Ok so I thought I knew how trick or treating started. Costumes, candy, pillow cases, and porch lights. Very American, very wholesome, right?
Wrong. So wrong.
I went down a rabbit hole on this one and honestly? The real history of trick or treating is way more interesting…and way darker than anything I expected. Buckle up.
Over 2,000 years ago the ancient Celts celebrated something called Samhain (pronounced SAH-win) which marked the end of harvest and the beginning of winter. And here’s the part that got me: they believed that on October 31st, the veil between the living and the dead literally went thin. Like, spirits could just…cross over. Walk around. Be among us.
Now I have to wonder what made them think that? Did something feel different that night? Did the air change? Did people see things? We don’t know exactly, but think about it…for people living in ancient times, the end of harvest meant the beginning of the dark, cold, scary unknown of winter. Crops dying. Animals being slaughtered. Days getting shorter. It makes sense that this felt like a time when death was close.
So their solution to wandering spirits was…to blend in. Wear a disguise. Look like one of them. If you dress like a dead person maybe the dead people will leave you alone?
That is honestly genius and I kinda respect it.
Here’s something I’ve always found fascinating. So many of our modern holidays have pagan roots that the Catholic Church basically absorbed and rebranded. Easter. Christmas. And yep, Halloween.
In the 8th century the church moved All Saints’ Day (a day to honor saints and the holy dead) to November 1st. Conveniently right on top of Samhain. The night before became All Hallows’ Eve. Which later became Halloween.
And with All Saints’ Day came All Souls’ Day on November 2nd, a day specifically to pray for souls of the recently departed who hadn’t yet made it to heaven. Which brings us to souling.
Poor people (mostly children) would go door to door offering to pray for a family’s dead loved ones in exchange for small spiced cakes called soul cakes. They’d chant: “Soul, souls, for a soul-cake — pray you good mistress, a soul-cake!”
That’s it. That’s the first version of trick or treating. No costumes yet. No candy. Just kids trading prayers for dead people for baked goods. So crazy!
Meanwhile over in Scotland and Ireland, kids were doing something similar but with a twist! Instead of offering prayers, they offered entertainment. Songs, poems, jokes. You perform something, you get food or coins. They called it guising…as in, going in disguise.
This is actually the tradition that eventually came to America when Scottish and Irish immigrants started arriving in the 1800s and early 1900s. They brought their Halloween customs with them and slowly the whole thing started to catch on.
And then…it gets even crazier.
When Halloween took hold in America in the 1920s and 1930s, the “trick” part of trick or treat was very, very real.
Halloween had always had a mischief element to it, even back in Scotland and Ireland there were pranks and good-natured chaos. But in America? It escalated fast.
By the 1930s Halloween pranks had turned into full blown vandalism. Smashing light fixtures, setting fires, tripping people on sidewalks, flipping over cars, sawing down telephone poles…chaos. In 1933 it got so bad that October 31st became known as “Black Halloween,” a night of citywide destruction that caused millions of dollars in damage across the country.
Cities actually considered banning Halloween altogether…oof. Can you imagine?
Instead they came up with a different solution…they basically bribed the kids. Communities started organizing parties, parades, and costume contests. And neighbors started handing out candy and treats as an incentive to keep kids at the door instead of in the streets causing chaos.
Trick or treat wasn’t a cheerful greeting. It was a threat. Give me candy or I will destroy your property. And it worked!!!
Right when trick or treating was starting to catch on and become a real tradition, World War II happened. Sugar rationing meant there was almost no candy to give out. For a few years Halloween went quiet.
But after the war ended, suburbia exploded. Rows of houses with sidewalks and yards and porch lights. And candy companies, seeing an entire untapped market, started heavily promoting their products specifically for Halloween in the 1950s.
And just like that, trick or treating as we know it was born!
When we were kids in the 90s grabbing our pillow cases and hitting every neighborhood until our backs ached, we were the end result of 2,000 years of evolution! Celtic death rituals became Christian charity became Scottish entertainment became American chaos became a bribe became a candy industry marketing strategy became the most magical night of our childhoods.
I think about that every time I hand out candy on my porch now.
The next time a kid in a ghost costume knocks on your door and innocently yells, “Trick or Treat,” just know they’re participating in something ancient. Something that started with people genuinely afraid of the dark and the dead, doing the only thing they could think of.
Dressing up and hoping for the best.
What’s the most interesting thing about Trick or Treating that you learned??