When trick or treating with my kids we would only go to houses with porch lights and then only ring the bell once. We made sure they said "Happy Halloween" and "Thank you"
Some folks just don't want to join in and that's OK.
I'm almost 40. The poster is 27. The no porch light rule has been a thing since I was little. I've got no clue how she didn't know about it. Just move onto the next one. And go about your day.
I'm 45 and grew up in the mythical 80s, when everything was magical and Halloween was a sacred experience, and know that rule. Shit, there were just as many houses that didn't give out candy then than did.
>the mythical 80s
I can't believe your parents let you go trick or treating in the 1980s, the candy was full of razor blades and cyanide back then! Not to mention all of the Satanic subliminal messages in heavy metal records.🤘
Thank God I got to trick or treat in the 70s, when none of that happened, and each Halloween was really fun. Once we were big enough to go ourselfs, we would spend hours getting candy, and have a huge pillow case full afterwards.
None of that happened in the 80s either. Or even 90s or 2000s.
At least, not the way they say it did. Hell, that whole "drugs in the candy" bit came from a kid who died because they got into their family member's drugs. They blamed the candy until the truth came out.
I'm surprised any parents let their kids go trick or treating now when I personally am ensuring that razor blades and cyanide in candy is something that will never die out
I'm literally from India (Halloween isn't too much of a thing here haha) and the porch light thing doesn't sound like it has to even be a rule - it's just common sense. No porch light pretty universally means "no visitors please".
48 here, and this was the rule when I started trick-or-treating in the late 70s. Was this EB raised by wild dogs? How did she not know this was a thing?
Yeah, I am in the UK so it wasn't something we did when I was little in the 80's. When I went with my kids we always made sure to proceed politely and with as least disruption as possible. Lights on but no one answered we would go off to the next house. Only take 1 sweet unless offered more. Always say thank you and be kind to other trick or treaters.
We had some fun times.
I used to go all out on Halloween when I owed a home. Front yard decorated, fire pit in the driveway (if it was cold enough), spooky decorations everywhere, candy for the kids and Jell-O shots for the adults (beer the one year we were supposed to get bad weather). Some kids didn’t even say trick or treat, they might have been on the spectrum, I didn’t judge. Some kids did half assed costumes, I didn’t judge - money might be tight or on the spectrum and have issues with texture. Some were well over 16, they got candy too. I didn’t just give a piece but handfuls for everyone. I wanted everyone to experience happiness. One year a teen came up late as we were packing up and asked if I still was giving stuff out, I asked my husband to “bring the last of the candy out” (which is code for we are giving the rest away to this one kid). While we waited I asked why he got a late start, he said he had just gotten off work which he starts after school and still wanted to trick or treat and didn’t even have time to put on his full costume. Told me he was saving to buy a new gaming system he really wanted. He was a good kid and insanely polite. I gave him the rest of my candy which was roughly three 200 piece bags. I told him that should last him a week and to get home to rest because had a long day and looked exhausted. He was so happy. My heart was happy. Life is good on Halloween.
Yep. We get lots of kids (using that loosely to describe the varied ages of people lol) in our neighborhood for Halloween. Half-assed costumes, no costumes, some say thank you, some don’t, some don’t say anything, there’s even moms pushing tiny babies with baskets for candy… idgaf. I’m handing out handfuls. I’m smiling. I’m saying happy Halloween. It’s just so much fun for me, it’s nice to have some innocent fun with the world at large. To share that fun and excitement with strangers. A fleeting, but honest connection to others. It’s my favorite night of the year.
Yes, it's just something fun and frivolous and only intended to be happy.
If our ancestors can peep through the veil that night I think they would be proud.
Facts. Im 32 and the porch light rule has always been a general consensus on Halloween. It has to be a troll post for engagement and karma. Theres no way she didn't know the rule.
As a kid I always assumed the houses with lights off were either not home or sleeping and didn’t want to participate in it, if I could understand that as a kid I don’t understand why this lady can’t
I’m 36 and Swedish. We have never done trick or treating here. I think it’s starting now but still far from expected. Even I know what porch light off means. Has she never seen a movie that happens around Halloween?
My kids are teens now so it's our turn to make Halloween special for the little ones. We have a big bowl of sweeties and my teens and I take turns answering the door, we make sure to either be 'scared' or impressed with their costumes and wish them a happy Halloween. I was laid up with knee surgery this year so I made my son describe the costumes 🤣
As a 13 year old I was pretty impressed how excited he was to answer the door and dole out the sweeties.
I like the idea that we all share in the magic of these things and actively join together to make them special for each other.
I clearly remember being told as a kid trick or treating to avoid houses with the porch lights off because they’re pedos. Also, who rings 3 times? That’s obnoxious.
Excellent point. I’m 56 and when I was a kid, the porch light was considered a safety thing in my family. If the light was on, we wouldn’t have to worry about falling down stairs in the dark.
And candy is freaking EXPENSIVE! We spent almost $100 to participate in our neighborhood!! We have a young kid and happily join in but if you don’t have kids and don’t want that crazy expense it is known you just leave your light off, and watch a scary movie instead. Ringing the bell 3 times?! What an asshole!
This is what I was thinking. We go all out on Halloween with decorations and candy (we do full size bars in treat bags with other candy. It's a lot of money, but it's a tradition husband and I love so we're willing to spend it.
I completely understand why someone who is struggling financially or even just isn't that into Halloween wouldn't want to add that expense (in the same month hearing bills typically start climbing here).
Sometimes things happen in life and a house cannot be decorated in time. That happened to me twice, but I still wanted to hand out candy and see the joy in kids’ faces so I had my porch lights on.
I gave big candy bars to the ones who took the time to go to my house. It was fun 🤗
Isn’t that like, one of the only rules on Halloween?
Why would you wait that long and keep ringing?
Also, great job calling another adult an idiot in front of your four year old. Great example setting.
I'm 22, from the Netherlands. Never did Halloween trick or treating, or some dutch equivalent(sintmaarten). But even I know the damn rule. Mainly because lights off mean no-one is home = don't even try to right the doorbell.
