Razor Blades in Halloween Candy: History Of The Myth That Never Happened

By | October 21, 2019

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1968: Booby-trapped apple with razor blade concealed inside is examined by policewoman Carol MacKay. It was given as Halloween handout to a 7-year-old child in the neighborhood around Carlton; Sherbourne streets. (Photo by Don Dutton/Toronto Star via Get

No child has ever been killed by eating Halloween candy from a stranger. Even though stories and urban legends of death from poisoned candy and razor blades secreted away inside of apples have long surrounded Halloween, this isn’t something that actually ever happened. While no one’s ever died from chowing down on an apple filled with razor blades, there have been minor injuries stemming from pranks or parents trying to get a lawsuit going, these cases were blown out of proportion and added to the urban legend that reminds children to not take candy from strangers, or really anyone. 

Parents have been worried about poisoned candy for generations

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Source: (pinterest.com)

Parents freaking out about their kids eating candy that’s been tampered with by local psychos isn’t a recent occurrence, it’s been a fear since the Industrial Revolution. This was the first era in history that food production was taken out of the home and moved to a factory, often out of town. No one knew who was making their food, which not only led to distrust in the product but the people behind the material coming out of the factory.

After children got sick from eating the factory-produced candy, parents initially blamed the people who produced it, although it’s important to note that no cases of death were ever substantiated. An investigation into these illnesses showed that there was no poison, industrial waste, or anything untoward in the candy aside from massive amounts of sugar. It’s believed that anyone who got sick from eating this early era mass-produced candy did so because of overeating.