Since I roamed the streets of Northeast Philadelphia as a wee girl in the ’90s, I have been warned about nefarious items hiding in my Halloween candy. I remember as a kid it was tradition to dump the entire bag on the table, and my mom would meticulously inspect each piece as I longingly watched her manhandle my Reese’s. Because it was the only way I would get my hands on my hard-earned prize, I waited patiently until she said I could eat my three pieces.
Now as a mom myself, I check my son’s candy out of paranoia before I hand him a piece. It is easy to understand why parents might be cautious, however, as every year there seems to a new case that shows the nefarious side of humanity. This year residents of Rockville, Maryland, thought their kids were the unlucky chosen ones of a “Halloween sadism tradition” when a family reported they found needles in their gummy bears, according to the New York Post.
Police immediately encouraged all parents in the area to inspect their kids’ candy via a Facebook post that showed two seemingly untampered gummy bear bags with sewing needles. But on Monday, authorities informed people that the entire thing was a hoax concocted by a 9-year-old.
“Following the significant public and media attention surrounding the initial report, the parents conducted additional conversations with their children, at which time the 9-year-old confessed to inserting the needles,” the statement read. “No injuries occurred, and there is no evidence at this time of any malicious tampering occurring within the community. This was an isolated incident within the home, and there is no ongoing threat to the public.”
The fear of tampered candy dates back pretty far, but History.com claims it really kicked up when the unsolved Tylenol Murders happened in the ’80s. Though the concerns may have been overblown, that isn’t to say they don’t have some merit.
In 1964, New Yorker Helen Pfeil was arrested after she handed out ant poison and dog biscuits to kids. The housewife claimed it was a joke and she only gave them to kids she thought to be “too old” to trick or treat. No children were actually poisoned due to her actions, thankfully.
In 1974, a Texas man named Ronald Clark O’Bryan laced candy Pixy Sticks (a popular candy back then) with cyanide and gave them to five kids, including his son whom he just took a life insurance policy on. None of the other kids ate the candy, except his 8-year-old boy Timothy, and he died short after ingesting it.
Honestly, considering no one was actually harmed, all I can think is that this 9-year-old kid is going to have one heck of a great submission for “two truths and a lie.”
