As Halloween approaches, excitement over costumes, trick-or-treating, and candy builds. But behind the festivities, safety concerns loom for both students and parents. Reports of “spiked” or tampered Halloween candy have surfaced over the years, raising fear about the potential of dangerous treats. While these occurrences are rare, the consequences of eating tainted candy are serious.
For most students at Cresskill High School, Halloween is the most looked-forward-to night of the year. “Halloween is such a good holiday,” explains sophomore Dariya Grechanikov. “Even though it’s a hassle to dress up, the free candy makes it worth it.” Other students share Dariya’s enthusiasm as they are not only excited for the dressing up element, but for the free treats too.
The threat of spiked candy generally involves harmful objects or substances including sharp needles, drugs, or allergens that are hidden within popular treats like Snickers or Sweet Tarts. While these incidents are infrequent, they are dangerous and definitely a possibility. “Videos of kids finding little needles and sharp objects in candy bars have surfaced on TikTok throughout the years,” says Elaine Kim. “I’ve personally never come across this issue, but it has me paranoid and scared.”
Other students feel similarly paranoid, especially after seeing the same viral videos that were posted to TikTok not too long ago. “I’m never eating anything that looks weird,” explains Ryan Kim. “Free candy is cool, but I’m not risking my life just to eat a piece of chocolate.”
Dylan Cardoza shares his own halloween routine after his mom found an instagram reel of a middle school student who was hospitalized as a result of ingesting tempered with-candy. “Every Halloween, my mom checks my candy to make sure each piece looks unopened,” he says. “No matter how old I get, the candy checking has become a Halloween routine for our family.”
While CHS students have never come across the same forms of spiked candy as those seen on TikTok, they have been put in risky situations. “I once went trick or treating at a house that had candy bars taped closed,” Yuval Yochai says. “I was kind of freaked out because I didn’t know if this was a prank or if it was serious trouble.”
So, what can you do to stay safe this Halloween season?
- Examine all candy before eating: Look for any signs of tampering, holes, rips, etc.
- Stick to factory-wrapped treats: try to avoid all goods that are homemade and stick to the packaged and safe options
Halloween should be about fun frights, not real dangers. With a little caution, you can enjoy all the treats of Halloween and none of the tricks.
