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Every year I dread Halloween. When my children were little it was a big deal in our neighborhood. The kids went out with a parent while the other one stayed home to hand our candy. Neighbors sat out in front with cocktails and hot chocolate stands and everyone socialized I knew most of the neighborhood children who were out and it was a fun event. However, my kids went nuts over the candy. They would come home with their friends and pillowcases full of candy. They would dump everything on the floor and start swapping for things they didn’t want. As a parent it was a nightmare because it was always right before they needed to get in bed. A candy high was not what I wanted, especially on a school night!
My children are grown now and I live in a different neighborhood where I don’t know any of the neighborhood children. The first few years I lived here I bought candy and dutifully passed it out. One Halloween night I had to work and I put candy out with a note so that the kids could still get their “treats”. I stopped doing that when a neighbor told me that she saw some older boys come up on my porch and dump the whole container of candy in their bags. My son moved back with me a few years go and when I had to work, he handed out the candy but that didn’t last long. He said that it was very annoying because the doorbell was constantly ringing and our dogs went crazy barking.
The next year I also had to work on the night that was designated for trick or treating, I bought candy and told my son that he had to hand it out. When I got home later that night, I noticed something posted over the front door bell. Once I got inside I took it off and burst out laughing. My son had put this on the front door. 
He said that a few people still rang the doorbell but then he was left in peace for the rest of the night. I thought that was a great idea so I saved the sign.
The next year I came up with a plan. I said to my son that on the trick or treat night we could get pizza, have some adult beverages and watch old cheesy black and white scary movies. He liked the idea, so that is what we did.
The first year we watched the classic Night of the Living Dead from 1968. In this movie a group of people barricade themselves inside a house in Pennsylvania to 
escape from a group of zombies who are trying to eat their flesh. I expected my son to roll his eyes but we both liked the movie and felt like it has stood the test of time. It was creepy and scary and we had a fun night watching it.
That night was so much fun that the next year we again put the sign out on the doorbell and watched another old movie. I had come across some old movies on sale and bought one called The Wasp Woman. 
In this movie, a cosmetic mogul who is obsessed with staying youthful, starts using the jelly from the Queen wasp to try and retain her beauty. When it starts to work she figures that if she uses more, she will get even better results. Unfortunately she is turned into a murdering insect. How fun is that!
The special effects are pretty bad but I loved this movie. My son, ever the diplomat, said that “the story was pretty good” .
Tomorrow night is Trick or Treat night here. I don’t have to work so we will once again put our sign out, have pizza and watch another old movie. We are still deciding but I think it will be Them. 
I haven’t watched this movie in years but remember how scary I thought it was when I was young. I will see if it still scares me tomorrow night.
I might be a Grinch when it comes to trick or treating but I no longer have to buy expensive Halloween candy, put up with the constant ringing of the doorbell or constantly barking dogs. Yes the kids are cute in their costumes but I like our new tradition of watching these old movies with my son.
Happy Halloween!
This n' That 