No ID, No Bag, No Candy? One Western Pennsylvania Town Seems to Think So

I remember Halloween as a kid. We were out until the wee hours of the morning, and entire neighborhoods were out and enjoying the festivities. In fact, it's hard pressed to recall a time when I was home before midnight on the most fun and mischievous night of the year. Laughter, screams, the costumes and the wonderment of it all. Some of my best memories growing up are from that night, but it seems one town is trying to ruin it for everyone...

With that in mind, one Western Pennsylvnian town seems hellbent on ruining those very same memories for the next generation.The town of Mt Pleasant has come up with a hair brained idea that not only is an insult to the growing up process, but pretty idiotic in its own right and has helped fuel this rant of mine.

In their ever growing quest to destroy Halloween for the kids in the Mt Pleasant area, the folks running the place have decided to ram an even bigger stick up their ass than usual. Just how are they managing that one? Well, I'm glad you asked that.

This year, they've spent actual money on special bags for kids. Well, no, not for the kids. It's for parents and other residents who want to discriminate regionally on the chance that kids from another town will come and invade for candy. Get over it, they're going to.

To get a bag, and you can get as many as you want (do we see a problem here with that even?), you have to show ID that clarifies you live in the town and then you get your bag (pictured above). ID FOR TRICK OR TREATING! What in the debaucherous seven layers of hell is that about?!

Apparently the Mayor has also forgotten that kids will wander entire towns and go to different neighborhoods. “For a number of years, there’s been complaints growing that there’s seven or eight children that live in one area, and there was 300 that came for candy,” Mayor Jerry Lucia said.

That's what happens when you have kids who live in one part of town and then wander into the next. What are you going to next Mr Mayor, say you can only trick or treat within a few block radius of your home? What about the kids just outside of the borough? They exist and have nowhere to go, so they go to the nearest town, yours.

That quote above is the fuel for the claim, by the Mayor and police department, that some of elderly struggle to buy candy for the amount kids that come through the neighborhoods during their sweet induced annual migratory pattern. Sadly that's not anyone's real problem here, and while the holiday  can be rough on fixed income people, there are ways around it if the town thinks on it some. Maybe should help there instead guys.

The Mayor went on to say; “It’s up to the resident [themself],” Lucia said. “If they see the person doesn’t have a bag and they weren’t registered, then they can use their discretion.” and this choice bit of wording "there won't be any candy police out, and it's up to residents".

Now that is just asking for even more trouble and doesn't sound like it'll really fix anything!

Just imagine the slew of kids getting turned away at the door, crying, angry parents, and likely some coming back later for the inevitable toilet papering or egging. Is that what ya really want? Because that's what you're going to get. Want to branded the cheapskate or anti-Halloween, or anti-fun? This is how ya make sure those folks get those labels.

This wouldn't be so infuriating if it wasn't their own fault too, because it very much is.

In it's infinite wisdom, Mt Pleasant doesn't do trick or treating when every other town does. Oh no, that would be too simple and easy to quell the number of kids. They'd be busy in their towns that night, right? Well, instead, they've decided on doing it either the Sunday before or even sometimes two weeks before October 31st every year. Do they not understand how this is creating the very problem they're now trying to fix? Not to mention they even run the times in the early after afternoon, usually about 2-4pm. Come on guys!

So, by the towns own stodginess to begin with, it's created a situation that's ripe for kids and parents from other nearby towns to come and get a second helping of trick or treat fun, or a warm up to their own town's event. There's no conflict, so why wouldn't they?

If you're out there Mt Pleasant, or similar towns, get on board with the holiday and let everyone enjoy it and you'll see things turn around for ya. For now? You look like the kids that steal candy from smaller children just because they can and think it's amusing. You know what happens to those kinda people? They end up in cages inside witch's huts...I've seen Hocus Pocus, I know!

In closing, don't ever let this kind of thing happen to your town, and if you're out there reading this and have thought about it for your town? For the love of all things spooky and creepy, don't!

Until next time,

Sweet Screams and Pleasant Nightmares