Halloween on your mind? Here’s a round up of Candy Professor Halloween stories from the archives.

Whither Halloween Candy? When and why did Halloween get so candified, and will it always be about the candy?

Stories of early twentieth century Halloween. Halloween was parties and pranks. No trick-or-treat yet!

Candy and Halloween Parties before 1920

Actually, not so much candy
Retailing Halloween in the 1920s Window displays, candy favors, and a big pumpkin
Halloween Aftermath Classic Halloween pranks from the turn of the century
Thanksgiving Trick or Treat New York City had some surprising Thanksgiving traditions in the old days

Trick-or-treat, with the ring of the door-bell, the chant, the threat of trick, and the propitiating treat, doesn’t appear until the late 1930s and 1940s. After the conclusion of the Second World War at the end of the 1940s, trick-or-treat takes off. The 1950s were the trick-or-treat golden years:

Candies For Trick or Treat in the 1950s
1951 Halloween Candy One small newspaper ad reveals all
Trick-or-Slap Not everyone was thrilled with the whole trick-or-treat game in the 1950s
Laxatives and the end of Trick or Treating The first (and only) Halloween sadist, and the end of Halloween innocence

After all that trick or treating, what if you have too much candy? Here’s a couple of solutions:

Halloween Candy to the Troops Dentists to the rescue
Donate Candy to Science

Off site, guest posts at The Atlantic Food Channel and Salon:

Halloween and Candy: They Weren’t Always Best Friends Really! Halloween before trick-or-treat, and after
October’s Original Candy Holiday? Candy Day A forgotten holiday, back before the Halloween candy debauch
The Meaning of Halloween-Psychopath Stories Arsenic-laced jelly beans and razor-studded caramels aren’t real. Faith in processed, sanitary foods certainly is.
Candy Corn Love it? Hate it? Traditional candy, but not for Halloween!
BOOK EXCERPT: Trick or Treating Nightmares are Urban Legends

Filed under: Holidays Tagged: candy, Halloween traditions, trick or treat