The Washington Independent » halloween

Despite research debunking previous claims, razor found in Santa Fe candy

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 03:17:47 +0000

Last week, a number of publications reported on research about “Halloween sadism”, the deliberate poisoning or tampering of candy in order to harm children. The research claims that the phenomenon appears to be non-existent, with most outlets calling it an urban myth.

But an incident in Santa Fe may have just proven that the myth is not totally bunk. A razor blade was actually found in the Reese’s peanut butter cup of a 15-year-old trick-or-treater.

KRQE reports:

“There’s a high probability this is not the only tainted chocolate,” said Lt. Louis Carlos with the Santa Fe Police Department.

But police aren’t sure which house the teen got the tainted candy from. They are warning kids who trick or treated within two miles of Ragle Park to be extra vigilant and make sure to check their candy.

The police also told KRQE that they don’t believe the razor was a prank, but was deliberately placed in the candy by whoever gave it to the teenager.

University of Delaware sociologist Joel Best has said “Halloween sadism” is exceedingly rare and mostly an urban legend. Best investigated various reports of razor blades, poison or other hazardous material in Halloween candy resulting in the death of a trick-or-treater, and found no evidence that it has ever occurred. He also found that many reports of poisoned candy were actually pranks by the trick-or-treaters themselves.

At Least One Dude Is Still Going as Borat for Halloween

Spencer Ackerman — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:45:43 +0000

Straight to my inbox from the Pentagon. Yes, after 5 p.m. Yes, on a Friday. Yes, on Halloween.

Detainee Transfer Announced

The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of two detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. One detainee was transferred to Tajikistan and one to Kazakhstan. These detainees were determined

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Obama Pumpkins Promise Halloween for Hope

Ari Melber — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:35:33 +0000

Halloween falls just a few days before the “most important election of our lives,” as the saying goes, and some Obama supporters are hoping to turn the scary night into a mass mobilization event.

A new site, YesWeCarve.com, provides downloadable stencils and professional directions for voters who want to hammer trick-or-treaters with an Obama appeal. Forget mass-made yard signs, say the organizers, and carve your own “Barack-O-Lantern.” Emphasis on The O — get it?

While Get-Out-The-Vote programs typically send volunteers to knock on doors, this effort capitalizes on a night when swing voters are the ones going door to door.

The project has a sleek, open-source feel, with logos that hew closely to the Obama campaign’s official design patterns, and an interface that invites visitors to upload their own homemade designs and lanterns (below). While the site’s major stencils feature standard Obama logos, for example, visitors can also see a more offbeat

pumpkin headshot of Obama, submitted by Manuel Guzman from Tuscon, Ariz., (at left).

I first heard about YesWeCarve from my friend, Josh Jeter. He is working on it with New Yorker Jason Powers, who dubs himself the “creative genius” of the operation, and Josh Horton, a Memphis Obama supporter who took the more basic title of “organizer.”

Meanwhile, Obama has taken a lead in Halloween masks in some cities — beating McCain by two to one in Boston. They both trailed Batman, however. (Walmart’s Obama and McCain masks retail for about $12, if you’re looking.)

The real Halloween star in demand is Gov. Palin, though, according to a new article in the Hartford Courant:

The latex masks depicting the beehived and bespectacled Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin are as scarce as a moose in Manhattan. And while some are scheduled to show up in Connecticut next week, supply is not expected to meet demand….

More images from YesWeCarve are below, including my favorite, a candy corn logo stencil: