An Abbreviated History of Trick or Treating: The Good, The Bad, and the Incredibly Weird

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It's an indelible Halloween tradition: the children of the neighborhood all dressing up in elaborate costumes purchased from the local Halloween specialty shop (or, if you were poor, your costume was "homemade") and beating on doors, demanding candy lest they unleash their fury on whatever poor sucker gives them apples instead of good ole fashioned American candy bars. If someone put this in your bag, you knew they were a Communist spy. As with most traditions, one wonders how such a timeless tradition got started in the first place. Well, it's a long and complicated story, so we'll give you the short version while making fun of it the whole time.

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