Thomas Lemay: Scared of Halloween? Stay inside and let others have fun

Once again, another spooky October is here and where is it more fun than New England? Along with the corn mazes and costume parties and fun decorations we can always expect a letter from a local citizen who has to hate on the Halloween season.

According to a recent writer, people who celebrate are “programmable ATM machines.” The dangers of catching on fire, walking at night and yes, bumping into pedophiles is all more likely to happen to you on All Hallows Eve. If that isn’t enough to make you cower in a corner, this writer says “drunken driver deaths peak on Halloween."

OK sure, if you’re wearing a costume and at a bonfire you probably have more of a risk of catching on fire than if you stay at home. On the second point, I would argue kids have less chance of being struck by a car on Halloween because both drivers and parents walking with kids are aware that there will be trick-or-treaters, but I suppose you have more chance of harm than if you were sitting in your living room. Lastly, I would love to know the data behind the pedophile assumption. Even if true, young kids are with their parents while the older ones tend to stay in groups and are smart enough not to go into a stranger's house.

However, the apparent assumption that drunken driver deaths peak on Halloween is just wrong. After a simple Google search you would find that far and away, the early morning hours of Jan. 1 are the peak of drunken driving accidents.

If you hate Halloween, just shut your outside lights off. It's that simple.

Thomas Lemay

Laconia