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Hello, my spookys. It's your good buddy host and narrator
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Enrique Kuto here with a special extra treat this Halloween season.
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I want to present to you all a podcast that
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I've quickly become a very big fan of and a
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podcast that's become a friend to the show. That is
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the Urban Legends Podcast with Luke Morjoux. His program is
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the perfect example of a deeply researched and well presented
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examination of urban legends, and I know you'll all enjoy it.
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So I'm going to present to you one episode all
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about the urban legend and the truths behind poisoned Halloween candy.
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So sit back and enjoy. And if you like what
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you hear, go to lukemorjou dot com for more, or
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just search Urban Legends on your favorite podcasting app. And
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of course there'll be a link in the show notes.
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But now take it away, Luke.
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Amongst Chicago, in nineteen eighty two, a series of citizens
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fell victim to poisoning and death after taking doses of
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Tunnnal branded Acitomenifen capsules. At first, this led to confusion
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amongst those involved, spreading out further across the city, country,
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and eventually whorled as the deaths continued in seemingly unconnected circumstances.
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It was later found that the capsules had been laced
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with potassium cyanide, killing a total of seven people at random.
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It is unclear how and when the tampering occurred, but
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those events that shook the world with such darkness changed
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how medication has been packaged to this very day, with
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new tamper proof cases in place. Or What is most
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horrifying about the seemingly senseless murders was that the culprit
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was never caught and as likely still living amongst us
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even now. We ingest so much throughout the course of
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the day, poisoning ourselves with too much sugar and salt,
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as we indulge in items that we know are bad
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for our bodies. We smoke cigarettes, take drugs, and drink alcohol,
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all things that poison in some way or another, full
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of ingredients we do not know or understand what we
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do so because we feel comfortable in our surroundings, comforted
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by the mass production of those that create it. We
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take them because we believe we are safe. How would
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you ever know that the item you were putting into
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your mouth would be your last. My name is Luke
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mordew And this urban legend is poisoned Halloween candy. This
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urban legend pops up across the Western world, most notably
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in the USA, every October. It is a concern held
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by many with so much force that it has covered
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annually on social media and in the press. A simple
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Google search will bring up dozens of clips from news
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reports up and down North America as they discuss the
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dangers of Halloween treats. Halloween traditions have updated and evolved
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over the years from its old Irish roots. For one
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night only, we all attempt to get a good scare.
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People walk the streets in outfits far more monstrous and
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often far more revealing than what would otherwise be deemed
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socially acceptable. But none of that is as strange as
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the concept of taking suites from strangers. Never take candy
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from a stranger. Is prominent in most societies, and yet
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for one nighty year, we let our children loose to
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knock on strangers doors and request a trick or treat.
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We let our guards down, enjoying the festival of menace
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and fear that erupts along the streets of every town
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and city as we enjoy our plunder. It's funny we
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ask for tricks or treats, yet we never expect the
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tricks to actually come. Our story will follow David and
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his son Leo as they step out into the night
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of Halloween, unaware of the horrors that lurk amongst the
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glow of the carved pumpkins in the window. Leo ran
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excitedly up the long street of his neighborhood, dressed in
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his brand new black panther outfit, holding his orange bucket
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with the face of a Jack O lantern embossed in
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the plastic. As he ran from house to house, his father,
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David strolled behind to keep up with his excitable little legs.
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David was proud of his son for having the confidence
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to go to the doors with such ease. He'd been
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too afraid to trick or treat every year before then,
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and it was only after witnessing the joy of a
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night there before Christmas the year before that the countdown
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to Halloween had been filled with excitement and anticipation. It
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was only after witnessing the joy of a night there
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before Christmas the year before that the countdown to Halloween
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had been filled with excitement and anticipation. David did not
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even need to go to the front door of his
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young son standing at the bottom of the garden as
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he went and knocked himself, taking the sweets given to him,
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before thanking them with his polite little smile and dashing
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back to his dad.
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To show off what he had gotten.
