Did anyone ever actually find needles/anything dangerous in their Halloween candy or was that parent propaganda?

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Responsible-Dish-957@reddit

I mean different provinces in Canada have a few reports of needles in chocolate bars this year with proof (seem to be the same brand)

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It was the kind of thing that gave parents a way to both control their kids with fear while also taking away kids ability to protest. Want to control your kids candy intake? Now you can say "I have to "check" all your candy for dangerous things that can kill you". Want to control when your kids go swimming? Now you can say "You have to wait 30 min after eating or you'll get a cramp and drown" Want to stop your kid from leaving the house and playing with their friends? Now you can say "you can't go out, you'll get abducted and murdered"

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Outrageous_Site_5739@reddit

Good lord, I was born in '99, adopted and raised from Boomers. This sounds just like my mom, back from the grave! She told me all the above, frequently! 🤣

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triggeron@reddit

You think she believed it?

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GizmoKakaUpDaButt@reddit

Yes... The main killer.. SUGAR

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Majestical-psyche@reddit

You do realize research chems from China, etc. are like dirt cheap right? 😅 Especially when you buy a lot, some are less than a penny for a dose on the dark net.

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Flat-While2521@reddit

There has never been a single documented case of these rumors being true.

There was a single case of a father putting poison into his own kid’s candy, but no child has ever been poisoned or injured intentionally with Halloween candy.

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look_ima_frog@reddit

I mean, candy is expensive enough. Could you imagine having to buy buy poison for the WHOLE neighborhood?!

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Fight_those_bastards@reddit

That’s why we never got drugs, either. Them shits is $$$.

Ain’t nobody giving out bumps or joints or nothin’ man. Not even them little squares of blotter paper!

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Majestical-psyche@reddit

You do realize research chems from China, etc. are like dirt cheap right? 😅 Especially when you buy a lot, some are less than a penny for a dose on the dark net.

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thewayoutisthru_xxx@reddit

Seriously, no one is going to waste perfectly good drugs on kids!

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DirtRight9309@reddit

my mother told me this after we had to watch the angel dust video in health class where the girl jumps out of the window 🤣

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Accio_Diet_Coke@reddit

No one wants to get high with my 5yo.

Literally 0 persons on this earth are trying to give my kid free drugs. My kids are rad AF, so if no one’s trying to party with them no one is trying to get Karen’s shitty kids wasted.

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elonmusktheturd22@reddit

And if someone does give you drugs remember to say thank you!

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CheesyRomantic@reddit

I just posted a comment before I saw your’s…. Last year (or the year before I’m not sure) a child received a small bag of adult gummies. I don’t remember where it happened though. It wasn’t in my area, but It was on the news. (Not FOX news lol)

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dundeegimpgirl@reddit

My edibles cost too much so why in the hell would I give ANY to ANYONE let alone a child.

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Evee862@reddit

I know. I keep hoping my stoner friend will share a brownie for trick or treat, but nooooo

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Plus_Lead_5630@reddit

In this economy?! BYO Poison.

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slademccoy47@reddit

the dad: What, are we poisoning the whole neighborhood here?!

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TMore108@reddit

And in this economy... No thank you. I keep the poison for myself and my kids

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Amazing-Basket-136@reddit

Drugs are expensive enough. No dealer is giving them away for free in candy.

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retrozebra@reddit

I just read about that case after you mentioned it. So horrifying.

FWIW, OP, my parents never really checked anything when I could remember. Maybe when I was really small and wouldn’t have noticed tampering.

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misterlakatos@reddit

Anyone that kills their own child should be fed alive to lions.

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Legitimate-Sink4736@reddit

How about those mothers who kill their children while they're still in the womb? Gotta be the worst offenders, right (I mean, unless that money is coming out if your paycheck, lol)

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MRob08@reddit

I know. Close the clinics.

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SeventeenYearCicada@reddit

That’s absolutely false. Literally happened this year: https://www.reddit.com/r/Rockville/s/GSQv8h4VdN

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DDrewit@reddit

So all that candy checking was really to ensure neither of your parents were trying to murder you…that’s dark.

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Tubbygoose@reddit

To be fair, I’m pretty sure my parents wanted to check over our candy so they could call dibs on the good stuff.

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Shel_gold17@reddit

We never got Reese’s cups trick or treating, despite seeing them go into our bags, till my mom discovered she was intolerant to most of the ingredients the year I turned 11. 😂

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camarhyn@reddit

Mine called it "taxes" when they found candy they wanted. It was pretty funny.

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drainbamage1011@reddit

The Dad Tax is real. My wife and I always try to pick off the dark chocolate before the other.

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PlaneAd8667@reddit

My kids know the dad tax is their reeses peanut butter cups, and the mom tax is their kit kats. We don't even have to ask to collect anymore.

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drainbamage1011@reddit

My kids know the dad tax is their reeses peanut butter cups

That's our other go-to. Bonus points if they're the pumpkins, because they just hit different.

I'll also sneak anything with coconut, because wife hates it and won't fight me for them.

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PlaneAd8667@reddit

100% right about the pumpkin shapes. I do love almond joy, but they give me heartburn. That's right, the 2 almond joys they might happen to get give me heartburn. It has nothing to do with the 2 dozen peanut butter cups I throw down on Halloween night. Lol

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camarhyn@reddit

Mine were cool still though, they'd always leave us some of the stuff they took (so, for example, they'd take one peanut butter cup instead of 4+). We knew what they were doing and it was pretty amusing to us even then. We started hiding the best stuff before candy inspection (I'm pretty sure they knew but let us get away with it too). As we got older they stopped taxing the older kids and eventually quit altogether but not before teaching us to inspect/tax the little kids candy!
Good times.

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drainbamage1011@reddit

Oh yeah, I'm not gonna wipe it all out. I'll take a couple pieces the night of, and if the good stuff is still lingering after a few days, it's fair game.

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camarhyn@reddit

Exactly.

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hypnofedX@reddit

My mother wouldn't let me eat candy because it'd ruin my teeth, then she'd take it and use it in baking because I wasn't eating it.

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juniper3411@reddit

Hell yeah. Mom tax. I call it that too lol. My son always gives me all of his almond joys cause they are my favorite.

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BigDaddyUKW@reddit

Came here to say this lol. Where's my goddamn Butterfinger and Snickers???

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adoradear@reddit

That’s why I do it today!

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momaye@reddit

In my household, we keep up the tradition of our parents in checking the candy solely to tax it.

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Susan_Bee_Anthony@reddit

Actually this happened to 2 people in Eugene, Oregon recently. I know one of them personally, and the other is a friend of a friend. You can google it.

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agent_uno@reddit

And the case of the father poisoning his own kids candy ended up killing another kid who traded with him. The case was in Texas, and I’m pretty sure the guy either got life or a death sentence.

This is the only documented case.

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rebelangel@reddit

Only his own son died. He handed out the tainted pixie stix to his own two children and three other children, but none of the other kids ate the poisoned candy. Yeah, he was sadistic enough to not only kill (and attempt to kill) both of his own children for the life insurance money, but to also attempt to kill other people’s children to make it look like a random crime. And, he pinned it on completely innocent people before it was discovered that he had done it himself.

