Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays when I was a kid in the fifties. First, I loved dressing like a hobo, which basically meant wearing very comfortable old torn dungarees, and one of my older brothers’ discarded shirts. I’d be happy in those clothes any day.

But the big draw about Halloween was that you were responsible for how much loot you brought in, unlike birthdays and Christmas, where you passively accepted whatever was given to you. If you worked hard on Halloween, and...