Parents vs. Halloween: Too scary!

Halloween is often a lot scarier for parents than it is for their kids. This year, concerns such as Swine Flu have put parents on extra-high alert. Are we getting too paranoid?

Poisoned candy fears are hard to shake: The panic may stem from 1964, says Laura Fitzpatrick in Time when a woman reportedly handed out ant poison. This Halloween, a forensic lab in DuPage County, outside Chicago, is offering to “inspect suspicious sweets using the technology usually reserved for homicide, sexual assault, and burglary.” You want a real “candy-borne danger”? Try eating too much.

“Is trick-or-treating dangerous?”

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But, seriously, are masks really traumatizing? It’s not just “guns, daggers, and other toy weapons” this year, says Jennifer Steinhauer in The New York Times. Schools across the country are also banning masks and fake fingernails and claws—or really, anything scary, or potentially offensive to “any race, religion, nationality, handicapped condition, or gender.”

“Drop the Halloween mask ! You might scare somebody”

Then again, demons are busily cursing Halloween treats: Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network issued an ominous warning, reports Adele Stan at Alternet, claiming that “candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.” Apparently, the evils ones don’t care how it reaches the children: “The demons cannot tell the difference,” the CBN concluded.

“Religious Right Columnist: Halloween Candy a Demonic Threat, 'Prayed Over By Witches' - Ridicule Prompts CBN.com to Remove Column”