RIP Timothy O’Bryan

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agent_uno@reddit

Thank you for the correction! I watched a YT vid about it several years ago but didn’t remember all the details.

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DangerBrewin@reddit

There was a case in Oakdale, California, a few years ago where a father put metal pieces of n his kid’s candy and then “found” it so he could play the hero.

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Scary-Ad9646@reddit

Oakdale is actually pretty nice now.

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DangerBrewin@reddit

Oh, it’s a great town. Just had one crazy guy who wanted to ruin Halloween for everyone.

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kbm81@reddit

Right! I saw this on tv, it’s a true story, happened before I was born!

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Pristine_Main_1224@reddit

It was a Pixy Stix IIRC. So freaking sad!

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irishihadab33r@reddit

Yes, the giant ones. He did actually put poison in other children's, but they couldn't get it open.

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frooootloops@reddit

MFer stapled them. Stapled them.

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Born_Key_6492@reddit

Meth was found once, that I’m aware. It was likely an accident and somebody just lost their personal stash. https://abc7.com/post/dad-finds-bag-of-meth-among-childs-halloween-candy/379914/

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Born_Key_6492@reddit

Speaking of…did you guys call it meth or crank or something else?

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Turbulentshmurbulent@reddit

Crystal crank meth

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Mittendeathfinger@reddit

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/halloween-candy-tampering-urban-legend-truth-1.5341734

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Flat-While2521@reddit

Fair enough. I should have added an “in the USA” caveat.

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hushuk-me@reddit

I have heard the same! One of my favorite podcasts, You’re Wrong About, talks about this (if I remember correctly) in one of their Halloween episodes.

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Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit

its depicted in Trick r Treat movie kinda horrifically…

on a lighter note a good Monk episode with it

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coffeeplzme@reddit

Just watched this, what a surprisingly good movie. And they go with the cyanide AND razor blades.

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jungle4john@reddit

I WAS TOLD I BE GIVEN FREE DRUGS!!!! WHERE ARE MY DRUGS?!?!?

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dunicha@reddit

That happened in my hometown a few years before I was born. I love that that's or legacy.

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susieallen@reddit

This is absolutely correct. There are documentaries about it.

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Legitimate-Sink4736@reddit

As a kid in the 1980s in Buffalo, NY, my Mom would take us and we couldn't have anything but suckered until we got home unless it was from a home we knew. We all heard there were razors in apples...well, we did get apples in the 80s (and little bags of pennies from old ladies) but we never found anything and never heard of anybody ever finding anything. My Mom would throw anything out that wasn't in kint condition wrapping. Now, I still looked through my Grandkids candy bc you don't want to be wishing that you did later. We're in a very upscale neighborhood, I'd be absolutely shocked if anything ever happened here.

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MrLocust2020@reddit

Canton police say sewing needle found in candy from Halloween | FOX 2 Detroit https://share.google/oY0U8yamlEwO7QdQK

Sewing needles found inside Halloween candy in Maryland neighborhood | FOX 5 DC https://share.google/tLQAT6YEIsGRpKPwx

Police investigating report of needle in Halloween candy in Upstate NY - syracuse.com https://share.google/lGWNA2GDlL5rTre6a

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RicEl2@reddit

But has anyone ever found candy in their drugs 😱

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TradeReal1520@reddit

theres this post on fb in my country, small village and some mom made a post regarding so someone putting a needle in her sons candy. https://www.facebook.com/share/1Jj1WtPfQx/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit

According to Snopes it’s extremely yet technically has happened before more than zero times. And no one’s died. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pins-and-needles/

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argue_seblantics@reddit

Upvoting cause you posted the relevant snopes link

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rebelangel@reddit

Except for Timothy O’Bryan, but he was poisoned by his own father.

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sweetMDGirl78@reddit

I never had any issues with anything dangerous in halloween candy. I was just having a conversation with people about needles in candy so I googled to check if anything came up. I found an article from 10/21/25 about sewing needles found in candy passed out at a high school in Santa Fe, TX.

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LumpyShoe8267@reddit

The podcast You’re Wrong About covered this.

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TheLakeWitch@reddit

Nah, this was just my mom’s excuse to “check” my candy and eat all my Snickers. Which was fine, I was a Milky Way and Twix kid myself.

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juniperroach@reddit

Side bar remember when you could get your candy x rayed at the hospital. I didn’t live close enough to a hospital but anyone get this done?

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CarriLB@reddit

My mom’s radiology practice would x-ray candy. They never found anything.

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cupcakebean@reddit

My daughter probably needs to get her foot x-rayed. Maybe if we bring a bag of Halloween candy to the hospital, we can stick her foot in there while they check the candy.

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juniperroach@reddit

😆

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petroldarling@reddit

I did! For a couple years, I think. Honestly, my parents probably just thought it was a fun/educational experience than actually valuable.

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travelinmatt76@reddit

We did it and I didn't want my candy x-rayed because I thought it would melt

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juniperroach@reddit

😆 hopefully not lol

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lydatl@reddit

yes this was entirely a real thing and that blows my mind. i assume it was some sort of community marketing bs pushed by execs and the techs that had to irradiate candy all night hated it.

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Mom2Dos@reddit

I totally forgot about that!

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xylia13@reddit

I’m pretty sure that what my parents excuse for getting first crack at my candy…. Somehow most of my snickers and Reese’s would vanish after their inspection..

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Asleep-Banana-4950@reddit

I remember many years ago, when you could take your candy to the police and they would X-ray it. Every year, there was a picture in the paper of the Xray of an apple with a needle in it. Likely the actual cases of this happening were very low.

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eroo01@reddit

I found Mary Jane in my Halloween candy, and not the fun kind. I’d consider those candies dangerous lol

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anonymoususer98545@reddit

i got a box of raisins one time, does that count? /s

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brokenman82@reddit

I had a neighbor that would hand out little mini loaves of bread

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Crystalraf@reddit

we made popcorn balls every year. gotta have hand those jaw breaking, things that can remove fillings from your teeth.

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anonymoususer98545@reddit

That is so oddly specific. i both hate it and love it, lol.

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Clamwacker@reddit

One year my mom bought a whole bunch of little travel sized toothbrushes and toothpaste and was going to hand them out. My brother and I convinced her our house would be covered in TP for months on end so the day of she bought candy to hand out along side it. We only found about 6 of the tooth brushes along the street and we didn't get any retaliation so it worked well enough lol

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RockShowSparky@reddit

There was a dentist in my neighborhood that handed out toothbrushes. An old guy that handed out pennies. A religious house that handed out Jesus pamphlets. And a guy that handed out those 25¢ bags of chips, the chips were actually a welcome savory snack on a big night of trick or treating.

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anonymoususer98545@reddit

Okay, i think you win for "weird" neighborhood. Like, one of those things? Sure. All of those? Just ouch. But kind of funny now.