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This had been the routine with every house before, and
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would be the routine with every house after. Stop beating
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all the sweets, David demanded, shaking his head with a
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knowing smile as Leo shoved a gummy treat into his mouth,
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explaining that they were so oh yummy, whiles struggling to
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get his words out as he chomped away in the
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substance between his teeth. They agreed that he would stop
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eating them all until they got home, as David explained
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that he would only be disappointed when he got home
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to find he had hardly anything left because he had
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eaten so many and whilst being in gross inness conversation,
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the two had not even realized that they were being approached.
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It was George and Amy, David's friend from the neighborhood,
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and his young daughter. Leo instantly ran ahead to Amy
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as they discussed their costumes and compared the sweets they
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had gathered, exchanging those they preferred to ensure a perfect
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haul to return home with busy night, George asked, starting
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up the usual conversation parents usually have when they catch
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up to their children's side. They talked about how lively
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it had been, how the kids are having so much fun,
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even going as far as to express an element of jealousy,
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annoyed that they never really got to experience the joys
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of Halloween in the UK when they were kids. Nothing
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like this anyway, I remember going out as a much
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David explained, My mum literally wrapped toilet paper around me
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and taped it together. George laughed, whilst the kids watched
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them with confused expressions, struggling to understand why he did
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not just go and buy a costume instead of wrapping
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himself up in toilet paper, a concept that must have
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seemed so strange to a child in the modern world.
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Can we please go to the next house together, Leo asked,
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whilst Amy jumped up and down in excitement. We were
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just about to go head back now, George replied, looking
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down at them with a smile, but one more house, Karner.
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The kids cheered with excitement as Amy grabbed Leo's hand,
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scurrying up the path together towards the set of houses
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up ahead. Remember to only go to the houses with
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pumpkins in the window, David shouted, as they walked behind
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them to catch up. Amy and Leo stopped outside of
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a house with a giant skeleton hanging out by the
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front door and two emptied pumpkins on the wall, glowing
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with their spooky faces by the battery powered candle lights inside.
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Come we go to this one, Amy asked, whilst they
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enthusiastically pointed out the over dramatic decorations glistening in the windows.
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David nodded, allowing them to disappear up the driveway into
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the front door. So how come you're in Halloween duty?
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George asked, pulling a sweet from his pocket and munching
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away on it. I thought i'd give them missus a
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night off. Halloween's more my thing, annoy David replied, well,
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it was now has come to it. I'm knackered, George smirked. Yeah.
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Amy's mum's working late to night, so I'm left on
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duty to take her out. Well, we're calling it a
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night after this house, but to get her bathed in
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bed before I pass out. There, they both stood nodding
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away to each other whilst staring at the floor, both
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more eager to get home and relaxed than stand by
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the road engaging in small talk. They were surrounded by
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the sounds of children laughing and playing in the darkness,
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only drowned out for a moment with the loud calls
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of an ambulance siren blasting down the next street as
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Leo and Amy came excitedly running up the pathway towards them.
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The two men took this opportunity to say they're goodbyes,
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telling each other they'd see them soon. Amy and Leo
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shared a hug and waved at each other's parents before
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joining the journey in two opposite directions. Have you had fun,
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David asked his son, who was now staring into the
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bucket of enthusiasm. It was amazing, he replied, with a
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joy that only a child and a holiday celebration could express.
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But David didn't notice the glitten of excitement. He was
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too busy focusing on the second ambulance he heard that night.
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Now watching it speed up the road and into the distance,
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its blue lights flashing by as they passed them. He
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finally he turned back to his son to carry on
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the conversation. What was distracted again by the fact that
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Leo had already shoved a couple of sweets into his mouth.
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David grabbed the bucket from him, laughing as Leo playfully
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gagged the moment he swallowed, complaining about how one was
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sour and bitter. With a smile, David turned across the road,
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putting out his hand for Leo to take so they
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could cross safely together. The air was filled with ghostly
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screams from the recordings of people's guarden decorations still emitting
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from nearby houses. Now something had changed. One of the
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screams sounded all too real from an all too familiar voice.
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David stood by the side of the road, his hands
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still out for Leo to take, his eyes darting.
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To the top of the pathway in the distance.
