5 Silly Halloween Laws to Make You Scream
Some laws are just dumb. Some are a little funny. Then there are those passed to combat the dangers of Halloween that are so stupid they might make you scream.
Here is a survey of silly rules around the nation that attempt to regulate various aspects of Halloween. From trick or treating ages and hours to appropriate costumes to use of silly string, lawmakers around the nation have thought of almost everything.
Silly Stuff Around the Nation
Here are five of the silliest Halloween laws in the United States:
1. Limited Trick or Treating in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: On Halloween, children may only go door to door collecting candy between 6 and 8 p.m. If Halloween lands on a Sunday night, the kids must go trick or treating on October 30. Failure to comply subjects Rehoboth citizens to a $150 fine.
2. Trick or Treating Age Limit in Belleville, Missouri and Boonsboro, Maryland: High school students better have alternative plans for Halloween, as they are barred from going trick or treating in Belleville or Boonsboro. The cities have decided that candy collection is just for kids, a category which ends at age twelve. Teens need not apply.
3. No Silly String in Hollywood, California: Not known as the world's most sensible city, Hollywood has passed a law banning the use of silly string on October 31st until noon on the following day, November 1. The law will keep the streets of Hollywood string-free for Halloween, which is apparently a major priority.
4. No Masks in Dublin, Georgia or Walnut Creek, California: Although Halloween is famously a holiday for disguising oneself as someone else, there are some places where that is just not okay. In Dublin, residents are barred from wearing masks, hoods, sunglasses, or anything else that could hide their identity. They face a night in jail and fines for failure to comply.
Meanwhile, residents of Walnut Creek will have to seek a permit from the sheriff if they wish to wear a mask. Roaming free on Halloween with a mask and no permit subjects these Californians to fines and possible jail time.
5. No Clergy Costumes in Alabama: All Alabamans face this restriction on their creative expression. So, for all those who were planning to go as sexy nuns or promiscuous priests, time to cut two holes in a sheet and go as a friendly ghost. The penalty for dressing up as a clergyperson in Alabama is jail time and a fine.
Related Resources:
- Find a Local Lawyer (FindLaw Directory)
- Top 3 Halloween Lawsuits of All Time (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Beware Pot-Laced Candy, Denver Police Warn (FindLaw Blotter)
- Never Mind the Zombies: 5 Truly Frightening Halloween Lawsuits (FindLaw's Insider)