Lawton Neighborhood Sees Trick-or-treating Surge After Years Of Quiet Halloweens

Right before the COVID-19 pandemic, I moved into my first rent house in Lawton, and with Halloween being my favorite holiday, I was looking forward to having my first-ever trick-or-treaters. I invited my family over for chili dogs and to pass out candy to little monsters. Unfortunately, there was more candy to be shared amongst us at the party than being handed out into bags.

That year, I chalked it up to my neighborhood not being the safest for trick-or-treating. Then 2020 came along and the COVID-19 pandemic put a big damper on going door-to-door for candy. Trunk-or-treats then became popular. And by that time, I had purchased a house in a better neighborhood, but I still had leftover candy after Halloween night.

Pandemic Affecting Trick-Or-Treating

When my niece was born, I decided to resurrect my attempt at a Halloween party and had my family over again for chili dogs. This time, we'd have our own trick-or-treater to take around the neighborhood, but still, the streets seemed emptier than they should.

In 2023 and 2024, we had a decent amount of trick-of-treaters, but I was again left with extra candy. And as I told myself that I could just take the extra candy to the office, i had a sinking feeling that the pandemic and the rise in trunk-or-treats were really snuffing the magic of Halloween.

Even though I thought trick-or-treating might be on a downward turn, I still wanted to create special Halloween memories for my niece and nephew. So in 2025, I hosted the family for Halloween night once again. And to my surprise, my grandma and I passed out candy to hundreds of trick-or-treaters. I started out the night with a bag of 200 Dum-Dums, and before the night was over, I had to dip into my private stash of Reece's Pumpkins.

At the end of the night, I was Dum-Dum-less and depleted of Reece's Pumpkins, but I had felt the spark of Halloween again, one that I hadn't felt since I was a trick-or-treater myself.

Kaley Patterson/TSM

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Rise In Trick-Or-Treating

I'm not sure what spiked the increase in trick-or-treaters last year, but I'm preparing for more this year. I've seen more homes in my neighborhood decorate for Halloween, so it seems like my neighbors are also preparing for an influx of trick-or-treaters. I've already secured a bag of 500 Dum-Dums and I've asked all the adults coming over for Halloween to bring at least one bag of candy for trick-or-treaters.

While the pandemic, trunk-or-treats or some other force dampened trick-or-treating and any sense of community for the last six years, it looks like the spirit of Halloween is rising from the dead, along with a return of togetherness.

READ MORE: Halloween Events Happening Across Lawton This October