Tampered Treats: Should Parents Really Worry on Halloween? BY AUSTRIA COHN PHOTO BY FREEPIK.COM
16 OCTOBER 2024 | NOLAFAMILY.COM dates back to the 1960s, growing stronger in the 1970s thanks to media reports, urban legends, and a few isolated incidents that received widespread attention. To further understand this topic, let’s look at some case files that led to this fear. Case File 1 Date: October 31, 1964 Location: Long Island, New York E very Halloween, kids put on their best costumes–whether spooky witches or cute pumpkins–and go door-to-door in search of sweet treats. It’s a night of fun and excitement that both children and parents eagerly await. Yet, amid the laughter and sugar rush, a familiar warning always lingers: “Check your Halloween candy!” It’s a message echoed by city officials, neighbors, and friends alike. But is there any truth behind this caution? The fear of tampered Halloween candy
Suspect: Helen Pfeil Source: New York Post Description of Incident:
“too old” for trick-or-treating. No one was hurt. Case File 2 Date: October 31, 1974 Location: Pasadena, Texas Suspect: Ronald O’Bryan Source: HubPages Description of Incident: Ten years after Helen’s Pfeil’s dangerous Halloween antics, Ronald O’Bryan committed one of the most notorious crimes in Halloween history. O’Byran, his two children–Tim and Elizabeth–and some friends ventured out for trick-or- treating despite the rain. After a few blocks, they arrived at a darkened house with no lights on. The kids knocked anyway but got no answer and started heading home because the rain had picked up. O’Bryan lagged behind for a moment, then suddenly caught up with the group holding five giant Pixy Stix, claiming that “rich neighbors” were handing out premium treats.
On Halloween night of 1964, three teen girls dressed as “hobos” knocked on the door of Helen Pfeil, a mother living in Long Island. Instead of the usual candy, Pfeil teased the girls, questioning, “Aren’t you a little old to be trick-or-treating?” She then handed out a strange “treat” hidden among the candy. The girls continued their rounds without suspicion but later discovered something alarming when their mother emptied their candy bags. They found arsenic pellets, and wrapped inside a napkin was a bottle- cap-shaped ant trap with a clear warning—“poison.” The police launched an immediate search for the suspect and any more deadly disguised candy. When confronted, Pfeil admitted to distributing the poison only to the three teens because, in her opinion, they were
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