Halloween Safety Tips

Before heading out for trick-or-treating, keep these tips in mind for a safe Halloween:

- Wait until candy is checked at home before eating.

- Feed your child a nutritious snack to avoid consumption of uninspected candy.

- Check labels for allergens and avoid non-commercially packaged items.

- For young kids, remove choking hazards like peanuts, gum, and hard candy.

- Inspect treats for tampering and discard anything suspicious.

For more safety tips, visit https://cctx.info/3NCEyPL.

Texas Cities are Spooking Their Residents and Tourists this Halloween

By Jayme Lozano Carver and Berenice Garcia, The Texas Tribune

HALLOWEEN — Elm Street in this North Texas city is a nightmare.

There’s a phone booth covered in a neon green ooze. When you pick up the receiver, you hear a cryptic message. A sandworm bursts out of a local business’ patio. A cemetery with rows of tombstones is too close for comfort. The courthouse is lit up in a purple light like a haunted castle. If you walk around on the right night, you might see people carrying machines that beep as they search for roaming spirits while others work to end a witch’s reign.

Welcome to Halloween, Texas, the city formerly known as Denton.

Since Mayor Gerard Hudspeth ceremonially changed Denton’s name for October, residents and tourists have something to scream about. For 31 days, the city’s downtown has been transformed into this spooktacular village.

Cities in Texas and across the U.S. have long hosted events to celebrate Halloween, like trunk-or-treats and haunted houses. Denton cast a different spell this year to enchant guests and is the latest in the state to capitalize on people’s obsession with spooky season.

From costumes to candy and decorations, Halloween is a popular and ever-booming industry. According to WalletHub, a personal finance company that studies consumer spending, 73% of Americans planned to celebrate Halloween last year and nearly $20 billion was spent on the holiday.

Zach Grannan, a member of the North Texas Ghostbusters, speaks with kids and shows them his gear on Oct. 18. The North Texas Ghostbusters have set up their headquarters in the Discover Denton shop, bringing all their Ghostbusters gear and items to show off to the town. Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune

Denton — a city of more than 150,000 about 40 miles northwest of Dallas — has tapped into that market this year. The city kicked off its for at the start of the month and has multiple events planned daily through Halloween. The events range from movies at the park to coffin decorating at local businesses and searching for paranormal activity in known haunted buildings. There are decorations all around downtown, businesses crafting specialty menus for patrons, and events that range from fun for all to spine-chilling.

Texans are thirsty for a bloody good time. And other Texas towns have found ways to tap into their history to satisfy that lust.

Cities like Galveston — often considered one of the most haunted cities in America with 8,000 ghosts thought to be milling about since the 1900 hurricane leveled the coastal city — capitalize on these historic tales with ghost walks and more.

In the Rio Grande Valley, people have claimed to see a boy at the Edinburg municipal auditorium. They call the ghostly boy Juanito. He wears a white cotton shirt and sports a mushroom haircut. Residents also have claimed to hear unexplained footsteps and the venue's piano play on its own.

Edinburg also hosts one of the biggest Dia De Los Muertos events in the Valley called “Los Muertos Bailan” which will be held on Oct. 26 this year.

The city launched the event in 2015 and features live performances, a candlelit procession, food, vendors, and an altar that honors deceased members of the community.

The marquee Day of the Dead event draws up to 12,000 people from within the Valley and from outside the region.

"That brings in an economic boost to the city and the region, because once you're here, you have the mall in McAllen, you have a beach in South Padre and you have to go through many cities to get there,” said Magdiel Castle, assistant director of cultural arts for the city.

The Denton County Courthouse is lit purple during the month of October. Denton Mayor Gerard Hudspeth ceremonially changed the city’s name for the month of October to Halloween, Texas. Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune

There’s a lot of interest in events that highlight historical buildings and their ties to the supernatural throughout the state, said Chris Florance, communications director at the Texas Historical Commission. The commission doesn’t keep track of them because there would be too many to count, making it difficult to gauge how much these places impact tourism at a state level.

"You're going to have stories if the building is old enough that someone observed that sort of phenomenon,” Florance said.

They make exceptions when that folklore becomes deeply ingrained in a community’s history. For example, the "Marfa lights" earned a historical marker in 1988 despite no agreement on what the lights are or if they're even real.

The mysterious glowing orbs in West Texas, known as the “Marfa lights” have been spotted on the horizon after sunset. The first recorded sightings stretch as far back as 1883 and have been attributed to aliens, ghosts, or other paranormal causes.

"The fact is for 100 years or more, those folklore and those stories are part of the history of Marfa and so we mark it,” Florance said. "Beyond that, we don't formally track places that are thought to be paranormal.”

This leaves the promotion of these historical places with supernatural lore to local communities. In Edinburg, another site with ties to the supernatural is the old Hidalgo County jail, which houses the Museum of South Texas History.

Host to school field trips, the museum is well-known for its hanging room, where the only person to be executed there throughout the jail’s operation occurred in 1913. Lore says that man now haunts the building.

Francisco Guajardo, CEO of the museum, can downplay the paranormal — he worries about scaring children.

Children listen to clues on a telephone booth landline as part of an interactive installation on the square in Denton. There are three telephone booths located around town that people are encouraged to seek out and solve clues. Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune

“It's more important to me that we get fourth graders coming to the museum than not,” Guajardo said.

Family-friendly events were a focus for the celebration in Denton when officials began planning. Dustin Sternbeck, chief communications officer for the city, said conversations began last December when leaders were thinking about which holiday to celebrate on a citywide scale. Nearby Grapevine is known as the Christmas Capital of Texas, so Denton went for Halloween. This turned out to be a better fit, as it could blend in with the city’s Arts and Jazz and Day of the Dead festivals.

