Folklore & LegendsNo. 5672 · The 2026 edition
Scream
Discover the chilling truth behind Halloween's most terrifying tradition.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at thekitchn.com.
This piece explores the deepest fear that lurks beneath the surface of Halloween celebrations, revealing a horror that goes far beyond spooky decorations and scary costumes.
About this
A personal first-person essay from The Kitchn in which the author recounts the Halloween she forgot to buy candy. Settled in with the movie Scream on TV, she and her husband spent the night hiding from wave after wave of trick-or-treaters, eventually taping Christmas wrapping paper over a backdoor and window. It is a humorous slice-of-life story rather than true film, TV, book, podcast, or game coverage.
The list
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01
Scream
Movie the author was watching when trick-or-treaters arrived.
Facts from the original
- The author says she has always loved Halloween and dressed in a homemade costume each year as a kid.
- As a child she trick-or-treated door to door carrying a pillowcase, and disliked houses that gave out boxes of raisins.
- Two years before writing, she forgot to buy Halloween candy after recently marrying and moving to a military base.
- She says every street and home on the base looked the same, like a suburban assembly line.
- Buying candy slipped her mind until about 4 p.m. on Halloween, so she decided to leave the porch light off.
- Around dusk a crowd of about 20 kids and parents approached her glass-paned backdoor.
- She and her husband hid behind the couch while the doorbell rang repeatedly.
- The crowd took about five minutes to move on, and the parents were more persistent than the kids.
- Her husband covered the backdoor and a window with a roll of Christmas wrapping paper while she turned off lights.
- Trick-or-treaters continued ringing the front and side doors while she watched the movie, cooked chicken wings, and drank two glasses of wine.
- One child's father peered through the bushes into her kitchen window while sipping from a small bottle of Fireball.
- The crowds eventually thinned until doorbell rings were about half an hour apart.
- The following year she simply bought a bag of candy.
From the original
The author opens by saying she has always loved Halloween, recalling homemade costumes, trick-or-treating door to door, and disliking houses that gave out raisins. She insists she has never had a traumatic Halloween. Two years earlier, though, she forgot to buy candy after recently marrying and moving to a military base where every street and home looked identical, so she rarely saw children. With no plans, buying candy slipped her mind until about 4 p.m. on Halloween; by then she was settled in watching Scream and decided to leave the porch light off, assuming it signaled no candy. Around dusk she heard a crowd of about 20 kids and parents approaching her glass-paned backdoor, which clearly showed the house was occupied. She and her husband hid behind the couch as the doorbell rang repeatedly, whispering about whether all the lights needed to be off. The crowd took about five minutes to move on, with the parents proving even more persistent than the kids. During a lull, her husband covered the backdoor and a window with a roll of Christmas wrapping paper while she turned off lights. The night continued with aggressive doorbell ringing as children hit both the front and side doors while she watched the movie, cooked chicken wings in her dark kitchen, and drank two glasses of wine. One child's father even peered through the bushes into her kitchen window while sipping from a small bottle of Fireball. The crowds eventually thinned until rings were half an hour apart. Lying in bed, she puzzled over the porch-light rule, and the next year she simply bought a bag of candy.