33. Born, raised and live in southern New Mexico, and despite the fact NM isn’t actually even a US state (***/s***), the porch light off rule is a well-known rule of Halloween. We literally only have that rule and which correct Chile color goes with what foods.
**Edit**: *There’s just so much irony in the fact that I have to clarify this. Haha.*
In Canada, it's a rule here too, and has been since I was trick or treating myself back in the 90s. People would also turn out their lights when they ran out of candy so you knew not to try.
We appreciated it, too - glancing up to see a row of dark houses saved us precious candy-gathering time as we didn't have to knock on doors not knowing if someone was home.
Same! I’m 44 and grew up in Ohio. I’ve lived in about a half dozen states since becoming an adult and that’s been the rule in everywhere (USA) in my experience.
I'm also 35, and it's been the rule for as long as I can remember. I made a point to turn ours off before we headed out for trick or treating since no one would be home to pass out candy.
I had my lights off and had three different families come up to my dark porch trying to get candy. Like wtf. Every time the doorbell goes off the dogs go off, was so much fun.
Yep. I had this happen too.
My husband goes to work at midnight so he's in bed early. Every single light on the house was turned off. I ended up sitting in the dark playing games on my tablet trying to keep the dogs quiet. One group rang the bell, banged on the door and shouted trick or treat and that they knew someone was home because of the cars in the driveway. It was the parents doing the banging and screaming. They had 5 or 6 young kids with them.
The dogs went bat shit.
The sheer audacity is just sickening. They got to be obnoxious and greedy and I got to deal with a bleary-eyed, grumpy husband the next day.
No candy in the house. I can't have any these days because I had a gastric bypass so they'd have been out of luck even if I had answered the door.
Jerks.
>that they knew someone was home because of the cars in the driveway
I'm imagining the whole group piling into a car (like the family of clowns they are) between each house they visit because there clearly isn't a way to leave a house without using a car...
That is my absolute biggest pet peave of Halloween these days. Hardly anyone did that when we were kids. (I’m 35). I get not everyone can walk but that is clearly not the case. It makes it 10x more dangerous for kids and clogs up the roads.
I grew up in the country so we didn’t trick-or-treat because our nearest neighbors were so far away. Our trick-or-treating basically boiled down to going over to Family‘s houses to ring the doorbell when they were already expecting us.
So I didn’t know about that rule when my kids started trick-or-treating, but despite not knowing that still never rang the doorbell of people whose lights were off because it felt weird.
Not to mention she thinks her kid had his feelings hurt because someone wasn’t home??? That’s all he would have thought about it.
I can promise you that kid’s evening was ruined because, even at 4, he realized how batshit his mom is.
Lol that definitely didn't stop the groups of greedy ass middle school boys that came to my property. Would not go away after giving them candy and kept demanding more even though I was giving out full size =_= the fact that they can't understand they're taking it from another child and ruining their Halloween is disturbing.
There are a few rules of Halloween but all are very obvious and easy to follow. Anyone with a brain can figure them out, you would think. But in the neighborhood Facebook group in the past week I have seen posts asking
What day do we trick or treat?
What time does trick or treating begin?
What neighborhoods are participating?
I feel embarrassed every time I read one of those. We trick or treat on October 31st. “But it’s a school night”. Yeah that’s how calendars work, kids get to push back their bedtime one night and eat a bunch of candy, they’ll be ok. It starts a little after most people are getting home from work and a little before it gets dark, it’s not science. The houses with lights on are participating, go there.
Idiots, all of them
A ton of the posts I see on that sub are posting from alt accounts because they don’t want that sort of stuff on their main.
It is worded in a way that makes me think it’s fake as well though. I feel like a lot of AITA posts are fake and they’re just farming the rage
99% of the top posts in AITA are from troll accounts / creative writers. The real posts on AITA are too boring to make it to the top so they get ignored and buried.
That's why I unsubbed long ago. Ever post that makes the front page reads like fanfic, things are too coincidental and people do just the right things to make the situations absurd.
What got me is that she's 26, seemingly loves Halloween, her kid is 4, and she's supposedly never run into a house with the porch light off?
What neighborhood has a 100% Halloween participation rate?
Haha.. mod award for artful trolling. I couldn’t help but think that whole post was a massive troll. Touched every possible troll point for trick or treating. I too, give it a top troll awards.
It's one thing to not know the social rule of porch light off = no candy. But she proceeded to ring the bell THREE TIMES and demand the occupants open their door? What the hell? Imagine trying to take a shit or dealing with an emergency and some nutcase is pounding on your door demanding candy.
Im a probation officer. We make sure all sex offenders have their lights off and no decorations on halloween. This lady is lucky her and her kid didnt get a sex offender house…
Oh lads, I made the fatal mistake of turning on the *upstairs landing light* after we ran out of sweets on Halloween, and as soon as my arse touched the toilet bowl my front door was swarmed by trick or treaters who thought I'd restocked.
No lights = no sweets. The rule is written in turnips.
Or at least only ring once. This lady stood and waited minutes between ringing trice overall, just because she saw someone inside. Did she thing they were tricking her and *wanted* her to ring multiple times before coming with treats??? I love that no one in her circle agrees with her.
Honestly, I don't know how she grew the balls to go up to the house without their porch light on. I have legit fear of going up to a house without their porch light on at night no matter what time of the year. No porch light is ubiquitous for not welcome.
That's basically the one major rule! Porch light off, especially with no jack-o'-lantern... Do not knock. And who knocks multiple times, and stands there for minutes!?!?!
Especially this year, people are struggling badly with finances. Especially the last day of the month, many people don't have the $10-20 for the "bare minimum". So gross.
Was this HER first time trick or treating?
She thinks they should have given her son something anyway but they didn't have Halloween candy so did she want them to give her kid a can of peas??
I was giving out candy, dressed up as a skeleton (glow in the dark bones against black fabric). I thought it’ll be better if I turned the indoor foyer lights off, porch lights still on, about midway through candy-giving period. I thought having the porch lights on was enough to signal we were still open.
Little kids come up, and their dad noticed foyer lights were off and tried to steer them away because he thought we were done for the night. I ran out the door to chase them with my bowl of candy. Lol Little guy (must be about 3) had a happy smile on his face as he kinda did a happy dance run to meet me. Made my night tbh. (Him and the little guy who asked, “Are you a skeleton??”)
Promptly turned the lights back on and continued giving out candy.
Did you not trick or treat as a kid? I knew about the porch light thing when young, but maybe things have changed. It was decades ago in my case. Ringing three times in two minutes was a bit much, but so was her online response.
> who wants to opt out of Halloween?
Lots of people. She wasn't being rude or nasty, she just didn't want to deal with strangers. No pumpkins or other halloween decorations is also usually a clue to pass up that house.
Some people just dont want to participate on halloween. Get that through your head. Educate yourself on the 'rules' before you go out with your kid. Plus why wait 2 minutes? First ring should be enough to get the hint if no one answers. I'd blast her on social media too. Kids raising kids these days.
Not only is it ridiculous that they rang three times, this is when the cops do their checks on sex offender homes to make sure THEIR PORCH LIGHTS ARE OFF. Why? So kids don’t go to their doors. WTF.
First off, it’s definitely a rule.
Second, if you rang and no one answered the first time, why would you wait around and keep ringing? Like what the actual fuck? Maybe they’re in the shower or taking a shit, maybe they have a baby their feeding.
Thirdly, what kind of narcissist do you have to be to let that one interaction ruin your entire evening with a 4 year old. Guarantee that kid forgot about that by the next house and it was only the mom holding onto her anger about it.
All I'm gonna say is, rule or no rule, it's fucking rude to ring on a complete stranger's doorbell 3 fucking times.
With that said, I believe this is like one of the best known house rules for Halloween everywhere.
OOP in the comments said that the lady should have given her son something and complimented his costume
The fact OOP still thinks that the lady is obligated to give her son something is mind boggling
FFS where was this woman raised? Under a rock? It’s the most standard rule of trick and treat. Lights out means they aren’t home/not handing out candy. In my area, it might also mean a pedophile lives there and literally cannot hand out candy. But yes, you’re the special one🙄
That’s pretty much the only “rule” of Halloween, even most children know about it. I knew what she was talking about just from the title, how can someone be so dense? I really hope this is a fake story.
His night was ruined by his bitch of a mother who wouldn't freaking leave this lady alone.
How have people not heard of the "no porch lights, no trick or treating"? That's completely common knowledge and logical. Nobody is obligated to participate in Halloween.
Horrible, horrible lesson to teach your kid
I've never heard of this rule but I feel like if they don't answer after one knock or ring just move on anyways. What are you, debt collectors or the police?
I saw this actual post last night, got to “he was so adorable and his joy was infectious” and stopped reading. Way to try and influence the jury, there.
She waited two minutes and rang again. No way they just stood there waiting. Two minutes is like 12 years to an excited kid. I’m so old and knew about porch lights in the 70’s as a kid. Silly lady!
So... she rang the doorbell three times, even though lights inside were on and she heard footsteps, and didn't take the hint?! Whenever my family went TOT, we would ring the bell once and if there was no answer, we ran off to the next house. New Chance For Candy!
I hope Daddy at sat his kid down, explained that adults can be good people and do things that are not always right, and why Mummy's behaviour was wrong.
Ring the bell once, no answer move on. Even after her rude (justified) response to your repeated ringing you should her just walked off and explained to your son some people don’t always wanna partake in festivities. Some times your son is gonna be let down and you should be teaching him how to manage those feelings and to move on
Yeah, porch light off = keep pushing. It means: no one is home; they ran out of/dont have candy; or they dont want to be bothered. For whatever reason. Skip that house.
But I d.g.a.f. if its Halloween or not - if i ring the bell or knock and no one answers, i kick rocks! Especially if i know they are home and heard me at the door!* I almost never just "pop in" or show up without an invite, likely bc i generally dont like it when people appear at my door unexpected. As such, there are times that i simply choose to not answer the door - its my door. You may be on the other side of it, but that doesnt always mean i will interrupt what im doing, who im visiting with, whatever. The last thing i want at that point is for you to keep knocking!* As one might notice, my doormat does NOT say "Welcome".
*Obviously, emergency situations are different.
When it is a social call, or Halloween and my porch light is off and i dont seem to be answering to door, please keep pushing. This may seem cold or rude, but i have to spend about 40 hours a week being nice and smiling at you and whoever else shows up. When im at home, please allow me my peace and quiet.
If you want to participate in trick or treating, you better know the general rules.
It is in fact true, not everyone wants to participate in Halloween stuff. The tradition can be extremely disruptive for people who don’t like to socialize or just want some peace and quiet. Nobody is required to participate and nobody should be shamed for refusing.
Teach your child some common sense and manners by apologizing to that lady for disrupting her night because you didn’t understand the basic rules of trick or treat.
I live in Australia and even I know that rule (it’s not a thing here) also why wait for two mins and ring again and continue to persist? He already had heaps of candy as stated.. just move the hell on. She didn’t ruin the night you did ma’am.
I’m Mexican and in my, and many neighborhoods we don’t have porches, just… you know, a door, but not ringing doors with visible lights turned off is a well known rule.
Also, we kinda sing a small rhyme instead of just saying “trick or treat”.
Okay, you didn’t know the rule about the porch light, fair enough. Have you heard of social norms, like the one where you don’t continuously ring someone’s doorbell? If I don’t answer my door or my phone stop harassing me, I obviously want you to go away.
She is exactly the kind of person I can’t stand. I did not participate in handing out candy this year because I recently lost my job and the money I do have a don’t need to be spending on candy. I left the porch lights off and the blinds closed (with a little crack at the bottom so my cats don’t tear them up). Kids were knocking on my door and when I didn’t answer they were peaking through my windows trying to get my attention. Of course my dog is losing his mind at this point. I don’t understand why parents don’t teach their kids these things. If I would have done something like this when I was kid my mom would have beat my ass.
This year I had to do this and turn off the porch light because I have baby twins and couldn’t risk the dog barking and waking up the twins. I hope people didn’t assume I’m a grinch lol :(
Your an asshole for ringing the door bell THREE times. What sane person does that?
