Halloween is our darkest holiday, so it naturally spawns dark misinformation, whether it’s the famous razor-blade-in-the-apple myth, the persistent rumors about black-cat butchery, or the specter of “mischief night” arsonists. At the risk of dampening the mystique of Halloween, here are four things people are getting wrong about Halloween, and one new concern that might actually be true.
Do people put drugs and razors in Halloween candy?
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I check my child’s candy for foreign substances every Halloween, even though I know I won’t find any; the idea of him biting into an apple with a hidden razor blade inside is so horrific, it overrides logic. But it’s not actually something worth worrying about. Despite warnings delivered from the federal government and countless anecdotal reports, there has never been a case of a drug dealer putting LSD, fentanyl, or any other illegal drug in children’s Halloween candy. (There was one case that was close: back in 1959, Dr. William Shyne, a Long Island dentist, gave out candy-covered laxatives to kiddies on Halloween, for reasons he never explained.) It’s the same with needles and razor blades. There was one case, in 2000, of a man who hid needles in Halloween candy, but trick or treating has been around for over 100 years, so it’s an extremely isolated occurrence.
Do animal shelters not let people adopt black cats in October?
Many people think animal shelters refuse to allow adoptions of black cats in October. Some attribute the supposed ban to the belief that evil occultists prize black cats for the horrific rituals they perform this time of year. Some say the practice comes from people adopting black cats to serve as spooky decor for the holiday only to abandon them on Nov. 1. But there are no verified accounts of either of these things actually happening. That said, it’s become a self-fulfilling prophecy in some places that actually don’t allow black cat adoptions during October. Other animal shelters encourage the adoption of black cats around Halloween, however—Oct. 27 is National Black Cat Day, after all.
Is Halloween an American holiday?
Halloween predates the United States by hundreds of years. It likely originated with Celtic harvest festivals held around Nov. 1 in Ireland and Scotland. When Catholicism took hold, the pagan holiday was “Cathologic-ized” into “All Saint’s Day,” or “All Hallow’s Day.” The day before became “Hallow’s Eve” and eventually “Halloween.” The holiday wasn’t a widely marked day in the United States until the middle of the 1800s when a large wave of Irish immigrants brought Halloween with them. The first recorded instance of costumed kids going door-to-door to collect candy on Halloween isn’t from America, either. It happened in Canada in 1911. The phrase “trick or treat” comes from Canada, too.
Were “Devil’s Night” fires caused by kids doing mischief?
In some parts of the country, Halloween Eve is still considered “Mischief Night” or “Cabbage Night,” a night for children to play tricks, vandalize, or commit crimes. The unofficial holiday was most popular in mid-1980s in Detroit. They called it “Devil’s Night,” and celebrated by burning down buildings—or so the story goes. The fires were real—in 1984 alone, 810 blazes were reported during the three-days around Halloween in Detroit—but whether they were largely the result of Devil’s Night mischief or insurance fraud is an open question. Arson is a tough crime to solve, especially when only one out of five fires are investigated. Detroit countered the trend of Devil’s Night with a lot of hard work, but arson remains a huge problem in the city.
Should you decorate with fake spider webs?
A newer Halloween warning is illustrated by this headline from House Beautiful: “Here’s Why You Should NEVER Decorate With Fake Cobwebs for Halloween.” The idea is that fake cobwebs strung out over your trees and doorways ensnare local birds, insects and other wildlife. This seems to make a sense, but other than a few scattered reports and an occasional warning from a wildlife center, there’s no widespread evidence of fake webs snaring birds or other animals. More study is needed. Still, fake spider webs are usually made of acrylic, which is definitely flammable, and particularly nasty when it burns, so it’s probably a bad idea to decorate with fake spider webs. If you must, at least be aware of where you’re placing it—don’t set up a net for birdies or place it near a heat source.