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Leo called for his dad, a slight concern in his voice,
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but David continued to follow the sound of the screams
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until finally his worst fears had been confirmed. His eyes
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had now locked with George, who now sat on the
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pathway on the other side of the road. In the distance,
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Little Amy was lying in his arms as several families
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darted towards them to help. He was screaming her name
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as if he had no idea what else to do? Dad,
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Leo said again, the concern growing in his voice. David's
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eyes remained locked on his friend, unsure and what to do,
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as he kept his hand out for Leo to take.
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It's okay, take my hand, come with me, he replied,
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trying to comfort his concern and son, still believing his
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concern was for what they were witnessing. It was only
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when he heard the words my stomach hurts sharply, followed
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by the food of his body slamming down against the pavement,
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that David turned to find his son lying on the ground,
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his body convulsing as his eyes rolled.
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To the back of his head.
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David screamed for his son in a tone that matched
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George across the street, diving down to lift his head
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from the concrete, instantly pulling out his phone from his
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pocket and dialing the emergency services. But as it rang,
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another scream cooled from a house across the road. David
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looked up to see a woman charge out of the
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front door of her house to the car in her driveway,
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an unconscious child in her arms. A man charged out
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of the house behind her, slamming the door shut and
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unlocking the car so the woman and child could slip
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into the back. The man jumped into the driver's seat
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and pulled out onto the road, crushing the Jack O
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lantern that sat at the bottom of their driveway, killing
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all suggestion of Halloween in that household. As they drove away,
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David gripped his son's dying body in his arms, holding
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him tight, trying to keep him awake. He didn't know
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what to do or what was happening. The screams of
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panicked parents seems to be spreading all across the town,
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the air filling with the many sirens of the emergency
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services as a pandemic of evil seemingly swept through the
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shadow of the streets.
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There are many very of.
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This urban legend, from the razor blades in the apples
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to syringers being pushed into sweets. Some even speak of
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cyanide or rat poison that the Halloween treats have been
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laced with. These stories leave parents checking through their children's
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suites before eventually giving them back to enjoy once they've
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proven their safe. Some are stopped from going out trick
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or treating entirely, concluding that it was not worth the risk. However,
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is there any foundation for this fear. As with many
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urban legends, the truth is a mixture of yes and
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no lost amongst the gray, hidden between the black and
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white tails that spread across the globe as a slight
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egg in a chicken conundrum of this, with the legend
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itself pre dating some occurrences, bringing forward the notion that
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they were inspired by the story rather than the other
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way round. The fears of sharp objects hidden inside the
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suites of our children's treats have haunted the USA for
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decades now, even now venturing out into the UK as
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the holiday grows here. But despite this, the first case
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of it, as it has known in some iterations of
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the legend, was as recent as the year two thousand.
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It's an uncomfortable one to hear, and a situation that
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I still would never wish to be in, although the
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cases are still relatively small compared to what the legends
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suggest as happening out there. James Joseph Smith in Minneapolis,
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USA allegedly stuck small needles into snicker bars that he
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later handed out to trickle treatise. Although this is enough
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to make us squirm and cringe at the idea of
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the few children that did bite into them, ultimately only
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one teenager was pricked by a needle, and that prick
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was so small that it required no medical attention. Even so,
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James Joseph Smith was rightly charged with one count of
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adulterating a substance with intent to cause death, harm or illness.
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On the very same night, Halloween of the year two
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thousand over in California, USA, several parents found snicker rappers
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that were stuffed full of marijuana allows EPR night for
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that brand of chocolate.
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This would of course.
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Be horrifying for parents to imagine someone purposely handing out
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drugs to children without their knowledge, but it would later
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come to light that the truth was nowhere near as
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twisted as it first seemed. Once the police arrived at
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a man's home who had handed out the drug filled rappers,
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he was even more confused than the parents. It was
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eventually concluded that the man worked in a dead letter
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office at a local postal facility, and whilst there he
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found a bag of snickers in an abandoned package and
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brought them home as treats. Had not realized was that
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somebody somewhere was trying to smuggle.