“When we pitched the idea to the business community and city leadership, there was an immediate buzz in the room,” Sternbeck said.

To drum up excitement and tourism, family-friendly Halloween movies like “Ghostbusters” and “Hocus Pocus” are being shown. There also are tours into Denton’s haunted locations and Cirque du Horror, an original Halloween musical.

“The beauty is there’s a little bit of something for everyone,” Sternbeck. “Whether you want to go on a date night or come out with your family.”

Sunnye Knight, director of the visitor center for Discover Denton, said it was a natural fit for Denton, which includes the University of North Texas and a thriving arts community. Leaning on its more recent history, the city helped bring back a once-beloved art installation, The Chairy Orchard.

The orchard was once the personal collection of hundreds of chairs run by a pair of neighbors who assembled the collection between their homes that closed last year. The city commissioned a new Scary Chairy Orchard outside of City Hall. Each “haunted” chair is designed by artists in the community. One chair has an inflatable UFO that beams light down on whoever sits down on it.

Chris Uzzle, president of the North Texas Ghostbusters, heads downstairs after completing a "paranormal investigation" from the Oak St. Drafthouse building on Oct. 18. Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune

Knight said early data suggests tourism is up tenfold. More than 200 people have visited downtown every day since the celebrations started, not including weekends.

“It’s spooky season, and everybody loves it,” Knight said.

Disclosure: Texas Historical Commission and University of North Texas have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/24/texas-halloween-denton/.

Halloween is Just Around the Corner

Oscar Mendoza Jr., Nueces County Constable Precinct 5

NUECES COUNTY, TEXAS - (News Release) Parents of young children, With Halloween just around the corner, please be vigilant and look out for anything that might be harmful.

Just recently, a female was found to be in possession of several pills while visiting an area school. These pills are out there. Monitor what your kids have and check very carefully.

These pills are believed to be ecstasy and are in fact dangerous if fallen into the hands of children.

Sit down with your young children and talk to them about the importance of always showing you or talking to someone if they ever find what they might think is candy.

One Pill Can Kill

By Regina Baez, AgriLife Youth Program Assistant

KINGSVILLE (News Release) - This Halloween holiday, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is teaming up with Kleberg – Kenedy Counties AgriLife Extension Service and District Attorney John Hubert’s Office, to spread awareness on the fentanyl epidemic spreading across our state.  Hubert cautioned, “We want everyone, particularly the children, to have fun during Halloween, but the dangers are real.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration warns the public of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. International and domestic criminal drug networks are mass-producing fake pills, falsely marketing them as legitimate prescription pills, and killing unsuspecting Texans. These counterfeit pills are easy to purchase, widely available, and often contain deadly doses of fentanyl. Pills purchased outside of a licensed pharmacy are illegal, dangerous, and potentially lethal. These risks include overdose, forming new addictions, and traffic related crashes due to impairment.  

Over the Halloween holiday, it is especially important that parents stay informed on this epidemic. One of these most prevalent and disturbing trends currently involves rainbow-colored pills that have been laced with fentanyl and designed to attract younger kids. According to Hubert, “it is important that parents stay informed and vigilant during this time due to the presence of this extremely dangerous drug.”

Safety Tips:

If you’re planning in doing some fun trick-or-treating, here are a few tips to help you prepare for a safe night out.

·        Never accept candy unless it is in a sealed and unbroken package.

·        If you find a substance you believe could be fentanyl, do not touch it. Immediately contact local law enforcement.  

·        If you see someone you believe to be impaired on fentanyl or any other substance, contact local law enforcement. This includes drivers you believe could be impaired.  

·        No candy is worth the risk. If you have doubts, throw it out.

Criminal drug networks are using social media and smartphone apps to flood the U.S. with deadly fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake pills. Learn more at www.dea.gov/onepill

DPS Offers Safety Tips for Halloween

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Texas Department of Public Safety

AUSTIN (News Release) – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is urging ghosts and goblins of all ages to keep safety in mind while having a ghoulishly good time this Halloween.

“Halloween is a time to have fun, but don’t lose sight of the fact that you need to be safe, as well,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “Be especially careful on the road, whether you are driving and need to watch out for children and other vehicles, or you are trick-or-treating and need to be vigilant of traffic around you.”

DPS offers the following Halloween safety tips for drivers:

• Be on the lookout for trick-or-treaters and other pedestrians. Lots of people will be out and they may not be paying attention.

• Don’t drink and drive. Designate a sober driver or take a rideshare or cab.

• Stay alert. Eliminate distractions in your vehicle, including the use of mobile devices. If you’re using a navigation device or app, have a passenger operate it for you so you can keep your eyes on the road.

• Slow down and further reduce speeds in congested traffic and bad weather.

DPS offers these tips for children and trick-or-treating:

• Prior to trick-or-treating, visit the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry, which includes a map of where the registered sex offenders are in a given area.

• When trick-or-treating, look both ways before crossing roads, and only cross at the street corners.

• Walk on sidewalks when possible. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic.

• Travel with adult supervision and stay in familiar neighborhoods.

• Carry a flashlight or glow stick.

• Do not enter the homes of strangers and avoid homes where porch lights are turned off.

• Make sure children know the phone number of an adult and how to call 911 in case they become lost.

• Children should avoid wearing masks with that cover their eyes to allow for better visibility.

• Avoid toy guns and knives, as they could be mistaken for a real weapon.

• After trick-or-treating, take all goodies home for an adult to inspect before eating, and never consume any items that don’t have a wrapper.

• The CDC recommends avoiding crowded spaces again this year, and attending only outdoor celebrations.

• If you do go to a public indoor gathering with people outside your household, the CDC recommends wearing a well-fitting facemask over your nose and mouth.

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