Soon we’ll be preparing for the fright night of October – Halloween. Kids will be wandering around in ill-fitted cloaks, clothes, multi-packs of candy will be rapidly scanned through the tills, and in support of dedicated all year round veggies, Pumpkin sales will rocket. Halloween is the scene of gruesome gratification for all things horror, yet there are a few people that wish to take the jest of evil and turn it into an actual probability.
The Typical Antics: Egging
For many mischievous youngsters ‘egging’ is like an urban sport. All it takes is a pack of eggs, a decent throw and the ability to run. Egging is redundant every other time of the year, but once Halloween swings by the town is vulnerable for a yolking. Whether there’s a hard to hit window at the top of a tower or it’s a couple of poor sods strolling away in the distance, egging on Halloween is a formality.
Apart from the fact that gooey shells will start to smell and stain the window if untreated, throwing an egg close range can come with catastrophic consequences. Although very rare, there have been cases of people becoming blind from the result of an egging. The hard shells can infiltrate the eye, cut and contaminate, and in some circumstance impair the vision of the victim. Before you try to think about how you can implement goggles into your costume, the chances that you’ll fall foul to this kind of treatment is extremely slim.
There is perhaps a top tip to reduce the chances of being egged: the common egg bandits usually range from young to late teens, so if you spot a group of shifty youngsters milling around or acting shady, perhaps skip that street and head onto the next. By doing this, you may have just missed becoming a sitting duck for the egg espionage.
Avoid Those Back-Chatting Children
We all know that kids enjoy a bit of backchat from time to time but on Halloween, they can turn into true rascals. The fact that they’re disguised in a ghoulish outfit seems to give them the added confidence to play up. Halloween costumes have far advanced from a ripped up t shirt, Mum’s eyeliner and baby powder. You can buy masks that pump fake blood around and if you think you’ll remember them by the colour of their eyes then you’re wrong. Halloween now gives you the opportunity to wear Halloween contact lenses to bolster your chilling appearance and hide the identity of your actual eye colour.
Although you’re unlikely to come across Satan’s true spawn you may get an extra bite of rudeness as you answer the door, “Trick or treat? Give me some sweets now.”, for example. To combat the blunt and needy sort, just walk to kitchen and grab a piece of fruit. Hand it to them, say “enjoy” and then shut the door. Obesity’s on the rise but don’t be too mean because after all, it is their night.
Dodge Those Jesus Freaks
Now, whether you think Halloween will rise up the evil spirits or not, this time is for kids to have fun – people are hardly dressing up to summon the devil. Even if you believe the celebration of Halloween does have a significant impact on unearthing real life evils then it’s probably been tainted. If you’re out trick or treating, try to avoid the Vicar’s house or anyone you know who is religiously devoted. For one they probably won’t answer and two, if they do, you’ll get an earful of the bible.
Remember, Real Evil People Do Exist
There’s no reason to be scared, but you need to be aware that there are nutters out there, hell bent on ruining lives. You may have heard the fear mongering stories of the kid that had a razor blade stuck inside his apple or children receiving tainted sweets containing poison, but again like becoming blind from an egging, these stories are highly unusual. However, if your kid comes home charged up, talking quickly and bouncing off the walls then it could be more than just a sugar rush. Needless to say, you should avoid knocking on the door of the despondent outcasts or people with previous convictions related to children.
With all this said, the likelihood of any of these things happening to you is extremely rare. Have fun, stay safe and happy Halloween!
Photo Credit: Flickr/Greger Ravik
