The myth of diabolical fiends putting poison or razor blades in Halloween treats has been around more than 40 years despite a near-complete lack of reality. At the link, a researcher suggests it’s a way to make our bigger fears for our children manageable:
“If you think about it, Halloween sadism is the best thing in the world to worry about,” he says. “There is somebody in your neighborhood who is so crazy, they will poison little children at random. And yet, they’re so tightly wrapped, they’ll only do it one night of the year,” he says. “So on November 1, you wake up, look around the breakfast table and count noses. If everyone’s still there, you can say, ‘OK, we don’t have to worry about this for another 364 days.’”
Fred Clark, who linked to that one, compares our fear of candy to older horrors such as the blood libel, to conspiracy theories and to Job: “Bildad et. al. know the world is a dangerous place and they hope for some secret trick that would enable them to navigate its dangers safely. This is, as Dr. Best suggests, one appeal of urban legends, which tend to offer a moralistic, reward-and-punishment explanation of the world like that sought by Job’s friends.”
#SFWApro. All rights to image remain with current holders.
