Leaves rustling. Wind howling. Moon glowing. Children staring. Parents disapproving. All the ingredients for a perfect Halloween night.

Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound right. If this sounds eerily familiar to your Halloween experience, then you may be out trick-or-treating past the socially acceptable age.

This may just seem like a worn out social construct, but many towns take this very seriously. Some towns have adopted ordinances punishing those with a fine, or even jail time for trick-or-treating past the age of 12 or 14.

You may think that this is a bit extreme, and you might be right. However, this idea is not only a good move, it’s the best move.

First off, maybe it’s just me, but it’s a little creepy and just wrong seeing high school age kids out tromping around with elementary schoolers for candy. Bad things could happen.

“It seems like I’ve even heard a call or two where somebody has called and said ‘Hey there’s a group of high-schoolers that are out trick-or treating, and not that they were causing problems, they were old enough were the people didn’t think it was right,” Powell Police Officer Mr. Matt McCaslin said.

Police interference? Very scary indeed. Especially for the high-schoolers.

Another thing. Why should older kids be allowed to trick or treat when they are able to do other Halloween activities where little kids often don’t participate?

“Freshman, sophomore, and junior year I acted in the haunted house and did spooks,” Powell High School senior Taeli Hesthenaler said

Added senior Kaitlyn Church: “Up to now I’ve had Halloween parties and went to the haunted house that the High School theater has put on.”

Haunted houses are in no way shape or form for children, and most parties will bore them to death. They need a special activity for them. AKA, trick-or-treating!

Finally, all kids my age reading this story know that getting older means more responsibilities. Not to be brutal, but trick-or-treating is a childish thing. Time to move on!

“I think you start getting around that age between 12 and 15 where, and I think across the board, kids start to quit trick-or-treating,” Officer McCaslin said. “Personally I think that’s pretty appropriate.”

Even kids in our very own high school agree with this.

“Trick-or-treating is seen in our society as a very childish thing in our society, in my opinion,” Powell High School senior Brady Herzog said. “You don’t really see, like, groups of teenagers or adults walking around, like, knocking on people’s doors and asking for candy.”

Folks, it’s time to be adults and just buy your own [dang] candy.

I understand that being unable to trick-or-treat is devastating. It’s comparable to discovering the lies that are Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. It might just take away the magic of the season, but I disagree.

I think the magic lies in other activities. The rush of adrenaline from a haunted house jump-scare. The fun and creativity that is expressed in pumpkin carving. The laughs gained from a good Halloween party with friends. The smiles on the faces of young trick-or-treaters, and getting nostalgic about those good old days.

That sounds like a wonderful Halloween season to me, but don’t me stop you from living out your Halloween dreams. If that includes trick-or treating, then so be it. Just remember these wise words.

“One thing I would, to insure there were no issues at any time, and this should go for any trick-or-treaters out there is that you know, remember you manners when you’re out trick-or-treating, especially if you’re an older group,” Officer McCaslin said.