The Dangers of Halloween Sadism

Joel Best found newspaper reports of 76 separate incidents of suspected Halloween sadism. There were no cases of children being poisoned by kindly looking old ladies or any other stranger. The two fatal incidents were Kevin Tostin's accidental heroin overdose and the death of Timothy O'Brien, eight days after his father took out a generous insurance policy on his own son's life. Between 4pm and 10pm on Halloween, children aged 5 to 14 years old are 4 times more likely to be hit and killed by a car than during the same hours on any other year.