When Halloween Was Dangerous (And Awesome)

Back when a plastic mask could suffocate you, your mom’s flashlight batteries were dead, and every Snickers bar was a potential crime scene — we still went door to door.

And we loved it.

It’s not just a trip down memory lane — it’s a cultural reflection on how Gen-X grew up balancing freedom, fear, and fun.

“Razor blades in apples, cyanide Pixy Stix, poison in candy… yet none of us stopped trick-or-treating. If it wasn’t factory-sealed, it went in the trash — right after Dad ‘inspected’ it for us.” Plastic masks that fogged up, capes that caught fire, street crossings in the dark. The one house that gave out full-size candy bars, or the creepy neighbor everyone avoided.

Today’s parents track kids via GPS; we were lucky if we made it home before the 10 PM news.