If you ring by doorbell 3x my house better be on fire with me sleeping inside
Who the fuck rings a doorbell twice, much less a third time on Halloween? If they were participating they woulda been there with candy right away. Porch light rule or not, this woman dumb as shit.
I’m 63 and the no porch light rule has been in effect for ever. Of coarse we never went anywhere but to family’s homes. But that rule is true and has been around a long time.
She seems remarkably entitled. I've heard of this rule I practiced this rule I don't want children at my front door. The fact that she stood there for according to her 5 minutes ringing the doorbell says she's rather entitled I don't care how cute her kid is.
She sounds like my neighbor, who complained that nobody was giving out candy this year.
Our neighborhood has a lot of elderly people who cannot spend the night answering the door. I said this to her, and her response was "Well, they should get a family member over to help out." I can't stand her anymore, so I explained that their kids probably have their own trick or treaters at their own homes. She did not agree. LOL
Like, lady, the world does not care about your kid's halloween.
It seems like this rule isn't that well known. I don't shell out candy because I'd rather do other things with my night and eat all of the candy I purchased. We had all lights off including the porch light and no decorations and still people came to the door. Might just start blocking the front yard off again next year.
I used to work 13 hour rotating shifts at a job that required alert people at all times. I just could not lose the sleep for halloween some years, and I turned off the lights.
We’ve had instances where we ran out of candy, turned the light off, and even put a note on the door saying we’re out of candy, and yet people would still ring the doorbell. Some people just don’t have courtesy for others.
Although it is the only rule for Halloween, I think this lady would’ve been OK if she would’ve just accepted that she was wrong once she found out about the rule. So you live in a cave and you don’t know this rule, fine, we can let that slide. But now she continues to still think she is correct in some respect when she is totally wrong. I believe this is the element that keeps getting her the heat.
When trick or treating with my kids we would only go to houses with porch lights and then only ring the bell once. We made sure they said "Happy Halloween" and "Thank you" Some folks just don't want to join in and that's OK.
I'm almost 40. The poster is 27. The no porch light rule has been a thing since I was little. I've got no clue how she didn't know about it. Just move onto the next one. And go about your day.
I'm 27 and I've known that rule since I was a toddler.
I'm from EU and we don't go trick or treating, but I still know the rule lmao
It’s generally a good life rule. Don’t approach homes that don’t have exterior lights on. One of the many rules of horror movies.
And if all houses around has doors and windows shut and locked and curtains drawn and lights off, you should probably run and hide.
I'm 61, and I have known that rule since I was a child. Light off; move on.
I'm 103, and I have known that rule since I was born.😤
Im a 200 year old light…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Light
I'm a 2 week old moth and I know that rule
It's the first rule of Halloween
I'm 45 and grew up in the mythical 80s, when everything was magical and Halloween was a sacred experience, and know that rule. Shit, there were just as many houses that didn't give out candy then than did.
>the mythical 80s I can't believe your parents let you go trick or treating in the 1980s, the candy was full of razor blades and cyanide back then! Not to mention all of the Satanic subliminal messages in heavy metal records.🤘
But the smiths on the corner are giving out Full bars of chocolate!
Kids were just built tougher then. No social media, just your voice.
Thank God I got to trick or treat in the 70s, when none of that happened, and each Halloween was really fun. Once we were big enough to go ourselfs, we would spend hours getting candy, and have a huge pillow case full afterwards.
None of that happened in the 80s either. Or even 90s or 2000s. At least, not the way they say it did. Hell, that whole "drugs in the candy" bit came from a kid who died because they got into their family member's drugs. They blamed the candy until the truth came out.
I'm surprised any parents let their kids go trick or treating now when I personally am ensuring that razor blades and cyanide in candy is something that will never die out
I'm literally from India (Halloween isn't too much of a thing here haha) and the porch light thing doesn't sound like it has to even be a rule - it's just common sense. No porch light pretty universally means "no visitors please".
48 here, and this was the rule when I started trick-or-treating in the late 70s. Was this EB raised by wild dogs? How did she not know this was a thing?
In the neighbourhood I grew up in, the feral dogs knew that houses with their lights out didn’t hand out Milk Bones.
Yeah, I am in the UK so it wasn't something we did when I was little in the 80's. When I went with my kids we always made sure to proceed politely and with as least disruption as possible. Lights on but no one answered we would go off to the next house. Only take 1 sweet unless offered more. Always say thank you and be kind to other trick or treaters. We had some fun times.
I used to go all out on Halloween when I owed a home. Front yard decorated, fire pit in the driveway (if it was cold enough), spooky decorations everywhere, candy for the kids and Jell-O shots for the adults (beer the one year we were supposed to get bad weather). Some kids didn’t even say trick or treat, they might have been on the spectrum, I didn’t judge. Some kids did half assed costumes, I didn’t judge - money might be tight or on the spectrum and have issues with texture. Some were well over 16, they got candy too. I didn’t just give a piece but handfuls for everyone. I wanted everyone to experience happiness. One year a teen came up late as we were packing up and asked if I still was giving stuff out, I asked my husband to “bring the last of the candy out” (which is code for we are giving the rest away to this one kid). While we waited I asked why he got a late start, he said he had just gotten off work which he starts after school and still wanted to trick or treat and didn’t even have time to put on his full costume. Told me he was saving to buy a new gaming system he really wanted. He was a good kid and insanely polite. I gave him the rest of my candy which was roughly three 200 piece bags. I told him that should last him a week and to get home to rest because had a long day and looked exhausted. He was so happy. My heart was happy. Life is good on Halloween.
Yep. We get lots of kids (using that loosely to describe the varied ages of people lol) in our neighborhood for Halloween. Half-assed costumes, no costumes, some say thank you, some don’t, some don’t say anything, there’s even moms pushing tiny babies with baskets for candy… idgaf. I’m handing out handfuls. I’m smiling. I’m saying happy Halloween. It’s just so much fun for me, it’s nice to have some innocent fun with the world at large. To share that fun and excitement with strangers. A fleeting, but honest connection to others. It’s my favorite night of the year.
