. I also remember one year when I was 10, I was dressed as a hippie and had these rose colored glasses on (not joking) and not being able to see very well. So we are walking around my neighborhood and I tripped over a lawn ornament!!!:lol: I didn't get hurt but boy was my face red!:o