Tainted Halloween Candy

Kristina and Jesse discuss a legend that shaped (a small portion of) their childhoods and that keeps making the news: Are Satanists injecting poison and hiding razorblades in Halloween candy? Are hippies handing out cannabis laced edibles to unsuspecting children? No. None of these things is happening (aside from the occasional isolated incident). We discuss the origins of the legend, why it is so persistent, and a few random Halloween memories.

Sources:

Associated Press. n.d. “Warning of Marijuana Halloween Candy Derided as Scare Tactic.” Snopes.Com. Accessed November 5, 2020. https://www.snopes.com/ap/2017/10/29/warning-marijuana-halloween-candy-derided-scare-tactic/.

Best, Joel, and Gerald T. Horiuchi. 1985. “The Razor Blade in the Apple: The Social Construction of Urban Legends.” Social Problems 32 (5): 488–99. https://doi.org/10.2307/800777.

Segalov, Michael. 2016. “The True Story of the Notorious Trick-or-Treat Murderer.” Vice. October 31, 2016. https://www.vice.com/en/article/8ge87v/halloween-killer-ronald-clark-o-bryan-candy-man.

Snopes Staff. 2000. “FACT CHECK: Poisoned Halloween Candy.” Snopes.Com. November 2, 2000. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/halloween-non-poisonings/.