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Marijuana through the mail and it had got lost along
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the way.
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This story was widely accepted and proven to be true,
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and no charges were brought against the man in question.
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On a darker occasion, and as recent as twenty eighteen,
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a five year old boy in Ohio, USA tested positive
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from mefhanfetamine after a night of trick or treating. It
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was widely considered that a suite he had obtained on
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his travels had been laced with the highly addictive drug.
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And a sudden uproar swept the nation.
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Although it only took a couple of days for the
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truth to come out when the police arrested his father,
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charging him with possession of meth and evidence tampering. Police
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Chief Brian Satterfield stated, while we cannot definitely say how
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the little boy ingested mefhanfetamine, we are extremely confident that
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he did not any candy from trick or treat that
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was tainted. Ultimately, it seemed the child had ingested his
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father's drugs, and to cover his tracks, the father had
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used the belief in this legend, a consistent theme has
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played into the history of the genuine cases of this
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urban legend, edging so close to the dark stories we
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hear through the grapevine that happened to a little child
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in the next town over. But they never quite proved
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themselves to be as dark as they suggest. But if
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we go back further, venturing to the latter half the
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twentieth century, will what we find be as simple or
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does the dark tale coincide with more truth than our
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recent story suggest. Let us go back to Halloween night
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of nineteen fifty nine. The children were strolling up the
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streets of Glenmore Garden's residential neighborhood in California, dressed up
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in their spookiest outfits as they wandered door to door,
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hoping to find some sugar field treats they could take
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and demolish. It was only when they got home that
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things got strange. Some of the kid's parents found calls
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for alarm when they discovered heart shaped sugar coated pills
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at the bottom of their children's bags. This resulted in
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the police checking two one hundred and fifty homes and
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eventually recovering four one hundred and fifty laxatives. The average
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dosage for an adult was two, yet some children had
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as many as thirty placed into their bags. At least
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sixteen children received pills before suffering stomach cramps and vomiting.
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It was lucky for all of them that the bitter
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taste that resided inside the alo pills was so much
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that they ended up spitting them right out, resulting in
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none requiring hospitalization. Doctor William Shine was charged with outraging
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public decency and endangering the health of children, whilst the
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woman who stood alongside him giving out the candy to
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one suspecting children, Hazel Engleby, was charged the same. Eventually,
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though after months of denial, twists and turns in the
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court cases, and legal loopholes, Miss Engleby was set free
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with no charges. Doctor Shine, on the other hand, was
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given a four month suspended jail sentence, two year probation,
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and a fine or five hundred and twenty five dollars.
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There are two obvious reasons that these two foolish individuals
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could have played such a dangerous game. Either with malice
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and ill intent, as many suggested, was the case, or
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a prank that they genuinely believed would be funny. Perhaps
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they disliked Halloween and wanted to teach those who celebrated
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it a lesson. After all, many people hate the holiday
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completely misunderstanding the beauty and true meanings behind its purpose.