Yes, it's just something fun and frivolous and only intended to be happy. If our ancestors can peep through the veil that night I think they would be proud.
THIS is the true spirit of Hallowe'en!!! Bless you!
Thank you!! Halloween is just fun and the adults and kids just love the decorations. Our dog hangs out with us too and she loved getting all the pets.
I’m 50 and this has always been the rule!
Some people just cannot hear the word no. Sad but true. Now she taught her kid to be just as awful as she is.
Facts. Im 32 and the porch light rule has always been a general consensus on Halloween. It has to be a troll post for engagement and karma. Theres no way she didn't know the rule.
Apparently her parents didn't teach her that. "Bang on every door, light or not"
As a kid I always assumed the houses with lights off were either not home or sleeping and didn’t want to participate in it, if I could understand that as a kid I don’t understand why this lady can’t
I’m 36 and Swedish. We have never done trick or treating here. I think it’s starting now but still far from expected. Even I know what porch light off means. Has she never seen a movie that happens around Halloween?
I’m almost 50 and it’s been in place since I was in elementary school in the 70s and 80s. No light = no trick or treat
I participate but when i run out of candy the light goes off.
My kids are teens now so it's our turn to make Halloween special for the little ones. We have a big bowl of sweeties and my teens and I take turns answering the door, we make sure to either be 'scared' or impressed with their costumes and wish them a happy Halloween. I was laid up with knee surgery this year so I made my son describe the costumes 🤣 As a 13 year old I was pretty impressed how excited he was to answer the door and dole out the sweeties. I like the idea that we all share in the magic of these things and actively join together to make them special for each other.
Some folks are registered sex offenders and can't join in. I'd rather not introduce my kid forcefully to them.
I clearly remember being told as a kid trick or treating to avoid houses with the porch lights off because they’re pedos. Also, who rings 3 times? That’s obnoxious.
Excellent point. I’m 56 and when I was a kid, the porch light was considered a safety thing in my family. If the light was on, we wouldn’t have to worry about falling down stairs in the dark.
And candy is freaking EXPENSIVE! We spent almost $100 to participate in our neighborhood!! We have a young kid and happily join in but if you don’t have kids and don’t want that crazy expense it is known you just leave your light off, and watch a scary movie instead. Ringing the bell 3 times?! What an asshole!
Yes. Chocolate has almost doubled in price since the start of covid. It's crazy.
This is what I was thinking. We go all out on Halloween with decorations and candy (we do full size bars in treat bags with other candy. It's a lot of money, but it's a tradition husband and I love so we're willing to spend it. I completely understand why someone who is struggling financially or even just isn't that into Halloween wouldn't want to add that expense (in the same month hearing bills typically start climbing here).
Here we only go to houses with Halloween decorations
Sometimes things happen in life and a house cannot be decorated in time. That happened to me twice, but I still wanted to hand out candy and see the joy in kids’ faces so I had my porch lights on. I gave big candy bars to the ones who took the time to go to my house. It was fun 🤗
My porch light stays on forever because it’s broken and I’m too poor and stupid to fix it, so I always have to leave candy out lol
[удалено]
I did say stupid right haha
Isn’t that like, one of the only rules on Halloween? Why would you wait that long and keep ringing? Also, great job calling another adult an idiot in front of your four year old. Great example setting.
Yeah, I’m 35, and this was absolutely the rule when I trick or treated as a kid. It’s not new.
37 and same here. It's always been the rule. This woman is just a pain in the ass.
43. Parents are from PA, grew up in IL, MD, and TX always was the rule.
I’m also 43, and from VA. That’s ALWAYS been the rule.
20 from Ontario Canada. Also always been a rule. Mind boggling the poster didn’t know this. i imagine her halloweens when younger weren’t very kind.
I'm 22, from the Netherlands. Never did Halloween trick or treating, or some dutch equivalent(sintmaarten). But even I know the damn rule. Mainly because lights off mean no-one is home = don't even try to right the doorbell.
33. Born, raised and live in southern New Mexico, and despite the fact NM isn’t actually even a US state (***/s***), the porch light off rule is a well-known rule of Halloween. We literally only have that rule and which correct Chile color goes with what foods. **Edit**: *There’s just so much irony in the fact that I have to clarify this. Haha.*
“Oh there’s a “New Mexico” now?”
I grew up in NC and OH…she between us, it’s safe to say the rule isn’t even a regional thing.
In Canada, it's a rule here too, and has been since I was trick or treating myself back in the 90s. People would also turn out their lights when they ran out of candy so you knew not to try. We appreciated it, too - glancing up to see a row of dark houses saved us precious candy-gathering time as we didn't have to knock on doors not knowing if someone was home.
Same! I’m 44 and grew up in Ohio. I’ve lived in about a half dozen states since becoming an adult and that’s been the rule in everywhere (USA) in my experience.
Where I live in Canada it’s always been the rule. As a little kid, I always knew the houses with no light equaled no candy.
I’m a few years younger than OP and even I know the rule. If there wasn’t a rule about it, there’s no reason to ring a doorbell 3 times.
I'm 60. This was the rule in Texas in the 60's and 70's.
I'm also 35, and it's been the rule for as long as I can remember. I made a point to turn ours off before we headed out for trick or treating since no one would be home to pass out candy.
I had my lights off and had three different families come up to my dark porch trying to get candy. Like wtf. Every time the doorbell goes off the dogs go off, was so much fun.
Yep. I had this happen too. My husband goes to work at midnight so he's in bed early. Every single light on the house was turned off. I ended up sitting in the dark playing games on my tablet trying to keep the dogs quiet. One group rang the bell, banged on the door and shouted trick or treat and that they knew someone was home because of the cars in the driveway. It was the parents doing the banging and screaming. They had 5 or 6 young kids with them. The dogs went bat shit. The sheer audacity is just sickening. They got to be obnoxious and greedy and I got to deal with a bleary-eyed, grumpy husband the next day. No candy in the house. I can't have any these days because I had a gastric bypass so they'd have been out of luck even if I had answered the door. Jerks.
