Young children walk down the dark streets, holding their candy buckets while holding their parents’ hands. Small ‘trick or treats’ echo the streets, heard at every other doorstep. Some parents, although, begin sending awkward stares at some pre-teens or teens as they make their rounds in their costumes as well.  

There are a lot of adults who believe that there should be an age limit on trick-or-treating. Some of it has to do with the beliefs and stereotypes that stem from movies like Hocus Pocus and Mostly Ghostly: Who Let The Ghosts Out that display teenagers bullying kids trick-or-treating or stealing their candy. Chemistry teacher, Jennifer Smith, believes that there isn’t a specific age limit, but there should be a time to stop. 

“The exact age to stop trick-or-treating is kind of hard to tell, but if you can go out and buy your own candy, then maybe you’re too old. Seeing teenagers getting dressed up with little kids, and taking them trick-or-treating is something understandable and enjoyable to see,” stated Smith. 

Trick-or-treating is a tradition a lot of children look forward to growing up as well as now. Dressing up and getting free candy is something that’s not available all year. English teacher, Rachel Minier, believes that if older kids aren’t inflicting any harm towards others while trick-or-treating they should be allowed to do so without being judged.

“I don’t have an issue with older kids trick-or-treating. They’re out there having innocent fun with their friends. As long as they’re not harming anyone, teenagers should be allowed to trick-or-treat without any suspicions,” stated Minier. 

Some teenagers stop trick-or-treating due to maturing or getting involved in haunted houses or Halloween parties. Other times, it can just come across as unappealing and boring to teens. Michaela Opoku, junior, stopped trick-or-treating because she felt like it was more for children than people her age.

“Trick-or-treating was something I looked forward to as a little kid, but over time I began to feel like it was something more for kids. I think it was freshman year I realized that I could be doing other things instead of trick-or-treating. Also, dressing up just took up too much of my time, so it just wasn’t worth it anymore,” stated Opoku. 

There are still quite a few teenagers who enjoy trick or treating because it makes them remember things they did as little kids. Some put effort into their costumes and genuinely enjoy trick-or-treating. Sophomore, Bhavya Gireesh, enjoys trick or treating because of the candy she gets and the joy of wearing costumes. 

“I look forward to trick-or-treating because it reminds me of what I enjoyed growing up like eating the candy and wearing the costumes. I tend to get the occasional strange glance from some adults as I go around, but since I with my younger sister, it doesn’t affect me as much. Halloween is just something I find really fun to participate in and there shouldn’t be a standard age limit for when people can stop having that fun,” stated Gireesh.  

Even if some people believe that there is an age limit to trick-or-treating, adults giving candy out would at least appreciate teenagers to try on their costumes. There are some teens who put effort into their costumes, but then there are others who just slip on something easy and go out. Smith gets irritated when teenage trick or treaters come to her door with no attempt of a costume. 

“If you want to dress up, if you want to put a full on costume and go out with your buddies or girls and go trick-or-treating, I’m okay with that. My whole thing is getting people who come around to my door and are not even dressed up for Halloween costume trying to get candy. They just show up in a Texas Ranger hat, and that’s something simple. As I stated before, it’d be more appreciative if they actually put more effort into their costumes,” stated Smith. 

Both Halloween and trick-or-treating are things a lot of kids and teenagers look forward to. While some may believe there is an age limit to celebrating the holiday, there are teens that see it’s harmless fun and people of all ages should be able to celebrate.