Fear & risk on Halloween

Fear is supposed to be part of Halloween. That was the fun of it - the idea of things getting all spooky and scary and weird.

At the same time, the spookiness and fear was supposed to be safe. Then along came the stories and reports. Next thing you know, parents are scared for real. Should they send their kids out? Will the little devils and divas and witches and ghosts get sick from the treats they gather? Suddenly the fear was coupled to risk in a way that made my parents and many others very wary about All Hallowed Eve.

However, it turns out that all those stories you've heard about razor blades in apples and poison in candy are actually urban legends., the famous urban-legend-debunking site Snopes says. So, too, do all the sociological literature on fear and risk.

So send out the kiddies tomorrow and don't worry if they sneak a few chocolate bars into their mouths before you have time to check over their haul. The little goblins will be fine.