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gin_possum@reddit

The penny guy was likely English (“a penny for the guy” is how Guy Fawkes day works)

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Katerade44@reddit

Not necessarily in the States, at least. A lot of older folks did this in my neighborhood, and they weren't English immigrants or of recent English decent. I think it had more to do with being children during the Depression Era and/or during the time of penny-candy.

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Katerade44@reddit

Not necessarily in the States, at least. A lot of older folks did this in my neighborhood, and they weren't English immigrants or of recent English decent. I think it had more to do with being children during the Depression Era and/or during the time of penny-candy.

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bikeonychus@reddit

Yeah, we do have Bonfire night and Guy Fawkes, but that's an entirely British thing done on November 5th, not Halloween or Mischief Night.

if someone's giving pennies, it's more likely they are a dentist, or just someone who doesn't want kids teeth to rot.

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The_Secret_Skittle@reddit

I was a dental assistant and purchased very nice kid sized toothbrushes but also handed out candy with it. They got to take a toothbrush and a hand full of candy. Win win! 🪥 🍭

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FranceBrun@reddit

We had a neighbor whose family was very religious. They gave out mealy apples and little fire and brimstone comic books. Each one described a story where the young protagonist was unaware that he or she was either innocently doing something that would land them in hell, or was being lulled by the devil to do things that would land them in hell. The main devil and other devils were so happy about it and then so bummed when someone corrected little Susie or Johnny. They were really creepy. I was raised in an observant (Irish) Catholic household, and when I asked my mother about this, she said, “Don’t pay any mind to those Protestants. They’re always on about something.”

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Ineedavodka2019@reddit

We also had a penny guy and a lady that made popcorn balls. It was ok as she was someone my parents knew.

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Confident_Win_5469@reddit

My current neighbor is a dentist and does the toothbrush thing. He switched it up last year and handed out caffeine free / sugar free coke.

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KittenPurrs@reddit

There was a neighborhood by mine that was wealthier. Not like rich, but where a lot of the doctors and big real estate guys in our city had little McMansions. My sis and I went trick or treating there exactly once. A dentist gave out toothbrushes and toothpaste, which is fair play. But the amount of individual pieces of shit candy like those orange foam "circus peanuts" and no-name hard candy was insane. One house gave everyone a new bright shiny penny. The toothbrush and toothpaste ended up being the highlight of that neighborhood.

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anonymoususer98545@reddit

Oh my gosh, that's actually hilarious! Your poor mom really had good intentions i'm sure but you guys were actual heroes! i mean, i think i would have actually enjoyed getting candy and the toothbrush/paste combo but certainly not just the latter. Plus, as you said, absolutely relentless retaliation from so many people for sure.

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travelinmatt76@reddit

And pennies, what were we supposed to do with pennies?

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anonymoususer98545@reddit

Bahahahahaa. i had completely forgotten about that! Why was that such a thing? It's not like we were born in 1920 when a penny went a long way!

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LainieCat@reddit

It was a fundraiser for UNICEF

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anonymoususer98545@reddit

That actually explains why i had no clue about it! My comment further upthread (maybe) but that likely got lost in all these other comments mentioned that i went to a very small, very insulated parochial school through 8th grade. It was actually a Lutheran school and, no shade to anyone except that particular church/school, but they were not even a little bit about actual charity. We never did any fundraising that didn't directly benefit the church or the school in some way so...yeah, i did, in fact, live in an actual bubble until i moved out at 16, lol.

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OshetDeadagain@reddit

I always thought it was a great fundraiser. People always had jars of pennies kicking around, so Halloween was a great time to hand a bunch out for a good cause. Hell even if every kid only came back with 1 or 2 dollars in pennies and small change (or hit some of those bougie houses that gave out quarters!), multiplied by let's say only 200 students in a school, and let's say there were only 8,000 elementary schools across Canada in the late '80s - that's anywhere from 1.6 to 3.2 million dollars from a single night. And in today's dollars that's like 4.3 to 8.7 million!

And just to make sure I'm not talking out my ass, I just went and looked at the numbers. Looks like the top end was more accurate - once the program got rolling they averaged $3 million for almost 15 years, and that's just in Canada! Numbers were much higher in the USA due to population - over $200 million to date from the Halloween program.

So yeah - a single penny is next to worthless, but when everyone contributes a penny the world can change!

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anonymoususer98545@reddit

That was super interesting to read and to learn about! It may have been a thing in my area in the public schools, i have no idea to be honest, but i went to a super small parochial school all the way up until high school and never heard about this until right now. You just blew my mind. So, thank you so much.

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Remarkable_Term631@reddit

Canadian here. I remember also having a little cardboard box around my neck like a piggy bank, collecting change for UNICEF. I got pennies and other change for that.

I had totally forgotten until now.

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On_my_last_spoon@reddit

Yes! I did the UNICEF boxes too! In the US

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Euphoric_Egg_4198@reddit

In NY we also got little boxes for change but I cannot remember where we got them, maybe school?

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Remarkable_Term631@reddit

Pretty sure it was school for us.

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4N6momma@reddit

Unicef, at least that's what we did up here in Maine.

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Thebakers_wife@reddit

You collect them for UNICEF

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capthazelwoodsflask@reddit

The people who gave out pennies were old enough that a penny had value when they were young

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ACoinGuy@reddit

I gave out pennies a few years ago. But I was dressed as Lincoln.

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Amazing-Basket-136@reddit

Like biting into a cookie in dim light, looking forward to that chocolate chip goodness.

Just to be disappointed with a mouth full of health food.

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anonymoususer98545@reddit

That's the ultimate betrayal right there. Your mouth does an involuntary recoil and all.

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ResponsibilityIcy187@reddit

that’s the devils candy, yes.

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anonymoususer98545@reddit

It truly is. Grapes are great. Raisins are very much not.

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Crystalraf@reddit

If you are a parent, you know the answer. The parents are required to "check" the candy, make sure it's "ok" after a few chocolate bars, and Starbursts, the parents can then be sure everything is "safe" for the child. lol

there is also the mom tax. and the dad tax. The rules are the rules, you gotta pay the tax.

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Condition_Dense@reddit

I lived in a small town so I even took handmade goods or apples from others. The only thing I didn’t understand is that on TV and movies trick or treat was at night or they called it mischief night. We didn’t do that in my area because as an adult I found out in the 70s a girl was kidnapped, and killed and they found her in a field, so my state was really careful about being safe for kids trick or treating. Like when I was a kid they talked about safe costumes and not wearing dark colors to trick or treat at night, avoiding masks that could be hard to see out of, etc, but no town near me did trick-or-treating at night. It wasn’t till the early 2000s that towns started getting back into night time trick or treating because it was 30 years since that happened and parents started forgetting about it or some of the older generations wanted to trick or treat as they did as kids.

My friends mom said that because worked really hard to support 4 kids and she would take the candy dig through it and keep all the plain labeled candy to give from Santa at Christmas or to put in her kids shoes for St Nick’s day the kids never knew till we did it for my friends twin sisters who are like 6 years younger than her. They also would take her sisters to multiple towns to trick or treat because that was a treat for the kids since again they grew up without extra money. They also took a vacation where the parents had to sit through a time share presentation to be able to afford it. My mom would put my candy in a big Tupperware container and I would take what I liked and leave the rest or I would lick a tootsie pop and put it back in the wrapper because I was too ADHD and impatient for hard candy like lollipops. I accidentally gave some to my friends lol and they were like why is this candy sticky/melted to the wrapper?