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Either way, this story came close to a true example
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of his urban legend, but as they usually do, it
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fell short of the tales of deadly poisoned candy we
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hear about so often. Five years later, to the very day,
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something equally as dark and stupid occurred on the night
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where the wall between the spirit world and our world
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is apparently at its thinnest. Elise Drucker, her sister Irene,
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and a friend were out in New York in the
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USA to gather the sweets they could during their trick
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or treating session of that year. They were teenagers, but
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still enjoying the spooky events and excitement that came from
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Halloween knight. That was until they knocked on the door
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of Helen feel who answered and questioned their age, suggesting
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that they were a little too old to be trick
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or treating. Still, Helen who had teenagers of her own,
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dropped some sweets into their bags and set them on
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their way. It was not until they got home that
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the sinister truth revealed itself. As Elise and Irene's mother
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checked over the sweets they had gathered. Here, they found
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a bottle cap shaped and trap with a warning sign
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that read poison. According to sources, Helen was growing frustrated
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that so many of the trigger treatures that had gone
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by were what she deemed to be too old to
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be out asking for free sweets, and so she made
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up packages of inedible treats to give to teenagers. These
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packages contained dog biscuits, steel walled pads, and ant buttons,
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clearly marked as poison, and although foolish and twisted in
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its macabre humor, it is said that Helen did tell
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the teenagers as she handed them out that they were
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intended as jokes, and luckily nobody was harmed by her
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idiotic prank. Even still, she pleaded guilty to endangering children
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and served a suspended sentence. With the event of these
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two pranks that were arguably more ill judged than evil,
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the fears and rumors of tampered Halloween suites had begun
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to swoop the nation. In nineteen seventy one, the state
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legislator of Michigan put ten year prison sentences and fines
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for those caught tampering with Halloween candy, most likely due
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to the most commonly told urban legend alongside these events,
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despite most reports proving occurrences to be hoaxes, but even
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though pretty much every occasion of it had been proven
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to be foolish pranks between friends and siblings, tricks where
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the repercussions and dangers were ill thought out and foolish
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rather than with devilish intent, it would all change on
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the Halloween night of nineteen seventy four, when the tale
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of poisoned candy tragically and horrifyingly came true. It was
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October thirty first, and eight year old Timothy O'Brien was
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out trick or treating with his sister Elizabeth, chaperoned by
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their father, Ronald, in Texas, USA. Even though it was raining,
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they were making good progress through the night as they
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excitedly ran from door to door, Ronald struggling to keep
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up with their little feet. They stopped at a house
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and didn't seem to be participating in the festivities of Halloween,
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but they waited. Nevertheless, after a moment or two, the
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children swiftly gave up, heading to the next house to
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get their treats. Once their father had caught up with them,
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he handed them two pixie sticks out of the five
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he held in his hand. If they had waited a
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moment longer, they would have been able to take the
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sticks themselves, as they had just missed the homer. The
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kids took them with joy, as Ronald gave the extras
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to two neighboring children and the fifth to a child
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he recognized from his church. Before bed, as children often
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do after the excitement of Halloween, knowing their grand hall
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of a night's hard work is sitting so close to
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their reach, little Timothy asked if he could eat some
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of the sweets he had collected. Ronald agreed, and Timothy
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dove straight for the pixie sticks. I struggled to get
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the sherbert out of the straw. His dad happily obliged
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to help his son loosen up the powder, and he
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began to chug it back of childish glee, And although
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Timothy did mention that the sherbert tasted bitter, he finished
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it all down with the help of some kool aid,
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also supplied by his ever doting father. Within minutes, Timothy
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was in agony as his body began to convulse whilst
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violently vomiting. Within an hour, on the way to the hospital,
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eight year old Timothy O'Brien was dead. News spread fast
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of the Halloween sweets laced with poison, spreading fear and
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horror amongst the community of Deer Park, with several parents
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handing their sweets to the police in fear that they
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too had been tampered with. The autopsy of Timothy revealed
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that he was filled with a fatal dose of potassium cyanide.
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Robert confirmed that this must have been in the pixie
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sticks he'd received from mysterious Homon on Halloween Knight. Thankfully,
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the rest of the sticks that he had handed out
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to the children on the street were successfully retrieved without
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any injury. It soon became clear that all five pixie
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sticks had been tampered with, opened at the top and
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refilled with cyanide before being re sealed with a simple staple.
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The results from the lab confirmed that little Timothy's powder
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contained enough cyanide to kill two fully adults whilst the
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other four contained dosages that could quickly kill three to
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four adults. Ronald desperately tried to help the police find
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the killer of his darling son, but he claimed to
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have forgotten which house it was that had handed him
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the sticks. He told them that he didn't see the
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homeowner's face, that they only opened the door a crack,
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and that a hairy arm had reached out and handed
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him the pixie sticks. But after walking with the police
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several times, Ronald finally confirmed the home that they had
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visited that night. This was the home of a man
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named Courtney Melvin, an air traffic controller who was not
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home until much later that night, as was confirmed by
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the hundreds.
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Of people who had seen him at the airport.
