Poison, Ecstasy and Razors In Halloween Candy: The Holiday's Biggest Lie

By MARC TORRENCE (Patch National Staff)

This year’s warning was equally as unlikely as in past years but came from a source you would expect to be reputable.

“If your kids get these for Halloween candy, they ARE NOT CANDY!!!” the Jackson, MS, Police Department warned on Facebook, below a photo of some candy-like pieces shaped like skulls, the nintendo logo and dominos.

“They are the new shapes of ‘Ecstasy’ and can kill kids through overdoses!!!”

True enough. But not as drugs disguised as candy handed out to trick-or-treaters.

Local Police Share Halloween Safety Tips

In Bowie, police have not had reports of candy tampering in recent years, says Bowie Police Chief John Nesky.

“Our biggest concerns would, of course, be pedestrian safety and parents keeping track of the kids. We encourage some kind of reflective material (even if it is on the bag) and trick or treating in groups that are properly supervised and of course, looking both ways before crossing any streets,” Nesky said.

Prince George’s County Police shared these safety tips:

For Trick-or-Treaters and Parents

• Wear a costume that makes it easy for you to walk in and to be seen in.
• An adult should always accompany smaller children.
• Older children should travel in groups.
• Know the route your child intends to take, and set a time that they should return home.
• Carry a flashlight and make sure that some sort of reflective material is incorporated into the costume.
• Use sidewalks when available and try to stay in well-lit areas. Never dart out between parked cars. Always cross at corners and crosswalks.
• An outside light on front of a house is usually a sign that trick-or-treaters are welcome. Avoid going to houses that are not lit.

For Drivers

• Drive slowly! Be aware that young trick-or-treaters may dart out from between parked cars.
• Do not drive a vehicle while wearing a mask of any sort. Your visibility could be obscured.
• Stop at all crosswalks.

It seems like every Halloween a story gets around about candy laced with some sort of harmful substance along with a message urging parents to be vigilant lest their children fall prey to an evil scheme.

But is there really anything to worry about?

Experts tracking candy deaths tied to strangers can find no evidence that such acts have taken place.

Digging Into Folklore of Candy Tampering

Dr. Joel Best, a sociology and criminal justice professor at the University of Delaware, has been researching what he calls “Halloween sadism” — the passing of contaminated treats to trick-or-treaters — for 30 years by studying articles in major newspapers dating back to 1958.

The grand total of incidents in which a child was killed or seriously injured by contaminated candy handed out by a stranger during trick-or-treating: a big, fat zero.

“It’s a great thing to worry about, because it happens one day a year,” Best told Patch. “People are imagining this terrible person, who lives down the block, is so crazy that he poisons little children at random. But he’s so tightly wrapped that he only does it one day a year.”

Only there’s no record this person exists.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not keep statistics on Halloween candy-poisonings, a spokesperson told Patch.

Best isn’t alone in his findings. MedFriendly.com listed several illnesses that initially caused Halloween hysteria but none of those cases were caused by tampered candy obtained via trick-or-treating.

Two Halloween candy deaths are frequently cited. Strangers, though, were not involved.

The first case, in 1970, involved a 5-year-old boy in Detroit who was thought to have died from heroin hidden in his candy. The boy had actually mistakenly found the heroin in a relative’s home. In an attempted cover-up, the family put heroin in the rest of his candy to make it look like an attack.

Four years later, an 8-year-old boy in Texas died from a cyanide-laced Pixie Stix. An investigation revealed that the boy’s dad had intentionally poisoned the candy to claim a $20,000 life insurance payout. The dad was found guilty and later executed.

Otherwise, in three other deaths, the culprit was thought to be Halloween candy but ended up being only coincidental.

There have been two high-profile cases of attempted candy shenanigans by strangers.

A Fremont, California, dentist in 1959 handed out candy-coated laxatives to 16 kids. None were hospitalized, but six got nausea and diarrhea.

In 1964, a Long Island woman handed out arsenic pellets used to treat ants to kids who she thought were too old to be trick-or-treating. No one was injured, but she was still arrested. She told police it was just a joke.

Parents Urged to Be Vigilant

The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns children “not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering.”

The evidence and history show that unless you’re trying to poison your kid or have some spare heroin lying around, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

“One of the things this has taught me is humility,” Best said. “You realize that announcing that you have research really doesn’t make much difference. The contemporary legends are harder to kill than werewolves.”

A State Farm study found that on October 31 kids have the highest chance of being hit by a car compared to any other day.

The CDC offers tips: always travel in in groups, make sure kids can see out of their masks and look both ways before crossing the street.

And yes, it does advise to check for tampered treats.

“You’ll see these lists of safety tips that will get published … And there’s always the thing, ‘Inspect all the treats.’ My attitude is, well, you can skip that one.”

Patch’s Deb Belt contributed reporting.