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AGirlNamedTanya@reddit

Drug dealers would NEVER give anything away for free, especially to children.

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Superdonkey78@reddit

Im still looking for the house that gives out free E on Halloween.

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Bathsheba_E@reddit

Never. My oldest brother was flashed once. That’s the worst that happened, and that was in the 60s or 70s.

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powder706@reddit

I always thought that was a marketing scheme from candy makers

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Reasonable_Beach1087@reddit

Nope.

Just that one father who wanted to kill has child and sent parents into a moral panic.

God, the 80s had some terrible moral panics.

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IvanNemoy@reddit

God, the 80s had some terrible moral panics.

And they were so exceptionally stupid. Look up the McMartin preschool scandal. An untreated paranoid schizophrenic and chronic alcohol (Judy Johnson) has a kid with constipation. Must be child sexual abuse! And satanism! Several kids were coached into saying that one of the teachers there flew around in the playground, several claimed they watched a student be sacrificed and were made to drink the kid's blood, and even more bizarre shit.

That nobody on the prosecution side was ever cited or censured for this nonsense boggles my mind.

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Reasonable_Beach1087@reddit

The fact that the satanic panic was kicked off by a book about repressed "memories" written by an extremely unethical psychologist who groomed his patient and then later married her is something else

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rebelangel@reddit

“Michelle Remembers” was the name of the book. After the Satanic Panic subsided and people realized it was all a hoax, it changed the way children are interviewed by law enforcement.

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Reasonable_Beach1087@reddit

Thank you, i blanked on the name and the fact that it was canadian always blows my mind. But it explains why my mother is still freaked out by satanism lol

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Sausage_Queen_of_Chi@reddit

Now the 2020s on the other hand have zero panics… wait …

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Reasonable_Beach1087@reddit

😂😂😂... none that I can think of

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rebelangel@reddit

My parents would kinda half ass inspect my candy. I remember people supposedly taking their kids’ candy to the hospital to get X-rayed.

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Thamnophis660@reddit

Not once. If I recall correctly, I was told not every item was risky and needed inspection, only things like apples or popcorn balls too.

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misterlakatos@reddit

Haha will never forget popcorn balls.

Those were also a thing at school whenever we had Halloween parties.

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Thamnophis660@reddit

Funny after mentioning those now I can really go for one

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rebelangel@reddit

They sell them now in sealed bags.

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misterlakatos@reddit

I actually liked them, but I have always loved popcorn.

I just finished off a bag of candy corn. For whatever reason this Halloween season I was craving it a lot. Will definitely pick up another bag in the next week.

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buffysmanycoats@reddit

At Christmas, the local firefighters used to come to our neighbor tree lighting and hand out popcorn balls. It was the only time I ever really got them, so it was a Big Deal.

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misterlakatos@reddit

That sounds like a fun event, and I am sure my home town had something similar.

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DenvahGothMom@reddit

Popcorn balls, candy apples and any baked goods, which we always got a few of, had to be thrown away. “We just don’t know if they have a clean kitchen!”

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jawanessa@reddit

Yeah, it's not drugs I'm worried about with anything made in someone else's kitchen but whether or not they wash their hands as much as they should

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Blackbird136@reddit

This. Anything in a (sealed) wrapper was deemed fine by my mom.

But she also left me home alone starting when I was 7 so YMMV lol.

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Author_Noelle_A@reddit

I was 5. Those were the days.

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swmtchuffer@reddit

We weren’t allowed to take/keep anything that wasn’t factory sealed.

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Lexis_Rose@reddit

The only questionable item I ever received whilst trick or treating was a rotten apple that had clearly gone bad but to be polite I accepted it and then tossed it onto the old fella’s lawn after he wasn’t in view and had gone back in his house - this was circa mid 1990’s here in Canada.

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look_how_cute@reddit

Once I found a press on nail in mine, but that was the absolute worst thing ive ever encountered in Halloween candy

[-]

Unending-Flexionator@reddit

I found morbid obesity

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1980pzx@reddit

I found a screw in a mini snicker bar in my kids Halloween candy about 15 years ago. The pkg was air tight, so I don’t think anyone tampered with it. I think it found its way in there at the factory. Chipped my damn tooth too.

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BayouVoodoo@reddit

Never found any as a kid; never found any when I xrayed candy as an adult.

[-]

Careless_Lion_3817@reddit

Or licked a stamp as a kid laced with LSD 🤣

[-]

No-Calligrapher3043@reddit

Yeah, so I live in Colorado and they completely lost me on this one when weed was first legalized and they tried to scare parents into thinking people could be handing out weed gummies from the dispensaries…that would be SO expensive and for what? Give the kid a bad night and the munchies?

Surprise, I know, but it never happened.

[-]

frooootloops@reddit

I never got the edibles I was promised either. Gotta go to the damn dispensary instead.

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Jenaaaaaay@reddit

I inspect my kids candy every year and I’ve never found any razor blades or free drugs. I’m really salty about the lack of free drugs I thought I’d find.

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Chemical-Flan-5700@reddit

Right! We were led to believe we’d be offered free drugs on every street corner.

[-]

thelazyporcupine@reddit

My nephew got busted at 17 for hanging out at the elementary school and giving kids free drugs,, then charging them for more like we saw on after school specials and diddled a couple kids too while he was at it. Nowadays he is all about protecting kids. So much so he went full on maga because its all about "keeping the kids safe" from those pesky drag queens who want to read to kids with pronouns.

...I wish I were kidding lol

[-]

Chemical-Flan-5700@reddit

May his pillows always be hot and his soup always cold!

[-]

SlapHappyDude@reddit

I'll have you know I am cool enough to have been offered free marijuana at parties in college and my 20s at least five times.

Seriously, stoners love to share. So there was some truth there although it became way more open once people were no longer living with their parents in high school.

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On_my_last_spoon@reddit

My favorite time I was offered free pot was at my Dad’s 70th birthday party! That crowd of old hippies all had their medical mamajuana cards and were all stoned 😆

Weirdly, I only ever tried pot (for free) twice in college and both times I got so paranoid it was not enjoyable. I’ve always been more a margarita girl myself.

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uwu_mewtwo@reddit

I was told the first one would be free because that's how they get me. Fucking lie that was.

[-]

bridge1999@reddit

Best we can do is the BOGO at a dispensary in some locations

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Ineedavodka2019@reddit

I inspect it for good candy and try to take some before they notice.

[-]

sprinklesadded@reddit

DARE told me I'd have to say "no" to drugs all the time. But alas, I've never had the opportunity to practice.

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blue_suavitel@reddit

Yesss razor blades

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red286@reddit

Honestly, the worst thing I ever got while trick or treating as a kid was a sandwich bag filled with cheerios. "They're honey-nut because I know you kids love your sweets!" My parents didn't even need to confiscate it, I tossed it in the first garbage can I saw.

