Well, this is certainly an interesting variation on the old candy tampering myth.

Ever wondered how this Halloween myth got started? Here's a quick thread.

The first time trick-or-treating apeared in a movie or show was Disney's 1952 short "Trick Or Treat."

It was a relatively new phenomenon at the time. Previously, kids dressed up & messed up people's yards. Now you could bribe kids with treats so they wouldn't give you a trick.
But Donald being stubborn, he decided to give the kids lit firecrackers.

I don't think this is where the myth started, but it's the first example of an adult using trick-or-treating o play a trick on kids.
In 1964, a housewife made prank packages of inedible items to hand out to trick-or-treaters she thought were too old. These held random kitchen items like steel wool, dog biscuits, and ant poison clearly marked as poison.

The poison upset another parent, who had her arrested.
It seems the story was warped in retellings, and parents worried each other with tales of poison candy. Sometimes kids pranked their parents, i.e. "look what I found in my candy!"

Fun Size candy showed up in 1968, presenting a safe alternative to unwrapped treats.
Only one child has ever died of poisoned candy...and it turned out his own father put the cyanide-laced Pixy Stix in his bag! In 1974, he was inspired by the common myth as a way to collect on the life insurance plan he'd taken out.
This is why cyanide found in bottles of Tylenol in September 1982 led to a Halloween panic (and also led to the safety seals we're all used to now). Reporters couldn't help but wonder out loud whether cyanide might show up in candy in a month?
The panic shook up the whole Halloween industry, which invests all year in a single month of profit. The shakeup is a big reason why those old plastic masks went away. https://t.co/Z6h5n12Qeo
I think the biggest danger of mixing recreational drugs with Halloween is that it might bring those masks back.
By which I mean I was completely sober when I worked at a Halloween company and pitched doing adult-sized plastic masks and vinyl jumpsuits, and maybe if they were high they wouldn't have rejected it.

More from Culture

A thread of very good, wonderful, truly Super Bowls.

Translucent agate bowl with ornamental grooves and coffee-and-cream marbling. Found near Qift in southern Egypt. 300 - 1,000 BC. 📷 Getty Museum https://t.co/W1HfQZIG2V


Technicolor dreambowl, found in a grave near Zadar on Croatia's Dalmatian Coast. Made by melding and winding thin bars of glass, each adulterated with different minerals to get different colors. 1st century AD. 📷 Zadar Museum of Ancient Glass
https://t.co/H9VfNrXKQK


100,000-year-old abalone shells used to mix red ocher, marrow, charcoal, and water into a colorful paste. Possibly the oldest artist's palettes ever discovered. Blombos Cave, South Africa. 📷https://t.co/0fMeYlOsXG


Reed basket bowl with shell and feather ornaments. Possibly from the Southern Pomo or Lake Miwok cultures. Found in Santa Barbara, CA, circa 1770. 📷 British Museum https://t.co/F4Ix0mXAu6


Wooden bowl with concentric circles and rounded rim, most likely made of umbrella thorn acacia (Vachellia/Acacia tortilis). Qumran. 1st Century BCE. 📷 https://t.co/XZCw67Ho03

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🌿𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 : 𝑫𝒉𝒓𝒖𝒗𝒂 & 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒏𝒖

Once upon a time there was a Raja named Uttānapāda born of Svayambhuva Manu,1st man on earth.He had 2 beautiful wives - Suniti & Suruchi & two sons were born of them Dhruva & Uttama respectively.
#talesofkrishna https://t.co/E85MTPkF9W


Now Suniti was the daughter of a tribal chief while Suruchi was the daughter of a rich king. Hence Suruchi was always favored the most by Raja while Suniti was ignored. But while Suniti was gentle & kind hearted by nature Suruchi was venomous inside.
#KrishnaLeela


The story is of a time when ideally the eldest son of the king becomes the heir to the throne. Hence the sinhasan of the Raja belonged to Dhruva.This is why Suruchi who was the 2nd wife nourished poison in her heart for Dhruva as she knew her son will never get the throne.


One day when Dhruva was just 5 years old he went on to sit on his father's lap. Suruchi, the jealous queen, got enraged and shoved him away from Raja as she never wanted Raja to shower Dhruva with his fatherly affection.


Dhruva protested questioning his step mother "why can't i sit on my own father's lap?" A furious Suruchi berated him saying "only God can allow him that privilege. Go ask him"