Halloween pranks more fun in review

Witches and ghosts. Ghouls and goblins.

Halloween is a favorite holiday for many. Young and old remember they fun they had on Halloween and enjoy the excited expressions of the children who look forward to the coming holiday with its costumes, parties and treats.

Looking back, however, the fun was mostly the tricks that were pulled.

I remember while still in high school that all the boys were laughing about dismantling a wagon and reassembling it on top of a barn. Gates were lifted. They also snickered about tipping over outhouses.

Windows were liberally soaped. Some youths were hired as window washers the next day. Somehow, really destructive mischief and injuries weren't as common as they are today.

I don't remember when or where "Trick of Treat" originated, but saw it after World War II as an improvement on tricks. Even the tricks seem more imaginative: monofilament line fastened to a metal souce, pulled tight, and "played" like a guitar string so it emits weird, sounds that spooks faint hearted listeners.

We always had many trick or treaters until I started raising Toy Fox Terriers that went into wild barking sessions when they heard anyone outside. They sounded fierce although they were tiny and friendly. But that is why children feared them so much.

To control the dogs, I used a gun. Actually, it was a squirt bottle filled with clear water. I used it to shoot them and quiet them down. It worked fine until a strange boy arrived at the door.

"Trick or treat!" he shouted.

The terriers went berserk.

I yelled at them, " No, stop that!" without effect.

"No," I yelled again as I grabbed for my squirt bottle.

"I've got my gun. Get out of there or I'll shoot!" I yelled.

The last I saw of that kid, he was heading across the street to the neighbor's at a dead run.

"Oh, oh." I wondered to myself, half expecting the sheriff to be the next person standing at the door.