Scared of Halloween

Haunters like to say that you're never too old or too young to enjoy Halloween. While there are always stories that crop up about some group or another trying to ruin our haunting good fun, it's really scary when it's the government that says you can't enjoy Halloween.

No, I'm not talking about the local fire marshall shutting down a haunt for some unsafe practices, or the police who close down a site because the traffic becomes uncontrollable (I'd love to have that many people coming to see my yard display!). What I'm talking about is the government saying you're too old for trick-or-treating!

Every town and city has its do-gooders who think they know best what's right you. San Francisco recently voted to ban McDonald's from giving away kids toys with their Happy Meals. DeKalb County, Georgia, is suing a man for growing too many vegetables.

But Belleville, Illinois, has gone to the top of the list (or is that the bottom?) by telling teens they're too old to go trick-or-treating. Actually they're not alone as a number of cities around the country have cut off the fun for teens, typically saying once you hit 12 years old, you can't go out anymore on Halloween. It reminds me of the movie Logan's Run when once you turned 30 the government killed you off.

Being a libertarian at heart, I have trouble coming up with many instance where I think the government has a right to intrude in our lives, but this is just an over-the-top interference that conjures up some scary skeletons.

Could there be a bright spot in all this? The story says that though one 12-year old is bummed that the government won't let him get in costume next year, but he's looking forward to scaring the kids that come to his door next year. Sounds like we have a haunter in the making.