25 FORGOTTEN Halloween Traditions Every 1960s Kid Remembers

A plastic mask on a rubber band. A pillowcase full of candy. A popcorn ball from the lady down the street. An orange UNICEF box. No grown-ups anywhere in sight until the porch lights went dark. This is Halloween the way every 1960s kid remembers it, and most kids today have never heard of half of it. I'm Hal Whitmore. I taught American history for 36 years, and on October 31, 1966, I was an eight-year-old in a skeleton mask on Fifth Street in Chillicothe, Ohio. In this countdown I go through 25 forgotten Halloween traditions: the costume in a box, the pillowcase, trick-or-treating without parents, guess who I am, homemade treats, the UNICEF box, school parades, bobbing for apples, painted store windows, Mischief Night, the late-night horror host, the Great Pumpkin, the full-size candy bar house, and the true story behind the poisoned candy scare. Chapters (approximate, confirm after voiceover) 0:00 October 31, 1966 2:24 What sweet memories leave out 3:28 25. The costume in a box 4:56 24. The homemade costume 6:04 23. The pillowcase 7:05 22. Trick-or-treating without parents 8:17 21. The porch light rule 9:14 20. Guess who I am 10:25 19. The homemade treats 11:32 18. The UNICEF box 12:55 17. The school Halloween parade 13:55 16. Bobbing for apples 15:14 15. The church and fire hall Halloween party 16:14 14. The downtown Halloween parade and window painting 17:07 13. Carving the jack-o'-lantern with a real candle 17:58 12. Mischief Night 19:22 11. The late-night horror host 20:25 10. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown 21:39 9. The full-size candy bar house 22:45 8. The poisoned candy scare 24:38 7. Sorting and trading on the living room rug 25:51 6. Decorations made of paper 26:51 5. Halloween was cold 27:49 4. The haunted house in somebody's garage 28:54 3. The neighborhood was full of children 29:57 2. Staying out until the porch lights went dark 30:42 1. The neighbors knew your name 31:59 The bigger picture 33:02 Close Key sources: Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF (from 1950; National UNICEF Day 1967) · It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (CBS, October 27, 1966) · Ghoulardi, WJW Cleveland (1963–66) · Joel Best's research on Halloween sadism and candy tampering · the 1974 Houston cyanide case · the 1982 Chicago Tylenol poisonings. This video is history and education. #halloween #1960s #nostalgia