Beggars Night, or Beggars' Night, is a regional term for the practice of going "Trick or Treat" in the period before Halloween night. Beggars Night emerged to address security concerns over young children involved in unsupervised Trick-or-Treating. Instead, younger children were encouraged to Trick-or-Treat on another night, before Halloween. The chosen date for Beggars Night varies and is typically dependent on the day Halloween falls each year. [1] Beggars Night typically begins after school and often concludes between 6 and 8 pm.
The practice occurs in parts of Ohio (the northeast and the northwest), Iowa, [2] [3] [4] Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Western New York, [5] and Western Pennsylvania.
In the Buffalo area, Beggars Night falls on October 30 and is a scaled up version of Halloween. [6]
In Des Moines Beggars Night falls on October 30 and children ring doorbells, say "Trick or Treat", then tell riddles or jokes such as, "What did the priest say when the church caught on fire?" "Holy smoke!" [7] [8] Due to high amounts of vandalism on Halloween night, the tradition began in 1938 as a way to move trick-or-treating children to a safer night. [9]
In Columbus, Ohio, a 1954 police report claimed that Halloween festivities had gotten too rowdy, and the city discontinued Trick-or-Treating. As a result, the cities surrounding Columbus started celebrating the day before or the Thursday before Halloween. [10] [11] [12] The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) sets Beggars Night dates for the region.
In 1950s Washington, D.C., and its immediate suburbs, Beggars Night fell on October 30. On Halloween night (October 31), schools held student costume parties.
In 1993 residents of Candlelight Plaza, a small neighborhood north of the 610 Loop in Houston, Texas, decided to end Trick-or-Treat for kids who lived outside their neighborhood. They moved celebrations to October 30 and turned out lights on the 31st. The average age of the residents decreased over time, and more people began to go out on Halloween. However, the majority of residents (and adjacent neighborhoods of similar socioeconomic status) continue to celebrate Beggars Night. No person who enters is denied participation on the 30th, but some residents treat it as a private party whose details should only be shared with those personally known by the residents. Unlike other Beggars Night celebrations, this was not created or promoted by a municipality.
On the week of October 27, 2014, some of General Hospital's characters celebrated Beggars Night. [14] [15]
Halloween or Hallowe'en is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It is at the beginning of the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. In popular culture, the day has become a celebration of horror, being associated with the macabre and supernatural.
Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The "treat" is some form of confectionery, usually candy/sweets, although in some cultures money is given instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the resident(s) or their property if no treat is given. Some people signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; houses may also leave their porch lights on as a universal indicator that they have candy; some simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely, on the honor system.
Robert Lawrence Stine, known by his pen name R.L. Stine, is an American novelist. He is the writer of Goosebumps, a horror fiction novel series which has sold over 400 million copies globally in 35 languages, becoming the second-best-selling book series in history. The series spawned a media franchise including two television series, a video game series, a comic series, and two feature films. Stine has been referred to as the "Stephen King of children's literature".
Poisoned candy myths are urban legends about malevolent strangers intentionally hiding poisons, drugs, or sharp objects such as razor blades in candy, which they then distribute with the intent of harming random children, especially during Halloween trick-or-treating. These myths, originating in the United States, serve as modern cautionary tales to children and parents and repeat two themes that are common in urban legends: danger to children and contamination of food.
Mischief Night is an informal holiday on which children, teenagers and adults engage in jokes, pranks, vandalism, or parties. It is known by a variety of names including Devil's Night, Gate Night, Goosey Night, Moving Night, Cabbage Night, Mystery Night and Mat Night.
Garfield's Halloween Adventure is a 1985 American animated television special based on the Garfield comic strip. It is directed by Phil Roman and written by Garfield creator Jim Davis, and features the voices of Lorenzo Music, Thom Huge, Gregg Berger and C. Lindsay Workman. It originally aired on CBS on October 30, 1985.
Casper's Halloween Special is a 1979 animated Halloween television special produced by Hanna-Barbera featuring Casper the Friendly Ghost and his friend Hairy Scarey from the animated series Casper and the Angels. The special was directed by Carl Urbano and premiered on NBC on October 30, 1979.
Trick 'r Treat is a 2007 American anthology horror film written and directed by Michael Dougherty and produced by Bryan Singer. The film stars Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin and Brian Cox. It relates four Halloween horror stories with a common element in them: Sam, a trick-or-treating demon wearing orange footie pajamas with a burlap sack over his head. The character makes an appearance in each of the stories whenever one of the other characters breaks a Halloween tradition.
This is a bibliography of works about Halloween or in which Halloween is a prominent theme.
Halloween is a celebration observed on October 31, the day before the feast of All Hallows, also known as Hallowmas or All Saint's Day. The celebrations and observances of this day occur primarily in regions of the Western world, albeit with some traditions varying significantly between geographical areas.
Captain Louie is a family musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Anthony Stein adapted from the children's book The Trip by Ezra Jack Keats. It is the story of a young boy from the inner city whose family moves to a new neighborhood, forcing him to leave his old friends behind. On Halloween night, he escapes into his imagination to cope with the loneliness he feels.
Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy is a 2005 animated comedy film and the sequel to Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular (2003). It is based on Jill Thompson's second book in her Scary Godmother series, also named The Revenge of Jimmy. Britt McKillip, Tabitha St. Germain, Brittney Irvin, Garry Chalk, and Scott McNeil reprise their roles, while Richard Warke, Dexter Bell, and Nathan Tipple replace voice actors of characters from the first special.
"Halloween Hall o' Fame" is a 1977 Halloween-themed episode of The Wonderful World of Disney which originally aired on October 30, 1977.
Mary Emma Allison was an American school librarian who co-created Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF in 1950. Her three children were the initial participants in the fund raising effort, which by the time of her death had brought in $160 million to be used for the benefit of needy children around the world.
"Full Bars" is the second episode of the third season of the animated comedy series Bob's Burgers and the overall 24th episode, and is written by Steven Davis and Kelvin Yu and directed by Boohwan Lim and Kyounghee Lim. The episode premiered on October 7, 2012, in the United States on Fox. This marks the series first Halloween episode.
A Ragamuffin parade is an annual occurrence in communities in the New York metropolitan area. The parades feature children in their Halloween costumes, and typically are held in October or on Halloween. The holiday formed around 1870, a few years after US President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday.
The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special is an animated Halloween television special that aired on NBC on October 28, 2017. It stars Tom Hanks as Saturday Night Live character David S. Pumpkins. The 21-minute special was written by and also features Mikey Day, Bobby Moynihan, and Streeter Seidell. Peter Dinklage narrates the story, which follows a brother and sister who go trick-or-treating, meet Pumpkins and catch the troublemakers who had disrupted Halloween.
Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular is a 2003 Canadian animated Halloween comedy film based on the Scary Godmother series of books by Jill Thompson, specifically a community theater stage production of the first book. The special depicts Hannah, while trick-or-treating with her cousin Jimmy and his friends, encountering the titular witch and her many friends for a Halloween party at the Fright Side. It stars Canadian voice actors Tabitha St. Germain, Britt McKillip, Garry Chalk, Noel Callahan, Alex Doduk, Brittney Irvine, Danny McKinnon, Scott McNeil and Adam Pospisil. It was directed by Zeke Norton and produced by Kevin Gamble and Sharan Wood with heavy involvement by Thompson.