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How to stop unwanted trick or treaters this Halloween

How to stop trick or treaters [Photo: Getty]
How to stop trick or treaters [Photo: Getty]

For many children, trick or treating is the holy grail of all Halloween festivities.

Getting to dress up in a cute/creepy costume, knock on strangers’ doors and given their body weight in sweets and chocolate. What’s not to love?

But in amongst the frivolity it’s easy to forget that trick or treating isn’t fun for everyone.

For the elderly and more vulnerable having a group of strangers, many of whom will be dressed in blood-curdling costumes, can be a frightening and intimidating experience.

For others having to fork out a small fortune in spooky sweets to keep an endless trail of expectant children happy and having to forgo an episode on Corrie to be on door watch isn’t their ideal way to spend a cold Wednesday evening.

Mirror News recently launched a poll about the annual celebration and found that a whopping 70% of people are in fact Halloween haters, with many claiming they feel annoyed and worried about people coming to their door at night.

So, if you’re just not feeling the trick or treating this year, how do you stop the candy hunters a calling?

For many, the unwritten rule of trick or treating is that you should steer clear of any houses that aren’t decorated or don’t have a carved pumpkin in the window or doorway.

So in theory just drawing your curtains should be enough to stop the trick or treaters knocking.

But it doesn’t always work.

This year many police forces are upping the ante on trick or treat prevention by handing out posters to householders telling children not to trick or treat at their home during Halloween.

Devon and Cornwall police say the posters can be used by those who find trick or treat a frightening experience.

“For some members of our community #Halloween can be a frightening experience,” reads the message posted by police on Facebook and Twitter.

“Download and print our ‘Sorry no trick or treat’ poster for your window or front door, and offer it to vulnerable relatives of neighbours.”

Not everyone is a fan of Halloween [Photo: Getty]
Not everyone is a fan of Halloween [Photo: Getty]

The idea is that those who aren’t open to having people call on Halloween can display the poster in their window, which will hopefully deter the sweet seekers.

“In recent years we’ve seen an increase in the number of people participating in Halloween fun,” Bob Bunney from the Devon and Cornwall Police Prevention Department told the Falmouth Packet newspaper.

“We say to anyone who’s going trick-or-treating to think about other people, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, as they may get worried or even frightened if strangers are continually calling at their door during the evening.

“We don’t want to discourage anyone or spoil anyone’s fun, but we ask people not to call at homes displaying the ‘Sorry, no trick or treat’ poster and not to be persistent if your requests are declined.”

It isn’t just unwelcome door-knockers that can cause upset and confusion on Halloween either. Parents out with tiny trick or treaters often have to deal with their disappointed faces after knocking at pumpkin laden doors to find they stay firmly shut (most likely out trick or treating themselves or just run out of goodies).

To side-step the sad-faces, a Melbourne mother had a genius idea to write to her neighbours, asking them to display a balloon at their front gate if they had Halloween treats and wanted to participate in the fun.

Helle Warming came up with the idea after taking her son Lucas trick or treating in 2016 and not being sure which houses were keen to take part.

“We live in an area where trick or treating isn’t very popular, so we found it really hard to figure out which house to knock on,” Ms Warming told News.com.au.

“It was also hard to tell if people were just decorating their homes for fun or if they had lollies for the kids”.

Ms Warming even included the balloon on the letter, so those really not keen to take part could simply put it on their gate.

“It’s now the second year we’ve done it and it’s so nice to walk up the street and know the houses you can safely knock on with your child.”

Ms Warming said the note worked so well she decided to post it on her blog.

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