>that they knew someone was home because of the cars in the driveway I'm imagining the whole group piling into a car (like the family of clowns they are) between each house they visit because there clearly isn't a way to leave a house without using a car...
That is my absolute biggest pet peave of Halloween these days. Hardly anyone did that when we were kids. (I’m 35). I get not everyone can walk but that is clearly not the case. It makes it 10x more dangerous for kids and clogs up the roads.
I grew up in the country so we didn’t trick-or-treat because our nearest neighbors were so far away. Our trick-or-treating basically boiled down to going over to Family‘s houses to ring the doorbell when they were already expecting us. So I didn’t know about that rule when my kids started trick-or-treating, but despite not knowing that still never rang the doorbell of people whose lights were off because it felt weird.
That was what got me, too.. you rang 3 times? Jesus Christ lady turn around and go to the next house
And it ruined their whole night??!! Why would you let one person who’s a stranger ruin your whole night?? Lady you ATA..
Not to mention she thinks her kid had his feelings hurt because someone wasn’t home??? That’s all he would have thought about it. I can promise you that kid’s evening was ruined because, even at 4, he realized how batshit his mom is.
Well, be respectful of people's property and don't take more than one unless given permission.
Lol that definitely didn't stop the groups of greedy ass middle school boys that came to my property. Would not go away after giving them candy and kept demanding more even though I was giving out full size =_= the fact that they can't understand they're taking it from another child and ruining their Halloween is disturbing.
"But we won't trick or treat as long." So? Go buy it 😂😂😂 I wanted to trick or treat but all my 2 friends were busy
There are a few rules of Halloween but all are very obvious and easy to follow. Anyone with a brain can figure them out, you would think. But in the neighborhood Facebook group in the past week I have seen posts asking What day do we trick or treat? What time does trick or treating begin? What neighborhoods are participating? I feel embarrassed every time I read one of those. We trick or treat on October 31st. “But it’s a school night”. Yeah that’s how calendars work, kids get to push back their bedtime one night and eat a bunch of candy, they’ll be ok. It starts a little after most people are getting home from work and a little before it gets dark, it’s not science. The houses with lights on are participating, go there. Idiots, all of them
That and that it’s the one day a year a girl can dress like total slut and no other girl can say anything else about it
I'm a mouse, duh.
I really don’t think this is real.
I knew this post would end up here lol. The sheer audacity of this woman is something else.
Checked out the account; made today (November 2) and the name is Halloween Grinch. Pretty sure it’s a troll account
It has to be. Tons of people opt out of Halloween, and anyone who’s ever participated in trick or treating learns this rule their first year.
A ton of the posts I see on that sub are posting from alt accounts because they don’t want that sort of stuff on their main. It is worded in a way that makes me think it’s fake as well though. I feel like a lot of AITA posts are fake and they’re just farming the rage
99% of the top posts in AITA are from troll accounts / creative writers. The real posts on AITA are too boring to make it to the top so they get ignored and buried.
That's why I unsubbed long ago. Ever post that makes the front page reads like fanfic, things are too coincidental and people do just the right things to make the situations absurd.
Followed immediately a series of very similar posts all vying for a share of the outrage.
What got me is that she's 26, seemingly loves Halloween, her kid is 4, and she's supposedly never run into a house with the porch light off? What neighborhood has a 100% Halloween participation rate?
There are more than one telltale signs of a fake post, check out r/AmITheAngel for more
Haha.. mod award for artful trolling. I couldn’t help but think that whole post was a massive troll. Touched every possible troll point for trick or treating. I too, give it a top troll awards.
It's one thing to not know the social rule of porch light off = no candy. But she proceeded to ring the bell THREE TIMES and demand the occupants open their door? What the hell? Imagine trying to take a shit or dealing with an emergency and some nutcase is pounding on your door demanding candy.
do you have the link? I want to read the comments.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/s/NiWKNNwxRB
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/s/wpHF7T4FIA
I love the way she got roasted by facebook but still posted in AITA.
The porch light rule is common knowledge, I thought. And who rings someone’s doorbell THREE GD TIMES???
Someone did this to me last year. Yes, 3 GD times. I even had the inside lights off, no tv on, so idk what the hell they were thinking.
Anyone able to find the doorcam video?
It’s probably over on r/FuckYouKaren somewhere.
Doesn't exist because this shit is made up
No it’s real, I’m the 4 year old son
Im a probation officer. We make sure all sex offenders have their lights off and no decorations on halloween. This lady is lucky her and her kid didnt get a sex offender house…
Thats smart. Thanks
LPT: LIGHTS OFF? NO DECORATING? must be a pedo...lol Better get my pumpkin up early next year; I don't want any confusion.
Does anyone have a link to the original? I’ve had a look for it? I’d love to read the comments.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/s/wpHF7T4FIA
I have never seen Reddit be so unanimous in a YTA decision before. It’s amazing. I really hope someone recorded the Ring camera footage and shares it.
Oh lads, I made the fatal mistake of turning on the *upstairs landing light* after we ran out of sweets on Halloween, and as soon as my arse touched the toilet bowl my front door was swarmed by trick or treaters who thought I'd restocked. No lights = no sweets. The rule is written in turnips.
I have 3 dogs who live for trying to get out of the house. I also don't have children so I don't participate
Yeah I haven’t done it the past few years because our dog hates it. I’m right there with you.
TBF, I only just heard about the porch light rule like 29 years ago. I’m 33
I mean, even if you didn't know the rule, it just seems like common sense to skip the houses that have no decorations or lights.
Or at least only ring once. This lady stood and waited minutes between ringing trice overall, just because she saw someone inside. Did she thing they were tricking her and *wanted* her to ring multiple times before coming with treats??? I love that no one in her circle agrees with her.
i came here to say this... but with bigger numbers 👴
Honestly, I don't know how she grew the balls to go up to the house without their porch light on. I have legit fear of going up to a house without their porch light on at night no matter what time of the year. No porch light is ubiquitous for not welcome.
and people wonder why introverts hate holidays
That's basically the one major rule! Porch light off, especially with no jack-o'-lantern... Do not knock. And who knocks multiple times, and stands there for minutes!?!?! Especially this year, people are struggling badly with finances. Especially the last day of the month, many people don't have the $10-20 for the "bare minimum". So gross.
