+quot;Although it remains a good idea for children not to eat any unwrapped or unsealed ca

"Although  it  remains a good idea for children not  to  eat  any 
unwrapped  or  unsealed candies, parents should know that  a  new 
study  shows  that reports of children dying after  eating  drug-
laced  candy  and having their mouths slashed after  biting  into 
razor  blades slipped into apples have all proved to  be  untrue.  
//   The study by a sociologist at Fresno State University  found 
that  in more than two decades there has not been a single  death 
or  a  severe injury caused by Halloween sadists.   //   Reported 
incidents of tampering with Halloween treats more often than  not 
are the results of tricks played by the 'victims' themselves, the 
study  said.   //  Writing in the November  issue  of  Psychology 
Today,   Joel   Best,  chairman  of  Fresno   State's   sociology 
department,  said, 'Children who go trick-or-treating know  about 
Halloween  sadism  --  they have been warned  by  their  parents, 
teachers  and  friends.  A child who 'discovers'  an  adulterated 
treat  stands  to  be rewarded with the  concerned  attention  of 
parents  and, perhaps, police officers and reporters."   ---  San 
Francisco Chronicle, 31 October 1985  
 
"With Halloween creeping up, the demons that bedeviled the  Smurl 
home  in  West Pittston [Pennsylvania] and turned  the  lives  of 
their  hosts  into  a nightmare apparently  have  fled  to  other 
haunts, the family said yesterday.  //  Jack and Janet Smurl  and 
their  four  daughters credited prayer with ridding them  of  the 
demonic force that had transformed their modest Chase Street home 
into  a duplex of the damned.  /.../  The Roman Catholic  Diocese 
of Scranton will stay in touch with the family but plans no other 
action,  said the Rev. Gerald Mullally, diocesan chancellor.   //  
The  diocese  had  been investigating  to  determine  whether  an 
exorcism  was  necessary.  A priest spent several nights  in  the 
Smurl  home, but Mullally would not say whether any  supernatural 
activity was observed."  --- San Francisco Chronicle, 28  October 
1986  (UPI)
 
"In  Little Rock, Ark., John Wesley Hall Jr.,  devil's  advocate, 
has  asked the federal court to dismiss a lawsuit against  Satan.  
The  suit  was  brought on October 30 by Ralph  Forbes,  who  was 
running for the Senate.  (He lost.)  //  Forbes, claiming that he 
was filing on behalf of himself, Jesus Christ and minor children, 
tried  to  have  the  court bar  public  schools  from  observing 
Halloween, which he called the 'rites of Satan.'  He named Satan, 
the  Russellville  (Ark.)  School  District,  various  government 
departments  and  a state education official as  defendants.   //  
Attorney Hall has asked the court to drop Satan from the case  on 
grounds that there is no proof he has transacted business,  owned 
property or committed any torts in Arkansas."  --- Leah  Garchik, 
San Francisco Chronicle, 24 November 1986  
 
"Children  and  folks of the non-Celtic world  will  not  realize 
that,  on  October 31, when they are celebrating  Halloween  they 
will be observing Samhain, a Celtic feast day marking the  Celtic 
New  Year's Eve.  //  Because for Celts the world over, the  date 
is  not just Halloween it is the beginning of their New  Year  -- 
November  1 to October 31.  //  In Celtic lore, the feast day  of 
Samhain marked the time when the barriers between human kind  and 
the supernatural were lowered, a time when the powerful forces of 
the  'otherworld'  were let loose and became  visible.   //   The 
basis of the Celtic 'out with the old and in with the new' belief 
was  that  darkness comes before sunlight, night gives  birth  to 
day, summer grows out of winter.  So the year begins with winter.  
This  ancient  feast has passed into modern times  as  Halloween.  
/.../   The  six  Celtic nations are:  Ireland  (Eire);  Scotland 
(Alba);  Isle of Man (Mannin); Wales (Cymru):  Cornwall  (Kernow) 
and  Brittany  (Breizh)."   ---  Editorial,  Irish  Herald   (San 
Francisco), October 1988
 
"Halloween  is one of the sweetest seasons for U.S.  candymakers, 
second   only   to   Christmas  in  overall   sales.    //    The 
manufacturers,  who  tend to be privately owned,  rarely  release 
figures,  but  industry experts estimate Halloween  generates  as 
much  as  $1 billion, or about 8 percent, of the $12  billion  in 
annual retail candy sales.  /.../  The seasonal favorites  remain 
candy corn, Indian corn and other variations on the soft,  sugary 
concoction  manufacturers call 'mellow cream.'  (One source  said 
the  term  was 'butter creams' until it became widely  known  the 
candies contain no butter.)  /.../  Door-to-door candy canvassing 
was  the industry's idea in the first place.  According to  candy 
historian  Ray Broekel, there were many more tricks  than  treats 
until  the 1920s, when an enterprising Chicago  candymaker  named 
Otto Schnering began promoting treats to boost sales of his  Baby 
Ruth  bars  and  other confections.  //  Now, 'one  of  the  main 
things  about  Halloween  is  candy,'  observed  Samuel   Simone, 
regional vice president for sales at California Peanut."  --- San 
Francisco Chronicle, 29 October 1988