In the olden days, (when I was young) we only went to neighbours and friend's houses.
We had to tell jokes or recite poems, and in return we received toffee apples, monkey nuts and homemade tablet.
Nowadays, the kids who knock at the doors are complete strangers. They don't "do" anything and are looking for money, not nuts and sweets. 
So, like Meaty, I shall be keeping my door locked and the curtains closed.

If you can make it to my front door through the cobwebs and toombstones , past the terrifing shackled prisoners hanging from the tree , in through the dark curtain to the door........ then you may just deserve a little bag of sweets and a cupcake

In a nutshell!
Otherwise just another attempt to keep up the one festival a month American bollocks. The shops are full of tat.

They can have sweets if they knock.

There is a recession on don't ya know

My children went round to friends' houses - they were given sweets.

Now the younger children in our road call on us - I give them sweets.

I love seeing them all dressed up  

It was allways me that had to answer the bloody door, so therefore it was me that got stung!

The kids round here don't bother knocking anymore, it's not worth the abuse they get, begging sods. Go and do something worthwhile and helpful for money

We bugger off out to the cinema to avoid all the little scroats knocking on the door. I have never let any of my kids do trick or treating. Only trouble is avoiding the bigger ones with eggs whilst driving home.  Last year the cab got egged by a load of kids and did do damage to the paintwork...they shat themselves though when my husband swung the cab round and jumped out and confronted the lot of them giving it the big 'un outside McDonalds...it was only the police being there too that stoppped him giving a couple a slap....mind you to see the cocky look fall from their faces and be replaced by sheer terror was a joy to behold!

I bet it was Croc I wouldn't tackle with your fella either

I've never let K go trick or treating, he wanted to when he was younger but I just don't agree with it. One year I let him go carol singing and told him and his mate to learn 3 carols so people didn't get bored. All they managed was the chorus of Jingle Bells and sung it over and over until the poor person at the door got so fed up and had to give them money just so they'd go away.

He looks scarier than he actually is.....

Ahem..Hallowe'en has been "Celebrated" in Scotland for centuries.I agree "Trick or treat" is an Americanism,but dressing up and going round folks doors was always a tradition  up here.I suspect that's where the Americans get it from,all the Scottish/Irish  migrants.I did it yeas ago when I was a kid ,you did have to recite a poem or sing and your reward was sweets, monkey nuts apples etc.We also "dooked" for apples.
OH and I remember the blisters on my fingers as we hollowed out large "swede turnips" for lanterns..took bleedin' hours of hacking away.

I'd never even heard of trick or treat till i saw ET....

it must have been a Scottish tradition cos nothing like that was ever done down south when I was a kid,.

Yep Croc,I'm 54 now,we all dressed up as kids and did the rounds of folks doors.Everything was home made,the only stuff you could get in the shops was black crepe paper.Not even black plastic bin bags then.

Remember the candle in the turnip that allways went out when you went out in the street Katty?  

I cant remember what it was called, (going out for Halloween in Scotland) but it wasnt called trick or treat. Does anyone know? Also when i grew up in you could dress up as anything on halloween, it didnt have to be 'scary' it wasnt till i moved to england that i found out that dressing up as cave girls and prisoners were not considered normal halloween custom.

Anyone knocks, I'm gonna ask them how much they've made and ask them to share, we're all in it together remember 

Guisin/g Gyps? I'm from the North East and only know this through Oor Wullie

YAY! Way to go Dame!

 

Pam 

ohhhhhh yeah !!!!! it could be, im sure thats what my dad called it. Im sure we had another name for it as well though. but thats one i completely forgot about

Knocky door neighbour?  

i think it was called knocking or something I cant remember, it was so long ago and ive got a TERRIBLE memory.

Yep it was called "Guisin"  Probably  short for disguise,and though there was dressing up as ghosts etc you could dress up as anything,ghosts wre popular due to sheets being in abudance.

That explains it - the boyfriend's mother is flying over from Japan.

In the north east, the candle in the turnip,was called Jack shine a Maggie.

Ooooh, I don't remember that Mary

 @ Peter!

Actually, did you know that Halloween started off as a traditional British Festival.....it wasn't till the fat Americans (Disclaimer, not all Americans are fat) Americanised it.

Rawky-Roo has imparted you with some knowledge...feel blessed.

Yes its still commonly used by us older folk,
and theres nothing worse than the smell of singed turnip,[Maggies].

You didn't read my posts. I agreed with another poster's take on olde Halloween traditions in this land. I well remember carving out turnips back in the early sixties. Then I kicked the modernists in the bollocks by attacking the americanisation therein!