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DetroitsGoingToWin@reddit

My dad doubled down, he said, “you’re not taking your kids trick or treating”

“Of course we are, what’s up”

“Mexican gangs are putting fentanyl in Halloween candy”

“Why would they give away fentanyl, if they make money from selling it?”

(Thinks) “Because the hate America”

“Alright dad, don’t say that shit around my kids”

https://i.redd.it/xdrfu3yiokwf1.gif

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red286@reddit

(Thinks) “Because they hate America”

"They're not the ones literally tearing down the White House."

[-]

capthazelwoodsflask@reddit

Did your dad used to tell you that you couldn't believe anything you read online, too?

[-]

DetroitsGoingToWin@reddit

Ha no, dad didn’t call bullshit on much, maybe that’s the challenge.

[-]

StarWarsLvr@reddit

Yes

[-]

Kellzy1212@reddit

Time for you to lock him out of a few channels via parental controls. 😹

[-]

Important_silence@reddit

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[-]

RanaMisteria@reddit

No never.

[-]

linemanshandset@reddit

The other day I was at work and this one guy driving packages around the warehouse and he started yelling something at the radio or something about how Halloween used to be safer. I asked him about razer blades in the candy in the 80s and he claimed that he knew people who had similar stuff happen. I think he was full of shit, but he was ranting about treat or treating in the 80s to me and i had to ask him a few questions.

another highlight: apparently his mom used to run a high powered magnet over the candy.

[-]

msheehan418@reddit

Well, technically, it wasn’t lies because a dad poisoned his kid with Halloween candy so it’s actually a sad reality that turned into an urban legend

[-]

petroldarling@reddit

Never happened, and yet our town hospital x-rayed candy for free for years

[-]

kaytay3000@reddit

My nephew swears he found staples in his candy one year. His mom called the local news and they featured him in a story. As much as I love them, my SIL and her children are high drama people who love getting attention from unfortunate events. I seriously doubt there were staples, but if there were it was likely because the wrapper was stapled to a flyer or something.

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YayVacation@reddit

Not sure if it’s actually happened but it may have given the idea to some of the nihilistic online cults. Article about plot to distribute poisoned candy from Santa.

[-]

MushroomMossSnail@reddit

Razors in the candy was all part of that ridiculous, 1980s, Satanic panic. All bullshit urban legends that happened to a friend of a friend's second cousin once removed

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digitalgraffiti-ca@reddit

Not once

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mountednoble99@reddit

My mom confiscated all of our Halloween Candy when we came home. I doubt she ever found anything.

[-]

Anyone-9451@reddit

The closest I ever got to anything was bags of rocks lol:…and I was thinking who would go through the trouble and expense to bag up a bunch of gravel into those (at the time I felt they were) fancy Halloween goodie bags…weird

[-]

ThatsNotVeryDerek@reddit

Locally within the past decade, some kids got ahold of some edibles, mixed them in with their pre-Halloween candy stash, and handed them out at school. Cue outrage, wOnT sOmEoNe tHiNk oF tHe cHiLdReN?!

Little shits have no idea how many decades we've been fighting this urban legend and how much they set us back.

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Ok_Tanasi1796@reddit

Maybe a few cases but mostly pre internet days urban legend.

[-]

Hefty_Macaroni6288@reddit

I used to wonder about the warning of razor blades in apples, and always imagined some really intricate, advanced mechanism. But no one had that kind of tech in the 80s lol. So this is my fave shirt around this time of year. It’s from Sadist Art Designs

check your candy shirt

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ObiWan-Shinoobi@reddit

My Japanese neighbors used to give out pencils. So that was like a needle.

[-]

rugernut13@reddit

When I was eight, we got home after a long night of trick-or-treating and I found a pack of Marlboro lights and two airplane bottles of Jack Daniels in my candy bag, but since we had been to my aunt's house, we knew exactly who had put them there and who they were for. My parents thought it was fucking hilarious.

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DashboredPro@reddit

I’m pretty sure it was parent propaganda to be able to “inspect” (steal) the good candy. I was promised surprise drugs and that never happened. Still mad about it 🤣

[-]

ThaneduFife@reddit

IIRC, the only cases where that has actually happened was when it was when a family member of the child messed with the candy.

[-]

Nancy-Drew-Who@reddit

One old lady in our neighborhood gave out mini rolls of Tums once? Lol

[-]

LegallyRegarded@reddit

Trunk or treat is blasphemy (unless you live in a rural area and have no other option). Go make memories with you children.

[-]

Typical-Human-Thing@reddit

Not a single time. 🤣 But I appreciate the concern and as an adult I approve of the “tax” paid.

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Rude-Associate2283@reddit

I got a rock.

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Epicardiectomist@reddit

just Good N' Plenty. I would have preferred a razor blade over that shit.

[-]

Resident-Trouble4483@reddit

I got mini bottles from a well meaning neighbor and wasn’t allowed to play with that friend again for like 3 years. Which is crazy because I can tell you right now those are the rich neighbors.

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Awkwardpanda75@reddit

My parents had me convinced that evil nairdoers were slipping razor blades into our fun sized snickers. I really think it was a ploy to get all our good candy from us when they “sorted and reviewed” the candy.

Yet another lie to induce fear; just like that whole quicksand fear.

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WhoDatLadyBear@reddit

My parents would "inspect" my candy to see which pieces they wanted lol. I've never inspected my kids halloween candy.

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muhhuh@reddit

That was boomer propaganda.

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AnneKakes@reddit

Back in the 90s, we had a guy in our neighborhood that would fill bread bags with opened candies and chocolate bars, and loose cigarettes and give them out as treat bags. He was a little weird lol

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_ism_@reddit

if you count getting religious shit - Chick tracts, bible verse candy, etc.

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psilosophist@reddit

It was propaganda. Or better yet, copaganda.

I’m honestly surprised this is being asked by someone in our age group, we were raised on so many lies (looking at you, DARE).

[-]

BananaPants430@reddit

No.

We still check our kids' Halloween candy but it's just to discard anything with an open wrapper (it does happen) and to stake a claim on the Almond Joys as "parent tax".

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juniper3411@reddit

I love me some almond joy and most kids hate them. Win win. My son always gives me all of those. It’s cute.

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Numbnuts696@reddit

Worst I found was an opened candy..

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reapersritehand@reddit

Simon Whistler did a great video on this either in "today I found out" or "brain/business blaze" but basically it started from some kids who got into their uncles/dad's stash and of course the adults didnt wanna get in trouble and blamed it on the Halloween candy, the truth finally came out but was after the news done ran with it and has been a urban legend ever since

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juniper3411@reddit

Checks out.

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Sedona83@reddit

I swear there was documentation of glass being found in some candies in the 1980s, but I can't recall what. I do remember it being non-chocolate, as I am allergic, and had some concern about it.

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juniper3411@reddit

But if that happened it could have been a factory screw up.

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capthazelwoodsflask@reddit

With the price of candy going way up and the price of weed going way down it might actually be cheaper to give out edibles this year.

