Pretty interesting.

marauding bands of sugar-propelled, Americanized children ... heh.

"Fifty-eight percent of homeowners in a recent survey by the Norwich Union insurance company said they had hidden in the back of their houses and turned off all the lights on Halloween, pretending that no one was home."

This is hilarious to me.

Ah yes. Gangs of 5-6 14 year olds traipsing through known aging communities, demanding money from old age pensioners. It sure is hilarious when those pensioners hides because they know the ramifications of the "trick" could end up as the costly vandalism of property. What with the huge amount of pension money they have left over after they've paid that month's heating.

I tend not to answer the door at trick or treat time. Because six times out of ten it'll be young thugs wanting money (or cigarettes or beer) from me. (Apologies to the 4 sets of parents with children who are simply taking part in a new tradition) The choice between not answering the door or answering and having the admittedly tiny possibility of getting a window smashed is a difficult one.

*note: I don't turn the light off. I simply just don't answer the door*

I'm glad I live at the end of a close in a forest, and with no children in any of the neighbouring properties. Hence no trick-or-treaters, no carol singers and, best of all, no Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons. The leafletters who shower me with flyers for the local pizza, Indian and Chinese restaurants appear to have no difficulty finding my door, although they have yet to knock and beg for money in return for not vandalising my home.

A co-worker has this year arranged to leave his car in the underground car park at the office, because last year, despite giving treats to everyone who knocked, his pride-and-joy Audi parked on his drive (he has no garage) was keyed, egged and had bleach poured on it by 'kids just having a bit of fun'.

“All they want is sweets,” said Ms. Boyd, a 57-year-old writer, sounding genuinely surprised. “They’re not scaring you, or singing to you, or charming you — they’re just grabbing it and going to the next house and then going home to be sick.”

This is so true. In Canada here, and I can remember saying 'trick' to the kids and they'd stand there and *look* at you like you'd just had an epileptic fit in front of them. Then they'd look around awkwardly and shuffle their feet, and I'd feed the little shits anyways, just to get rid of them, and stare at the parents and wonder why they weren't killed at birth (the parents, not the kids.) as obviously they don't care enough to look into the proper traditions, be it playing tricks or just knowing about Samhain.

“You would never see American children hustling for money on the 29th of October,” he said.
No, you'd see them demanding candies for doing nothing two days later. fuckers.

Not popular in France either.

Ahh, I see the bile is rising in you Z_R. Tell me, what's your opinion on carol singers? The tuneless little twunts that disturb you any time from mid-November onwards with their caterwaulingly-bad wailing.

Luckily these days I live in a flat and don't have a car, otherwise I'd be constantly disturbed by the scrotes and probably have car broken into and the radio stolen.

Wow. Did everyone get out of bed on the cranky side this morning or what?

Ok, remember the opening scene in The Addams Family? The whole family gathered around a steaming pot of pitch? Yep. Good times, good times.

Wednesday: Nobody gets out of the Bermuda Triangle, not even for a vacation. Everyone knows that.
Dr. Pinderschloss: Oh, my little bundle. So much you don't understand. The human spirit, it is a hard thing to kill.
Grandmama: Even with a chainsaw.