OK, I have to put in a word in defense of trick-or-treating.  You Brits do it wrong.

There's a lot of (often fully justified) hand-wringing and worry over the "Americanisation" of British culture.  What you don't realise, though, is that sometimes what you think of as an American thing is actually a corruption of it.  I adore Halloween, and every time I hear someone whingeing about how the creeping of Halloween over here is a dreadful Americanisation, I have to point out that actually you are the ones who are corrupting my tradition.

No one should quake in fear at the approach of Halloween.  Trick-or-treating is all about small kids looking adorable in their costumes, going out with their equally adorable friends under the supervision of responsible adults in their own (often quite fetching) costumes, ringing only the doorbells of people who have their porch lights on or who have a jack-o-lantern on display, and getting candy (maybe a dreaded apple or two) from their neighbours.  You're not supposed to give out money!  I never received money, and it's not the point.

The point is more about community - knowing that this one time of the year it's OK to ring on a stranger's doorbell (but only if they have a light on signalling it's OK to do so) and be sure of getting a friendly reception - accepting the local children as part of the community.  Even in New York City, one of the most stranger-paranoid societies I've ever seen, people who would never dream of introducing themselves to the (possibly psychotic) neighbours ring on doorbells, and people who never open their door to anyone (not to mention someone dressed as a zombie or whatever) open their doors on Halloween.

The "trick" aspect of trick-or-treat happens very rarely, and is pretty gentle.  The most my pack of friends ever did was ring a doorbell and run.  One year a couple of trees got festooned with toilet paper - a nuisance no doubt, but hardly threatening - and the kids who did it were found out and got into trouble.  A couple of times some shaving foam got sprayed on cars - hardly stuff that's going to make people quake in fear for their personal safety.

Teenagers usually don't participate in the trick-or-treating - it's seen as much too babyish a thing to do once you reach a certain age (by giving out money rather than just candy you undermine that natural cut-off).  They usually have Halloween parties - which, like any teenager's party, can get rowdy or not depending on the number of people there and the presence (or not) of adults.

So please don't go on about what a horrible American thing trick-or-treating is.  You're the ones who are getting it wrong.  Get it right and you might actually enjoy it.

Either that or drop Halloween altogether and go set fire to things on 5 November.

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edit: sorry this reads more like a grumpy rant than something for the happy room

Here on Hallowe'en it has always been small children, sometimes with parents - I've never (touch wood) had teenagers. Once I asked a small girl what would happen if I didn't give them anything. She looked most abashed and said quickly, "Nothing, absolutely nothing".

No-one took any notice at all of Hallowe'en when I was a kid - we barely knew when it was. November 5th was the big thing.

Strina, we already have a holiday based around moaning, it's called Christmas. 

[Edit: oh and easter.  And Halloween.  And bonfire night.  Oh and bank holidays.  And weekends, especially Sunday evenings... and monday mornings.... ]

Anyone seen mine?  It's new.  <swing>

When I was young we didn't need some packaged American import trick-or-treat Halloween to organise a protection racket.

We used our initiative & a good supply of bricks and crowbars.

Kids nowadays, eh? Don't know they're born.

Exactly, and we could moan about that as well. I mean Moaning Monday is all very well but this way we could whinge all Wednesday about how it breaks up the week so you can't get anything done or go shopping but it's not long enough that you could actually get something out of it.

Sounds perfect.

Hm. I see that still leaves F..., er, F..., er, F...

I think Father Jack would have an epithet for Friday.  

Peace and quiet here at last.  Everybody's gone and I can do some jobs without constant interruptions. Bliss!

Teenager has been signed off for good.  Excellent news.  Now we can move on.  They were benign reactive lymph nodes from previous, probably untreated  , infections.  He's a very happy young man this morning.