Where are all the traps?

Read: The big chocolate bars do not have their place on Halloween

According to data from the annual survey conducted by Halloween of the National Retail Federation, the number of US adults planning to take cheating children has hovered around 30% since 2005. However, the NRF does not allocate these data between parents and non-parents, so that many respondents who do not plan to deceive or treat may simply not have children. In fact, a survey conducted in 2011 by Safe Kids Worldwide, a non-profit organization, found that 73% of parents took their children at random, so the tradition continues.

"I do not think there are fewer children being abused," says Lesley Bannatyne, a Halloween historian who has written several books about vacations. "I think they are doing stupid things in different places."

She suspects that part of this is related to the changing neighborhoods. Americans are less likely to know and interact regularly with their neighbors than in previous decades, according to an analysis of data from the 2015 General Social Survey.

It should be noted that the image of a "traditional" sleight of hand – costumed children parading on the sidewalks, striking house after home decorated – has never been really endemic in the American suburbs . Bannatyne explains that parties, bonfires or other centralized gatherings are often more practical solutions for families.

Nevertheless, "the turn or the suburban treatment is a little more changing than it was before," she says. "When you have no children and you do not know your neighbors, you are less inclined to turn on the light and extinguish a bowl of candy. And kids looking for Halloween neighborhoods look out on the street and see only one light, and they do not worry. "

Bannatyne thinks it brings certain neighborhoods – those with an enthusiastic, Halloween-focused community spirit and perceived as "safe" – to become unavoidable places while others become candy deserts. . But many parents choose not to participate in the parade on the sidewalk, instead of taking their children to smaller events organized by businesses or community centers. "The experience has changed," says Ana Serafin Smith, spokesperson for the National Retail Federation. "Instead of doing people's tricks, they go shopping in the shops. Small businesses participate; shopping centers offer unique events. "

Another popular alternative is "trunk treatment", in which community members circle their cars, open their chests, decorate them and fill them with candies, then ask their children to do their tour in a parking lot. Trunk-gold-treats were first granted the New York Times trend treatment in 2006 and seems to have gained popularity across the country since then.