Halloween is coming up on October 31. It is not an occasion that I particularly care for and I did not encourage my own children to take part in it for many reasons. I don’t get the fascination with zombies and ghosts and the supernatural in general, and this holiday’s activities give them a patina of credibility that is unwarranted. I also don’t like the emphasis on gorging on candy. I especially don’t like the ‘trick or treat’ aspect, the underlying principle essentially consisting of going door to door, accosting strangers, and extorting candy from them, even if it is done in fun. [Read more…]