As I was getting ready for my second trunk-or-treat event (sometimes known as “a Halloween tailgate”) – and third different trick-or-treating event of any kind ahead of actual Halloween this season – I began to wonder: When in the world did this all start? Whatever happened to just going all out on Halloween night?
Aside from it being another opportunity for Big Candy to separate you from your money, let’s take a look at the rapidly growing Halloween tradition that is trunk-or-treat.
When Did Trunk-or-Treat Start in the United States?
The concept of trunk-or-treat doesn’t necessarily have a singular origin date or story, but it does appear to have begun in the 1990s (with some of the earliest mentions of the event dating back to 1994). A trunk-or-treat was (and still is) often held in a church or school parking lot, often because the entire idea of a trunk-or-treat is sold as a “safer” alternative to actual trick-or-treating on Halloween night.
That’s not too surprising, considering the continued proliferation of the myth that there are people out there trying to poison your kids’ candy or slip razor blades into a Snickers bar. It seems like every single year the same myth is circulated that someone, somewhere has done this in the past and this is the year it could be coming to your neighborhood. The evolution of this paranoia more or less gave birth to the trunk-or-treat movement.
How Does Trunk-or-Treat Work?
It’s pretty simple, really. A bunch of parents park in a giant lot and furiously begin decorating their open car trunks in whatever theme they choose. Lucky for us, of course, there are many retailers out there jumping at the chance to sell you an entire kit of Halloween decorations made specifically for a trunk-or-treat event. These can range from simple designs you tape to the trunk to incredibly elaborate setups that span one’s entire imagination.
Personally, I think it would be fun to create a gateway to the Cenobite dimension within my trunk and come dressed as Pinhead, but I have a feeling I might be asked to leave.
After that, it all pretty resembles any sort of trick-or-treat event, where you escort your kids around to the different trunks to receive candy, all while at least leaving out a bowl of candy at your own car. It lasts a couple hours, you get to hang out with other parents for a bit, and everyone goes home happy. Some trunk-or-treats take things to the next level and turn it into something of a fall festival, with haunted houses, games, food, pumpkin carving, and more. That’s an evolution of trunk-or-treating I can really get behind.
At the end of the day, though, you’re not going to find me complaining about prolonging the celebration of Halloween. Anything that expands the Halloween season is okay in my book, even if it means my house is constantly overflowing with candy for the better part of a month. And though trunk-or-treats inherently have a Satanic panic vibe to their roots, it’s fun to experience a Halloween event with friends and other parents we don’t typically see on Halloween itself, as we’re all usually in our own neighborhoods trick or treating.
