Too Old To Trick-Or-Treat?

How is it possible to be “too old to trick-or-treat?”  After all, doesn’t everyone, no matter what age, enjoy dressing up like an idiot and going door-to-door begging for free candy? This year when I went trick-or-treating I was constantly asked my age and told I was “too old to trick-or-treat.”

This year before Halloween, my mom told me that she hated when teenagers my age came to her door begging for candy. But what’s wrong with a few teenagers that still have the spirit of Halloween inside of them? I believe that if you still dress up and say trick-or-treat, it’s all right to continue to trick-or-treat no matter how old you are. So, my friends and I dressed up and went trick-or-treating for one last year.

After a few houses, we came to a big, scary, house that smelled like smoke and old people. We all chanted trick-or-treat for a minute or two until an old man in a plaid shirt came to the door with a bowl of delicious chocolates. He looked up at us with a strange expression on his face. His light green eyes scanned the group of teenagers in front of him. After a moment or two, his raspy voice called out asking, “How old are you?”

Without thinking we all called out twelve or thirteen. His threatening eyes looked right into mine and I felt as if he now suddenly new everything about me. He knew now that I had just told a lie. And with that, he closed the door on us, leaving us on the empty porch in front of his house. We then continued our journey in the cold on our hunt for free candy.

The next few houses were pretty friendly. A few questions here and there, but nothing too dramatic.  But I couldn’t help but go back to what the old man said. I felt his glare go right through me. I had a strange feeling inside of me, like there was a stranger out there that new everything about me.

My last year of trick-or-treating was great. I just couldn’t believe how many people had an age limit to trick-or-treating. If you still enjoy getting candy on Halloween, why can’t you go trick-or-treating no matter what age?