Written by:Beatrice Sepulveda 
 
ireddit.com Septmeber 20 2007
Where did the Urban legend of razorblades in Halloween candy come from?

Poisoned candy myths are mostly urban legends about Malevolent strangers intentionally hiding poisons, drugs, or sharp objects such as razor blades in candy. Most stories that show on the media where children passed away with Halloween candy was actually a cover up by adult family members spread to cover up filicide or accidental deaths. 
There has been one reported case of contaminated candy on Halloween and the report shows that this incident was not done by a stranger but by the victim's father. There isn’t a lot of coverage, because there isn’t a lot of Halloween sadism to report. I know of only five cases where children’s deaths were attributed to consuming contaminated treats; in one case, a father was convicted of deliberately poisoning his son, and the other four claims were all withdrawn in favor of other explanations (Best 2023). Most Reported cases of Halloween sadism involved no injury, and there is reason to believe that the vast majority were hoaxes. In other words, there is very little substantive news to report, and Halloween sadism receives minimal news coverage. 

Should parents be worried about contaminated candy? 

According to the article on snopes.com needles have only been found in Halloween candy about 80 times since 1959. Most incidences have been hoaxes done by friends and no one was critically hurt. About ten incidents resulted in minor injuries and one woman had to get stitches. There is one documented case, in 2000, of a man who put needles in Snickers bars and handed them out to children on Halloween. One child hurt his tongue but did not require medical attention. 

Rainbow fentanyl is only the latest in a long history of Halloween candy panics going back more than half a century. This particular anxiety can be traced back to an op-ed piece published in the New York Times in 1970. In the article, the author claims to have been informed by the New York State Commissioner of Health of several incidents involving adults putting everything from razor blades, to slivers of glass, needles, and poison into Halloween candy. Unfortunately, the piece was not fact-checked, and no researcher found evidence that any of the events cited in the op-ed ever took place.

Joel Best, a sociology and criminal justice Professor at the University of Delaware, has spent decades studying the phenomenon of Halloween candy panics. In all his years of study, Best has never uncovered evidence of intentional candy tampering. Though ironically, there was a case in which a Texas man poisoned his own son’s Halloween candy and attempted to cover up the crime by claiming that a stranger must have tampered with the candy.
 

When were the latest cases of the urban legend "Razorblades in Halloween candy"?

Police announced an open investigation November 4, 2024. New York State Police said candy containing razor blades was reportedly collected in the Chenango county village of Bainbridge. Although there hasn't been any updates on the suspects, the N.Y police did remind parents of the safety precautions. In August of 2022 a rumor began after the DEA issued a warning that drug traffickers had begun disguising fentanyl as candy. However, the original announcement makes no mention of Halloween candy. There were multiple statements. Some of those statements were from Republican Senate Candidate Herschel Walker. There were also conflicting messages issued by various public authorities but there was no actual evidence of a conspiracy.  


By the click Americana team. "This memorable vintage Halloween candy from the '50s & '60s will take you back to trick-or-treats past. clickamericana.com October 25.2020





Sources:

1.  Fowler, S. (2018, April 5). Trick-or-Treat Safety: The evidence. Becker Medical Library. https://becker.wustl.edu/news/trick-or-treat-safety-evidence/#:~:text=Poisoned%20Halloween%20Candy,executed%20for%20murdering%20his%20son.

2. Staff, S., & Mikkelson, B. (2000, November 1). Pins and needles in Halloween candy. Snopes. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pins-and-needles/

3. Swann, S. (n.d.). Drug policy experts and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency have said there is no connection between reports of brightly-colored fentanyl pills and Halloween candy. @Politifact. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/oct/31/rick-scott/rick-scott-warns-about-fentanyl-in-halloween-candy/

4. Wikipedia contributors. (2024, November 3). Poisoned candy myths. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoned_candy_myths 
   5. Geoff Herbert, gherbert@syracuse.com. (2024, November 4). Razor blades found in Halloween candy in Upstate NY, police say. Syracuse. https://www.syracuse.com/state/2024/11/razor-blades-found-in-halloween-candy-in-upstate-ny-police-say.html
   6. Fighting Misinformation about Halloween Candy Tampering. (n.d.). University at Albany. https://www.albany.edu/cihs/news/2022-fighting-misinformation-about-halloween-candy-tampering#:~:text=In%20the%20article%2C%20the%20author,have%20tampered%20with%20the%20candy.
   7. Best, J., & Horiuchi, G. T. (1985). The Razor Blade in the Apple: The Social Construction of Urban Legends. Social Problems, 32(5), 488–499. https://doi.org/10.2307/800777