Was 2023 The Last Year for Trick-Or-Treating In Ohio?

It seems like Trick-or-Treating just isn't the same as it once was. What used to be 2-3 hours of walking the neighborhoods with your best friends, stopping at nearly every hours on the block, has turned into you and that one cousin who smells funny driving around town, desperately looking for anyone who might have their porch light on.

What gives? When did we stop recognizing this holiday was for the kids? When did entire neighborhoods deliberately start blocking driveways so kids wouldn't come to their doors? Is this a sign that Trick-or-Treating is dying, or may already be dead in Ohio?

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There's a lot of factors that might contribute to a decline in trick-or-treating in this world, not the least of which is how scary its made out to be anymore.

Reported violent crime is up in nearly every corner of the country, and that's a scary world to send your kids out into. It gets even tougher on a night when, IF something happened, you'd have to tell police he was last seen dressed like Spider-Man, on a night when there are literally hundreds of Spider-men roaming the streets.

But while violence and crime might be a factor, it isn't the biggest suspect in ending Trick-or-Treating.

Sadly, home ownership is at an all-time low, and people are renting more than ever. And unfortunately, many rental properties - especially apartment complexes - Don't really allow, or create a good environment for Trick-or-Treaters.

This is another big detractor for some people to participate... but it's not the biggest reason why Trick-or-Treating may be ending in Ohio.

The biggest culprit to ending traditional Trick-or-Treating in Ohio is... the Trunk-or-Treat. Parents, and their businesses, or other organizations, have created controlled, smaller areas, away from traditional neighborhood Trick-or-Treating as a response to some of the above-mentioned factors.

Kids who live in high-crime areas can have a safe environment to show off their costumes, and collect candy, and children who live in rental properties can do the same. It really is a great thing, and by no means is this a "hit piece" to attack the Trunk-or-Treat, because they do a lot of good. But it's a shame that traditional neighborhood Trick-or-Treating has practically disappeared.

I'm sure there are still plenty of neighborhoods that still participate, and they likely see plenty of kids come in from other places. But man, there was nothing like walking out your front door, meeting up with your friends, and filling a pillowcase with so much candy, you had to hike it over your shoulder like Santa Claus.

Maybe one day, it can return to normal, but for now, let the Trunk-or-Treat reign supreme.