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juniper3411@reddit

Omg you are not wrong. Eek. Where have we gone as a society.

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queenofdan@reddit

When I was little enough to say my own greeting, we said “trick or treat for unicef!” And you held out a small box that people were expected to put a penny in. They were handed out in elementary school back in the 60’s and 70’s.

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dragon_morgan@reddit

The halloween after 9/11 I was really too old for trick or treat but my family was moving so I wanted to go with my best friend one last time. But my parents wouldn't let me because they thought... terrorists... would put anthrax in the candy... or something. But no I never heard about this happening in real life.

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juniper3411@reddit

Oh god my mom freaked out so hard about the anthrax. I’m like mom you are not important enough to be sent anthrax in the mail. Don’t think we have to worry about that lol.

I post in the millennial sub sometimes. It’s all good lol.

[-]

Longjumping_Cod_9132@reddit

I mean, someone did put anthrax in a letter. See Hamilton, NJ post office.

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Expensive-Day-3551@reddit

I had an apple that looked like it had bite marks with white out around the edges of the bite marks. Thinking back as an adult I think it might have been mold, and my neighbor might have had really bad dementia. I think someone brought her apples that she didn’t like, and she kept taking bites out of each one, then putting it back. Then when Halloween came around, she hadn’t bought any candy and gave out apples when kids surprised her. I told my grandma and I think she called the police and I think her kids eventually came to help. Eventually she either died or moved away.

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juniper3411@reddit

This is making me weirdly very sad this morning. Poor neighbor.

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EastTXJosh@reddit

No, but I got a shard of glass in a hamburger once. I noticed it before I swallowed it and didn’t suffer any injuries, but it was a glass shard from a mug.

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elonmusktheturd22@reddit

I got cigarettes a few times

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Dry_Inspection_4583@reddit

The only time anything was ever found it was from the kids family, or a lie.

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Winwookiee@reddit

Nothing intentional. I've had to throw some away because they broke open. You could tell it had been that way for a while because it was all dried out.

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lordskulldragon@reddit

I'm still waiting to find free drugs in mine!

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ReluctantToNotRead@reddit

Not candy but pills baked into a cake at a firehouse fundraiser in the fall. I was a kid so I don’t remember if it was Halloween specifically, but was probably October because I remember the leaves changing. So not candy from door to door trick or treating, but a cake dropped off at a party/fundraiser. No one knew where the cake came from.

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BadAtExisting@reddit

Always an excuse for adults to eat candy

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mrdon83@reddit

You don't inspect the candy because you think there mght actually be something harmful in it.

You inspect the candy because it teaches children that they shouldn't blindly trust whatever is shoved in front of their faces even if it means doing a little bit of work to make sure everything is on the up and up. Trust but verify. Check the facts.

It's called "leading by example" and it's a lot more effective than "do what I say, not what I do."

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TemperatureTight465@reddit

Pretty sure my mom just stuck with that so she could steal all the candies that she liked.

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StunningShifts@reddit

I, hand to God, found a razor blade embedded in a brand new, fully wrapped block of cheese once, but never in any candy.

[-]

amccune@reddit

Now it’s weed edibles. Who the fuck is giving those away?

It’s always pearl-clutching nonsense.

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Secret_Elevator17@reddit

I think there was an instance of a parent poisoning his kid with something in candy for life insurance once, but that is the closest I've seen to someone using candy to cause harm.

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DabBoofer@reddit

I remember a few rumors of drugs being in candy and to watch out for that... as an adult i realize tht drugs are expensive and no dealer is gonna give his product away for free to ANYONE

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brilliantpants@reddit

I was terrified of this as a kid. My parents knew it was bullshit, but there were a couple of years where I BEGGED them to I inspect all my candy for razor or needle marks.

One time my mom pawed through the bag and gave me a thumbs up and I got mad because she clearly was not inspecting things carefully enough, so she had to pretend to inspect it more thoroughly before I could just calm down and eat it.

After that they got smart and next year they said “We know you’re very carful and observant, we trust you to know if a piece of candy looks weird. You can bring any suspicious ones to us to look over, but otherwise just eat it!”

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FirehawkLS1@reddit

There was moral panic back then about heavy metal music, satanic cults, etc. The times have changed but there's still moral panic, just the topics have changed.

[-]

starmartyr11@reddit

Now they're checking genitals instead of candy 😑

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CheesyRomantic@reddit

Never when I was a child.

The past few years, we will hear a story or two in the news of someone finding a needle or object. Sometimes it was a hoax… sometimes it was true.

A child even received a little bag of adult gummies.

But never when I was a child.

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jackfaire@reddit

It was propaganda targeting our parents. My mom fell for it and would inspect our candy every year. I was told "You're too young" when I called it obvious bullshit.

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Accadius@reddit

We were just warned about razor blades and to throw away anything that looked tampered with. Any razor blades must have been in those orange and black wrapped peanut butter things because 0 of the kids in my family liked them so they were the most thrown out candy followed by candy corn and necco waffers. I did read a news article about someone finding those prick needles diabetics poke there finger with to test blood sugar in a whopper at bk but that was only like 10 years ago and if I recall it was a targeted instance by an employee.

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The_J_Bird@reddit

According to Snopes it has happened but very rarely.

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BeckyWGoodhair@reddit

Nope. Got some toothbrushes which were lame, but that was the craziest it got

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TheVexingRose@reddit

There was a rumor in my town. One of those urban myths where one guy swore he knew a kid that bit into a razor blade. No one they could ever name of course.

[-]

jlkb24@reddit

Not as a kid but recently on the news at an event there were needles found in candy. Sewing needles to be more specific.

[-]

shaggy68@reddit

I lost so many awesome treats because of this BS... Clearly I am still traumatized.

[-]

morganalefaye125@reddit

In my area in the 70's someone put some razor blades in some of the candy they handed out. As far as I know, nobody got hurt, but my grandmother had the newspaper article clipped and saved (she saved everything)

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Gwayeveryday@reddit

I got a straight pin in a tootsie roll

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Suitable-Review3478@reddit

There are only like a handful of reported cases. All of which were intended to kill family members. Meaning it was a family member trying to kill another family member, not a stranger or boogeyman trying to kill kids.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/halloween-candy-tampering-urban-legend-truth-1.5341734

[-]

BondG10@reddit

Nope. Found more needles and crack viles on the playground than I did my candy, I’m from Brooklyn in the 80’s……

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Amazing-Basket-136@reddit

Broken glass everywhere, People pissing on the stairs you know they just don’t care.

[-]

nachofred@reddit

Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge

[-]

Sebastian_dudette@reddit

Nope. And my parents inspected my candy every year. We weren't allowed to eat any until it was checked. And no home-made stuff except from one particular house. That we were allowed to eat while we trick-or-treated.

I still inspect my kiddo's candy and toss anything not factory sealed. Even if it was likely just a poor factory seal. Even though I know logically it's fine.

[-]

its_raining_scotch@reddit

The only weird thing that ever happened is that we had this shady guy that lived on the corner who would put obscene trinkets into our buckets. They were those things you can buy in Tijuana or someplace like that and are keychains with a little metal guy with a big dong banging a woman and if you press a little handle it makes them have sex.