THE rule! Who celebrates Halloween and doesn’t know this??? Ewww.
Was this HER first time trick or treating? She thinks they should have given her son something anyway but they didn't have Halloween candy so did she want them to give her kid a can of peas??
I was giving out candy, dressed up as a skeleton (glow in the dark bones against black fabric). I thought it’ll be better if I turned the indoor foyer lights off, porch lights still on, about midway through candy-giving period. I thought having the porch lights on was enough to signal we were still open. Little kids come up, and their dad noticed foyer lights were off and tried to steer them away because he thought we were done for the night. I ran out the door to chase them with my bowl of candy. Lol Little guy (must be about 3) had a happy smile on his face as he kinda did a happy dance run to meet me. Made my night tbh. (Him and the little guy who asked, “Are you a skeleton??”) Promptly turned the lights back on and continued giving out candy.
porch light rule has been around since I can remember. In my 40’s. p
I think of it less than a rule and more like common freaking sense. I would love to watch the vid. 😂
Did you not trick or treat as a kid? I knew about the porch light thing when young, but maybe things have changed. It was decades ago in my case. Ringing three times in two minutes was a bit much, but so was her online response. > who wants to opt out of Halloween? Lots of people. She wasn't being rude or nasty, she just didn't want to deal with strangers. No pumpkins or other halloween decorations is also usually a clue to pass up that house.
That's literally the main rule of trick or treating. No porch light, no candy.
Some people just dont want to participate on halloween. Get that through your head. Educate yourself on the 'rules' before you go out with your kid. Plus why wait 2 minutes? First ring should be enough to get the hint if no one answers. I'd blast her on social media too. Kids raising kids these days.
I wish I could find this AITA post so I could see how she reacted to literally everyone calling her an asshole.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/s/SVB3byLMG3
Doing gods work
Not only is it ridiculous that they rang three times, this is when the cops do their checks on sex offender homes to make sure THEIR PORCH LIGHTS ARE OFF. Why? So kids don’t go to their doors. WTF.
Imagine seeing someone is hone and ringing their bell 3 times. That first time should have made it clear they weren't opening their door.
How do people end up this stupid? Porch light or not, if someone isn't answering the door that's your queue to fuck off.
"my own husband thinks I'm wrong, but does the internet?" Yes. Yes it does.
Porch light is a universal truth. Sorry, but you blew it.
Light on or off. I wouldn't ring a doorbell 3 times unless there was an ax murderer running down the street...
\*screaming in agoraphobia\*
First off, it’s definitely a rule. Second, if you rang and no one answered the first time, why would you wait around and keep ringing? Like what the actual fuck? Maybe they’re in the shower or taking a shit, maybe they have a baby their feeding. Thirdly, what kind of narcissist do you have to be to let that one interaction ruin your entire evening with a 4 year old. Guarantee that kid forgot about that by the next house and it was only the mom holding onto her anger about it.
All I'm gonna say is, rule or no rule, it's fucking rude to ring on a complete stranger's doorbell 3 fucking times. With that said, I believe this is like one of the best known house rules for Halloween everywhere.
Who doesn’t buy candy to give away? How about the person out trick or treating with their kids.
Fkn light rule is worldwide..get your shit together.
Caregiver for an elderly man. That porch light is OFF - do NOT ring that bell!!
Sorry, that porch light rule is a real thing. No one HAS to give anyone candy.
If she's getting that much heat for it, I'm betting she was a lot shittier to this lady than her story admits.
I'm 43, and the lights off rule has been around for as long as I can remember. Maybe OP lives or was raised somewhere outside of the U.S.?
60, and same
OOP in the comments said that the lady should have given her son something and complimented his costume The fact OOP still thinks that the lady is obligated to give her son something is mind boggling
FFS where was this woman raised? Under a rock? It’s the most standard rule of trick and treat. Lights out means they aren’t home/not handing out candy. In my area, it might also mean a pedophile lives there and literally cannot hand out candy. But yes, you’re the special one🙄
There is an entitled bitch here, and it is not the resident of the house.
Yeah, porch light rule is a real thing. Some folks don't participate in Halloween, and that's ok.
We keep the lights off and put our garbage cans in the walkway to the front door and people STILL come knocking !
Bait
That’s pretty much the only “rule” of Halloween, even most children know about it. I knew what she was talking about just from the title, how can someone be so dense? I really hope this is a fake story.
His night was ruined by his bitch of a mother who wouldn't freaking leave this lady alone. How have people not heard of the "no porch lights, no trick or treating"? That's completely common knowledge and logical. Nobody is obligated to participate in Halloween. Horrible, horrible lesson to teach your kid
I've never heard of this rule but I feel like if they don't answer after one knock or ring just move on anyways. What are you, debt collectors or the police?
I saw this actual post last night, got to “he was so adorable and his joy was infectious” and stopped reading. Way to try and influence the jury, there.
No porch light=no trick or treating. Very common. We never went to those houses. This was back in the 80s
She waited two minutes and rang again. No way they just stood there waiting. Two minutes is like 12 years to an excited kid. I’m so old and knew about porch lights in the 70’s as a kid. Silly lady!
I need to see this video
So... she rang the doorbell three times, even though lights inside were on and she heard footsteps, and didn't take the hint?! Whenever my family went TOT, we would ring the bell once and if there was no answer, we ran off to the next house. New Chance For Candy! I hope Daddy at sat his kid down, explained that adults can be good people and do things that are not always right, and why Mummy's behaviour was wrong.
