The idea of parading around in costumes and asking for goodies has been around in North America for two centuries.
Except it used to be on Thanksgiving.
In 1897, the Los Angeles Times reported that Thanksgiving was the busiest time of the year for manufacturers of false faces.
Kids in masks actually went around asking adults: Anything for Thanksgiving. According to Atlas Obscura, the adults would then pony up some candy.
By the 1930s the whole masked bandit routine was firmly transferred to Halloween. And there it stays.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