My parents wouldn’t let us go there after that and he moved away eventually.

[-]

FourCrapPee@reddit

I once got a mystery $20 bill in a bag of candy. I still am trying to figure out the guy who did that. I think it was a neighbor we had and we hated and called "grass ass" because he yelled at us for stepping on his lawn. But as time went on I think he was actually a sweet old man. Life is funny and I'm glad to share it with you all, my generation who will understand. Some home alone shit, the crazy guy neighbor is actually a sweet old man. Ok time to yell at clouds. Love you all.

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Amazing-Basket-136@reddit

I was that shithead kid once.

Wait, I think I hear kids playing on my lawn. Got to put the phone down so I can yell at them.

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Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit

that scene makes me cry every time w the scary old guy

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Electronic_World_894@reddit

This is such a nice story.

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000ttafvgvah@reddit

When we were in 4th grade, my friend got a piece of metal in a piece of Double Bubble or Bazooka Joe when we were at a Halloween carnival at the local community college. At the time we were like, “ooh, it’s a piece of a razor blade!” But as an adult, I’m pretty sure it was just an error in manufacturing.

[-]

AlternativeSource185@reddit

My Mom was given acid laced Halloween candy and ended up in the hospital when she was 5.

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Amazing-Basket-136@reddit

That propaganda was police fueled, not parents.

[-]

KoRaZee@reddit

All propaganda put forth by parents to steal candy from a baby

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AbsintheAGoGo@reddit

I began to suspect that was their way of getting first dibs on our candy haul... finding out that no documented cases exist, well I am just going to stick with my suspicion

[-]

Rachet83@reddit

No. But I’m quite certain my mom used this excuse to “inspect” my candy and take out things she liked. I’ve never stolen candy from my kids and believe it or not, they offer me some of my favorites! Amazing how it works

[-]

Lafemmedelargent@reddit

Closest thing I got was a weird pamphlet on a Christian cult from the family down the street. When we moved in my mom tried to get me to be friends with the daughter my age, but she was weird and wasn't into the vulgar, godless music and books I was into. So by the time Halloween rolled around and I was told in no uncertain terms I would be escorting my sister (5 years younger than me) trick or treating, boy were they ready for me. The mom looked me square in the eye whilst handing me the propaganda, with a look I don't think the lord would be proud of, as if I was the bad one... But I wasn't trick or treating and only one of us had jeans up to her boobs. I was very amused, but grabbed the tiny plastic jesus and pamphlet from my sister before she looked too closely at it. 🫩 It was only the fourth house of the night, and though I was not happy at the assignment, we kept it moving because there were king sized candy bars to be had.

[-]

GenericDave65@reddit

I remember getting a religious pamphlet

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Elly_Higgenbottom@reddit

I remember seeing a woman holding up a tootsie rool with a pin in it on the local news. My mother snorted & said she'd obviously put it there herself.

[-]

Turdorama@reddit

No but I’m pretty sure my uncle used that excuse to steal a shit ton of my candy.

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Hippy_Lynne@reddit

There were maybe half a dozen cases where there was a foreign object in candy but they couldn't determine if it was intentional or a manufacturing issue. There were also a lot of people who did it for attention, and a couple of non-custodial parents who did it because they didn't want to pay child support. There were also a lot of people who just flat out lied and never even reported it to authorities.

Sadly, like strangers giving you free drugs on Halloween, this is mostly an urban myth.

[-]

Oh_Witchy_Woman@reddit

It was satanic panic propaganda, and part of why the churches have been trying to promote trunk or treats over traditional trick or treating for the last 30 plus years.

[-]

mrs_snrub67@reddit

Pretty sure my parents "checked" my candy so they could steal all the good stuff

[-]

Sausage_Queen_of_Chi@reddit

Still waiting for my free drugs

[-]

Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit

Nothing harmful, but my mom did make us throw out anything homemade. We had to get our cavities from large corporations. And of course we had to pay the mom tax.

[-]

Life_Grade1900@reddit

And yet, people still trust the news

[-]

MrsAshleyStark@reddit

Candy corn n witch toffees. Terrible

[-]

DangerBrewin@reddit

There was this case in California a few years ago, but it was the kid’s dad trying to play the hero.

[-]

heart_blossom@reddit

Propaganda

[-]

CherryCherry5@reddit

One time I got FRUIT! That was some bullshit, I tell you w'hat.

[-]

Mac_A81@reddit

No, but when I was little, my babysitter found a needle and thread in a sealed pack of hotdogs. We bought it at the store, came home, and when she opened them, she found the needle nestled between two hot dogs. There wasn’t a puncture hole so it had to have been put in there during packaging.

[-]

Sofagirrl79@reddit

What a weird thing to find in a pack of hot dogs 🤔

[-]

raisedbytelevisions@reddit

Totally propaganda

[-]

Sufficient-Quote-431@reddit

After 14 year after year, I would wish somebody would give me ecstasy and somehow it was just snickers. would’ve killed them to throw in an edible here and there

[-]

pinchenombre@reddit

Have you ever seen an addict give away their stash for fun? No. Never.

[-]

cheesusfeist@reddit

I got a roll of pennies once.

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Nacho_Sideboob@reddit

Nope, and I'm still waiting for a stranger to offer me free drugs.

[-]

TheWorldIsNotOkay@reddit

The worst thing I've ever found in my candy bucket at Halloween was vegetables. One of the neighbors had grown more corn than they knew what to do with, so they handed out ears of corn to trick-or-treaters instead of candy.

[-]

kellyasksthings@reddit

You’re Wrong About did a fantastic episode on some of the sociological things going on behind that particular urban legend, and some of the evidence for and against it.

[-]

Automatic_Beat5808@reddit

The stories that this "urban legend" are based on are true .... It was parents doing the harming of their own kids.

[-]

Scrapla1@reddit

Never found anything sus in all the years I went trick or treating.

[-]

throwawayfromPA1701@reddit

Oh, it was all lies.

[-]

CaptainsYacht@reddit

I tried but dang my kids were too smart to fall for it :(

[-]

Miami_Mice2087@reddit

more like a hoax

[-]

left-of-the-jokers@reddit

It's the same amount of people as all the ones that offered me free drugs like DARE said they would

[-]

No-Green6383@reddit

And where were the drugs?! Once I got some floss. Pretty messed up

[-]

Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit

Floss is a good one!

[-]

Responder343@reddit

I remember getting Valentines Day candy one year.

[-]

SupermarketFeeling51@reddit

The NYT started that rumor.

[-]

sterlingsilverbullet@reddit

Neighborhood pal's older brother put toothpicks in a few fun size bars to be a dick to his friends and us other "twerps". But not to strangers. Closet thing to the infamous "killer candy" of the 80's & 90's was a jerk off 15yo GWAR fanatic with cystic acne.

[-]

Electronic_World_894@reddit

I got a Halloween themed pencil a few times, and a tooth brush once. That was the scariest Halloween ever!