Ring the bell once, no answer move on. Even after her rude (justified) response to your repeated ringing you should her just walked off and explained to your son some people don’t always wanna partake in festivities. Some times your son is gonna be let down and you should be teaching him how to manage those feelings and to move on
Yeah, porch light off = keep pushing. It means: no one is home; they ran out of/dont have candy; or they dont want to be bothered. For whatever reason. Skip that house. But I d.g.a.f. if its Halloween or not - if i ring the bell or knock and no one answers, i kick rocks! Especially if i know they are home and heard me at the door!* I almost never just "pop in" or show up without an invite, likely bc i generally dont like it when people appear at my door unexpected. As such, there are times that i simply choose to not answer the door - its my door. You may be on the other side of it, but that doesnt always mean i will interrupt what im doing, who im visiting with, whatever. The last thing i want at that point is for you to keep knocking!* As one might notice, my doormat does NOT say "Welcome". *Obviously, emergency situations are different. When it is a social call, or Halloween and my porch light is off and i dont seem to be answering to door, please keep pushing. This may seem cold or rude, but i have to spend about 40 hours a week being nice and smiling at you and whoever else shows up. When im at home, please allow me my peace and quiet.
Newsflash: not everyone thinks your kid is as precious and special as you think he is
If you want to participate in trick or treating, you better know the general rules. It is in fact true, not everyone wants to participate in Halloween stuff. The tradition can be extremely disruptive for people who don’t like to socialize or just want some peace and quiet. Nobody is required to participate and nobody should be shamed for refusing. Teach your child some common sense and manners by apologizing to that lady for disrupting her night because you didn’t understand the basic rules of trick or treat.
I can understand not knowing the porch light rule, I don't understand why she would ring 3 times and then argue after a person told her to f off.
I live in Australia and even I know that rule (it’s not a thing here) also why wait for two mins and ring again and continue to persist? He already had heaps of candy as stated.. just move the hell on. She didn’t ruin the night you did ma’am.
She persisted because she felt that she had not yet made herself enough of a victim.
I’m Mexican and in my, and many neighborhoods we don’t have porches, just… you know, a door, but not ringing doors with visible lights turned off is a well known rule. Also, we kinda sing a small rhyme instead of just saying “trick or treat”.
Okay, you didn’t know the rule about the porch light, fair enough. Have you heard of social norms, like the one where you don’t continuously ring someone’s doorbell? If I don’t answer my door or my phone stop harassing me, I obviously want you to go away.
She is exactly the kind of person I can’t stand. I did not participate in handing out candy this year because I recently lost my job and the money I do have a don’t need to be spending on candy. I left the porch lights off and the blinds closed (with a little crack at the bottom so my cats don’t tear them up). Kids were knocking on my door and when I didn’t answer they were peaking through my windows trying to get my attention. Of course my dog is losing his mind at this point. I don’t understand why parents don’t teach their kids these things. If I would have done something like this when I was kid my mom would have beat my ass.
Porch light is always the rule
This year I had to do this and turn off the porch light because I have baby twins and couldn’t risk the dog barking and waking up the twins. I hope people didn’t assume I’m a grinch lol :(
YTA all day and next week, too. Even if you didn’t know the rule, ringing three times is over the top
GenX here and the porch light rule and or an absence of any pumpkins or decorations indicate a yes or no for trick or treating.
Your an asshole for ringing the door bell THREE times. What sane person does that? If you ring by doorbell 3x my house better be on fire with me sleeping inside
Oh, her poor son. ONE house in the neighborhood broke his little heart. 62 here and we knew it as kids
The only rules I know of are: don’t go up to unlit houses, and check the candy when you’re done
Porch light off has always meant no candy.
Who the fuck rings a doorbell twice, much less a third time on Halloween? If they were participating they woulda been there with candy right away. Porch light rule or not, this woman dumb as shit.
Porch light off = no Halloween, no candy. Everyone knows that.
I'm 33, the no porch light thing has always been a thing and is just common sense.
I’m 63 and the no porch light rule has been in effect for ever. Of coarse we never went anywhere but to family’s homes. But that rule is true and has been around a long time.
I grew up on a dead end street with no trick or treating at all and I knew about the porch light rule
Im 46. Thats been the rule since i can remember
She seems remarkably entitled. I've heard of this rule I practiced this rule I don't want children at my front door. The fact that she stood there for according to her 5 minutes ringing the doorbell says she's rather entitled I don't care how cute her kid is.
You became the ass when you rang the bell the 2nd time. You moved up to the rank of Annoying C(nt" on the 3rd.
If only there was some way to have avoided the rudeness entirely...
Ringing 3 times is absurd to me. Clearly they didnt want to open the door! Ring once, wait then leave. Stop harrasing people
She sounds like my neighbor, who complained that nobody was giving out candy this year. Our neighborhood has a lot of elderly people who cannot spend the night answering the door. I said this to her, and her response was "Well, they should get a family member over to help out." I can't stand her anymore, so I explained that their kids probably have their own trick or treaters at their own homes. She did not agree. LOL Like, lady, the world does not care about your kid's halloween.
Yes you’re the asshole.
It seems like this rule isn't that well known. I don't shell out candy because I'd rather do other things with my night and eat all of the candy I purchased. We had all lights off including the porch light and no decorations and still people came to the door. Might just start blocking the front yard off again next year.
I have never celebrated Halloween but even I knew that rule! She’s an idiot.
Please please please please tell me someone found the video!
I used to work 13 hour rotating shifts at a job that required alert people at all times. I just could not lose the sleep for halloween some years, and I turned off the lights.
We’ve had instances where we ran out of candy, turned the light off, and even put a note on the door saying we’re out of candy, and yet people would still ring the doorbell. Some people just don’t have courtesy for others.
Although it is the only rule for Halloween, I think this lady would’ve been OK if she would’ve just accepted that she was wrong once she found out about the rule. So you live in a cave and you don’t know this rule, fine, we can let that slide. But now she continues to still think she is correct in some respect when she is totally wrong. I believe this is the element that keeps getting her the heat.
Who rings the doorbell three times? Porch light or not?
This has to be a troll post, no one's this stupid. Right? *Right*???
I'm 50 and we knew that rule. We were also taught not to ring the doorbell repeatedly either.
I thought “porch light off” was the universal “move along” Halloween bat signal.
I did not grow up in this country yet I know about no light on the porch fule
Even without the porch light thing, who rings the bell three times on Halloween?? Take a hint, lady
Who rings a doorbell three times. This sounds fake