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I love Halloween; there’s no time of the year better than the one where you get to eat tons of candy, stay up late watching weird gory movies, and scare the living bejesus out of your friends and family. There’s something in the air in the month of October, and it always draws us to the strange, the unknown, and the mysterious. It’s also the time of the year where the weird school yard rumors take on a strange and sometimes macabre life of their own. Yes children! Long before the age of the world’s most dysfunctional game of telephone that we call Social Media, it was the October schoolyard that was the best place to find out all sorts of weird and bizarre gossip! Now, in keeping with that fine tradition alongside wedgies and stealing someone’s lunch money, Ol’ Doc here is gonna set you straight about some of these tall tales. So sit down beside the pumpkin patch, mind the tombstone, and and steel your nerves as we delve into the mysterious and weird world of Halloween Myths!
Razor Blades and Poisoned CandyWe’ve all heard this one a million times before! Crazy strangers handing out apples with razor blade stuck in them, candy hiding pins, and cyanide laced snicker bars. All things we’ve heard about this for years from our parents, local news broadcasters, and even that one “safety expert” the police send over to speak at schools every year. The earliest known case of this event occurring was in California, 1959, when Dentist William Syme was arrested for handing out candy coated laxative pills to trick or treaters. A similar incident happened in Long Island, New York, 1964, where a woman was arrested for handing out packets containing steel wool, dog biscuits, and ant poison to kids. More recently in 2000, one James Joseph Smith of Minneapolis was arrested for putting needles in snicker bars and handing them out to kids on Halloween. Outside of these isolated incidents, most of these stories turned out to be hoaxes perpetrated by kids and/or attention seeking parents. Fewer than ten incidents of actual injury have ever even been reported since the William Syme case in 1959.
So why the public hysteria to this day? Well, two notable incidents come to mind. First was a 1970 article in the New York Times by Judy Klemesrud titled, “Those Treats May Be Tricks”, which warned readers about the dangers of tampered Halloween candy, and some of the more horrific examples of such “treats”. The other source of fear is the spike in reports and alleged copycat incidents that happened after the Chicago Tylenol Murders in 1982, just a month before Halloween. The murders involved Tylenol Capsules being laced with potassium cyanide, and then being shipped on to unsuspecting store shelves. Seven people died in the incident, fueling public fears about a similar incident happening with Halloween candy. No deaths or incidence ever materialized since, but the fear remains and rears its ugly head every Halloween. Both cases were milestone events that influenced public perception of the safety of Trick or Treating and Halloween candy to this day.
Trippy Tattoos
Ok, so I admit, this is a new one on me! Story goes that as far back as the 1970s, rumors of Blotter Acid LSD sold as lick and stick temporary tattoos were hitting the streets. In the 1980s, memos were supposedly released by some schools as well as law enforcement agencies claiming the LSD could be absorbed through skin contact, and were often printed with images of popular children’s cartoon characters like Bart Simpson, Mickey Mouse, and Superman. These “tattoos” were supposedly called “Blue Star Tattoos”, due to the most common of these being an image of a blue star. Despite the memos, no evidence has ever been discovered. Attempts to find any of the original writers of the memos have all failed, suggesting that it may have been just a hoax that snowballed.
Real Hanging CorpsesEver see those corpses hanging from trees at Halloween attractions like haunted houses, or gallows displays? Awfully realistic looking in some cases, right? Well, supposedly, in at least a couple instances, those might actually be real! The first known instance of this happened in 1990 when a dumb teenager (are there ever any other kind?) decided to play around and pretend to hang himself from the gallows of a Halloween hayride...and unfortunately ACTUALLY hanged himself by accident. His body was later discovered by staff as they passed by the gallows. This led to the spread of rumors and urban legends that some corpses at these kinds of displays may in fact be real.
Multiple incidents like this have happened since, which has unfortunately led to the spread of this sometimes true rumor.
Animal Sacrifices
Sometimes the Spirit of Halloween drives people to do stupid or weird things. Like unfortunate costume choices. Other times, the Spirit of Halloween causes people to assume that OTHER people will do stupid or weird things. Urban legends claim that some cults will capture and ritualistically sacrifice black cats on Halloween. Fortunately, this gruesome rumor has never been substantiated, and as far as anyone can tell, no known statistics on this kind of animal cruelty have ever been found. In particular, the ASPCA has found no data suggesting any kind of increase in black cat adoptions or mutilations either. That being said, the continuing spread of these rumors may come from the fact that in certain instances, it’s been found that some animal shelters halt the adoption of black cats during the entire month of October. Well, I’d say better safe than sorry. Poor Sylvester...
Gang Initiation Attacks
As if gang violence isn’t enough of a problem, now we have to even fear the prospect of fake gang violence! Supposedly Halloween is a particularly auspicious day for gang members, who use the evening as a time to have prospective members initiated by committing horrifying acts of violence. As recent as 2008, stories emerged that chain letter emails were spread warning that gangs would seek to as many as 30 to 34 women on Halloween as an initiation ritual. Fortunately, police have debunked these claims as false, and no known incidents have ever occurred.
In 2009, a New Jersey man was arrested for spreading these kinds of emails and starting the rumors in the first place. He would eventually be charged with attempting to spread false public alarm.
--Doc (10/3/17)
Candy image from envato elements--photographed by choreograph, images from SIlent Hill 3 and 4--owned by Konami.
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