7. Chances are, if your trick-or-treat sweets have been poisoned, a family member did it

There are all kinds of urban myths about the mean old crone or crazed madman in the tumble-down shack slipping poison or dangerous items into cakes and candy for the unsuspecting cherubs who knock on their door on Halloween.

But in reality almost every case of Halloween candy tampering has been performed by a family member.

For example, there was the case of Ronald O'Bryan, who laced his son's sweets with cyanide in Texas in 1974. Or the case in Detroit in 1970, where 5-year-old Kevin Toston died of a heroin overdose after he found his uncle's stash of the drug. His family later sprinkled heroin over his Halloween candy to try and protect his uncle.

And of the cases of foreign objects hidden in sweets - like needles or razor blades - all but a handful have been hoaxes, or the media jumping on a story which turned out to be untrue.

There was, however, the case in Manchester of a 23-year-old man who was giving out baggies of cocaine to kids instead of sweets - though he didn't hide it in any sweets, and police said he'd given the items "in error."

8. Dancing for treats

According to most experts, inspiration for trick-or-treating came from European "mumming'. Which involved people in costume playing songs and dancing in return for treats.

It is also thought that beggars began the tradition of trick or treat. While they played no pranks, men often went door to door begging for money. It was mainly the poor that took part, however, wealthy children also joined in.

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