[-]

HipHopGrandpa@reddit

I thought uncracked walnuts and oranges was the worst thing ever. Then I knocked on the house that gave me a toothbrush and paste. As a kid, I was horrified.

[-]

Thebakers_wife@reddit

I found raisins. Multiple times.

[-]

semiotheque@reddit

I’m cynical enough that I think the whole thing was made up by candy companies to discourage people from handing out or accepting homemade treats.

[-]

Southside_john@reddit

This was the “traffickers are following you at Walmart and marking your car” of the 1990’s

[-]

ChristyLovesGuitars@reddit

It was memes before memes. Just dumb shit like chain emails that made it on the local news.

[-]

backalleywillie@reddit

The number of times people have tried to tell me it's not a myth, and that people really do put drugs in candy they GIVE AWAY FOR FREE on Halloween is mind-numbing. Bitch, do you know how much drugs cost?

[-]

draculawater@reddit

Worst things I ever found in my Halloween candy haul was one of those stupid religious booklets, pennies, and candy corn.

[-]

bridge1999@reddit

Drugs in food bank candy

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1176721

[-]

RogerClyneIsAGod2@reddit

The only story I've heard is about Ronald "The Candyman" Clark O'Brien.

On March 31, 1984, shortly after midnight, O'Bryan was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit.

Such a piece of shit that he didn't even mention the son he murdered in his last words:

O'Bryan's last words were, "What is about to transpire in a few moments is wrong! However, we as human beings do make mistakes and errors. This execution is one of those wrongs yet doesn't mean our whole system of justice is wrong. Therefore, I would forgive all who have taken part in any way in my death. Also, to anyone I have offended in any way during my 39 years, I pray and ask your forgiveness, just as I forgive anyone who offended me in any way. And I pray and ask God's forgiveness for all of us respectively as human beings. To my loved ones, I extend my undying love. To those close to me, know in your hearts I love you one and all. God bless you all and may God's best blessings be always yours. Ronald C. O'Bryan P.S. During my time here, I have been treated well by all T.D.C. personnel."

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Logen-Grimlock@reddit

Idk but my moms favorite candy was always suspect

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Signal-Philosophy271@reddit

No, and I believe the story that lead to this fear, it was the dad the whole time who poisoned the kids. The call is almost always coming from inside the house.

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Not_a_werecat@reddit

Worst thing anybody I know ever got was Chick Tracts. 🤢

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WhatTheCluck802@reddit

IDK why my parents were so worried about this. I grew up in rural Vermont and they knew all the houses I trick or treated at. It’s like, what, did they think sweet little old Mrs Brown was going to sneak some rat poison into her Nestle Crunch bars??

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YorkiesandSneakers@reddit

I remember one year they had a thing where you could bring your kids to get their candy X-rayed. To this day I have still never eaten a candy apple, because I can’t think of one without imagining it full of razor blades.

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FatalBlossom81@reddit

Never. And I grew up in the Bronx lol

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Important_silence@reddit

No needles nor drugs were ever found in my Halloween candy. My mother didn’t even bother to check after I was 7.

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elkniodaphs@reddit

Yep, who had time to check? Get the candy and eat it!

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Important_silence@reddit

Hose water and Halloween candy 😋

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wraithscrono@reddit

Yes as a few posted there were FAMILY that tampered with candy for their own kids/relatives - in AZ there was an uncle that put rat poison in rolos back in the late 80s.. But yeah like the 'drugs on every corner' we grew up hearing about it is not real...

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Boetheus@reddit

Just candy corn

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cosmicloafer@reddit

No but I’m pretty sure Necco wafers were made out of asbestos

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RetroBerner@reddit

Nah, I always thought it was ridiculous. Ain't nobody handing out good drugs for free.

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EventHorizonbyGA@reddit

In regards to needles just last week the Santa Fe Texas Police Department reported that sewing needlers were found in candy distributed after a Homecoming game. So, yes. last week. This is so fresh just google it.

And, the same thing happened 2021...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/01/us/sewing-needles-found-in-halloween-candy-trnd

And other times.

In regards to Halloween and poison, lot of people are confusing history. In the 1980s, there was a rash of Tylenol tamperings which left numerous people dead. This actually happened. And the first death was a child.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tylenol_murders

After that, there was general anxiety and hysteria about anything that was left out on shelves especially anything that a child might consume. And then in 1984 there were two very public cases.

One was in Japan where a candy manufacturer received a letter stating its candy had been poisoned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monster_with_21_Faces

And the other was a father poisoning his own children. So society went into over protect mode.

At the time, the resolution of the father poisoning case was unknown. You know today what the truth was at the time the world did not.

There was a case in 1964 of a women in NYC giving out ant poison to children which parents of kids in the 1980s remembered.

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Deep_Space_999@reddit

I have lots of baseball cards that I hand out packs of… so maybe an unintentional paper cut? lol

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ImHere4TheGiggles@reddit

I was in my 20s or so when I had an epiphany that the parents made this up so they could take what they wanted from our candy. My parents never actually checked my candy but I had friends parents who did and they so took out the best stuff!

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akm1111@reddit

My parents liked different stuff than me, so I pulled out their favorites automatically. Worked out well.

One of my kids has developed a minor peanut allergy, so I get all the ones they can't eat. (Not bad enough that wrapped candy touching others is an issue.) They are just salty about it because they LIKED the PB flavored things.

There are a couple things I like that the kids don't, so they automatically hand me those too. For the things we all like, I get one to their three/four.

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Piranha_Vortex@reddit

This was my experience as well.

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Nwsamurai@reddit

I have one memory of sitting down with my Dad in front of the fireplace, inspecting my candy after trick-or-treating. He found something weird on the outside of little pack of Peanut M&M (probably some goop from some other candy) and immediately threw it in the fire. I was mad because they were my favorite at the time.

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ResponsibilityIcy187@reddit

We didn’t inspect our candies. We dug right in and never came across anything. I think .

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sloppybratt@reddit

Your colonoscopy is gonna be a hoot

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ResponsibilityIcy187@reddit

There’s gonna be a box cutter in one of my colons for sure.

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Mrsmith4@reddit

I can cancer at 30. I blame them strawberry candies and orange taffy bullshit.

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Anon_ymous1138@reddit

gif

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Fit-Accountant-157@reddit

Nope

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big_ringer@reddit

Nope. Not Once. Though some neighbors who didn't have any candy gave me cash.

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boulevardofdef@reddit

It was a myth, but it wasn't parent propaganda because the parents fell for it just like the kids did. It was just one of those rumors that spreads because human beings like to stoke their own anxieties.

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Downtown_Mine_1903@reddit

Once someone put a penny in my plastic jack-o'-lantern...

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ShinePretend3772@reddit

Yet another hoax our genius parents bought wholesale.

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El-Royhab@reddit

or used to get first dibs on the candy

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PlanetLandon@reddit

If you think about it logically, you would have to be pretty mentally unstable to think you could get away with it. Say a kid gets a needle of whatever. The kid/ their friends/ their parents are going to know every house they hit on Halloween night, and they might even remember exactly which house gave them the tainted treat. The cops would be questioning you within 24 hours

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