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This admittedly already strange situation was growing stranger to the
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police as they began to throw their suspicious eyes at
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Ronald himself. It was strange that he would have forgotten
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what house it was, especially considering they had only visited
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two streets that night due to the rain. They decided
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to look further into Ronald's life and were surprised by
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00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:18.279
many things. They learned that he was over one hundred
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00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:22.880
thousand dollars in debt, the equivalent to over five hundred
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00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:26.680
thousand dollars today. He was a man that struggled to
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00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:30.000
hold down a job, going through as many as twenty
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00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:32.920
one in the ten years leading up to that moment.
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Even then, he had been suspected of theft at his
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current job at Texas State Optical and was expected to
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be fired shortly after. His car was close to being repossessed,
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He had the family home foreclosed on, and he had
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00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:53.880
multiple bank loans falling into default. Times were tough, but
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00:27:53.960 --> 00:28:00.000
then came the most damning part of the investigation. Ronald
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00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:04.000
had taken out life insurance policies on both of his
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children in the month's building up to Halloween night, even
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going as far as to take out another thirty thousand
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00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:17.839
dollars five days prior. With this, the policies totaled well
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over sixty thousand dollars, all done without his wife's knowledge.
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It was also found that Ronald had even called his
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00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:30.440
insurance company to inquire about the process of collecting the
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policies he had taken out on his children on the
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morning of Halloween. And as damning as all of this was,
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it only got worse for Ronald O'Brien when the police
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learned that he had visited a chemical supply store to
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00:28:43.960 --> 00:28:49.359
buy cyanide not long before the events occurred. Once confronted,
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Ronald remained persistent in his innocence. Even so, the police
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had already begun to piece together their evidence that he
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had laced the suites with poison to kill his children
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00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:05.920
so he could claim on their life insurance policies. The
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00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:08.839
consensus was that he gave the pixie sticks to the
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other children close by in an effort to cover up
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his crime, to make it seem far more random than
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it was. He was convicted of the crime with an
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overwhelming amount of evidence. Even a chemist testified that Ronald
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00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:29.119
had contacted him regarding the cyanide, specifically about fatal doses.
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As soon enough, Ronald was sentenced to death. After this,
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Halloween was never the same again. Even though the public
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knew what had truly happened, The seed had been planted.
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The anxiety was now in their hearts whenever their children
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00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:50.480
would come home with sweets from all sorts of dark
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corners of the neighborhood. Over time, this story became a
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part of history, drifting away into the back of people's minds. However,
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the anxiety stayed and this led to changes in the story,
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additions and takeaways from the events. Before long, it had
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become nothing more than an urban legend about drugs in
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your children's suites or needles and syringes. It took ten
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years before Ronald was finally executed by lethal injection, when
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00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:23.359
Timothy would have still been only eighteen years old. The
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father the inmates had nicknamed the Candyman, was dead, and
477
00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:33.440
whilst this was happening, the crowds gathered outside the building
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chanting the words trick or treat.
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Urban Legends is researched, written and produced by Luke Mordew.
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Original score by Billy Jupp with additional sounds from storyblocks
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dot com. If you like what you heard and want
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to hear more, click subscribe on your chow and podcast
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provider and delve into the mysteries of our previous and
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future chapters. To find more, including merchandise, video content, images,
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and more, visit urbanlegendsfolklore dot com. If you have more
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information or a correction on something mentioned in this chapter,
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please get in touch through our website. We aim to
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ensure that all information provided is accurate. And up to date,
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and this remains a top priority. If you want to
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support the show, receive early access, and have more of
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a say in what we do, then become a patron
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by clicking the link in our show notes. For these
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chapters in video format, simply search Urban Legends Folklore on YouTube,
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follow us on TikTok, Instagram and threads, and join our
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Facebook group by searching Urban Legends Folklore.
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Thank you again, my spookies for giving Luke moore Jew's
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podcast Urban Legends a good old Halloween listen. If you
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enjoyed what you heard, I recommend you go and subscribe
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on your favorite podcasting app. I really do appreciate it,
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and a big thanks to Luke and the team at
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Urban Legends for supporting our program as well. So until
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next time, stay spooky and always check your candy
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