Halloween started off as a harmless, carnivalesque celebration. From cute little kids - dressed in black, witches' hats and cloaks, skeleton masks or make-up - trick or treating, it has degenerated into egg-pelting yobs creating havoc.
I remember hollowing out pumpkins and carving holes for eyes, nose and mouth on the shell, my Amercian friend Barbara (a Ruby Wax clone) making pumpkin pie, and our kids, together with the rest of their London neighbourhood 'gang', going round trick or treating.
After their rounds they ended up at one of our homes, suitably decorated with pumpkin lanterns, brooms and other paraphernalia, tucking into pumpkin pie. We never had any problems with neighbours, the elderly, especially (except for an odd cranky one) used to look forward to inviting the kids in despite the 'trick' and then giving them a treat anyway.
But things have turned nasty, since my son was a child, on the eve of All Saints' Day.
Now this is sometimes confused with All Souls Day, the Christian feast for remembering our dead. The skeleton and the ghoul caricatures used to scare, like Michael Jackson's Thriller - have been completely hijacked by Halloween. Besides what used to be simply 'good' naughty fun is now nasty and mean.
Groups of youths, obviously with nothing better to do, are terrorising neighbourhoods; it has become quite a phenomenon.
On Friday and yesterday BBC Online had lots of stories on how Halloween had degenerated into mayhem and how the police and local shops are dealing with the problem.
I followed the stories with interest but had dismissed using the topic for my column until I read the news yesterday morning.
The front page of The Malta Independent had a story which really embarrasses our local bobbies. It highlighted how our police are ill-equipped to deal with unexpected mayhem.
A group of about 200 young people gathered in a small park in Swieqi the evening before Halloween, said the report. It did not tell us whether the youth were wearing the ghoulish gear, but they certainly were not giving residents and passersby the choice of trick or treat!
It looks like the whole exercise was dedicated to pelting with eggs anything that moved or didn't. Residents nervous about leaving their homes phoned the local police station and what followed must have been funny to watch, except when a mobile squad car allegedly drove too fast round a corner and slammed into a steel rail, narrowly missing some children who were not involved in the fracas.
The first mistake the police made was to underestimate the number and attitude of the youngsters involved. The first response to the residents' alarm produced two officers in a squad car who were also pelted with eggs as soon as they left their vehicle.
They gave chase to one of the egg-throwers and managed to catch him, but his fellow troublemakers joined the fray. It seems that a call was made for support because reinforcements arrived soon after. But according to the report the police could not control the situation.
On Halloween night, however, the police presence was substantial, according to a Swieqi resident I spoke to, and it looks like they were better prepared.
However, if present trends persist, it seems our local bobbies will have to follow procedures adopted by the UK police to reassure residents they will not be harassed.
We are lucky that things did not get really out of hand here, but they did in England. Merseyside police reported that youths were throwing eggs at the home of an elderly couple on the Hallwood Park estate in Runcorn at about 07.30 GMT on Friday.
A police spokesman said the 73-year-old resident chased a number of them away, but collapsed and died a short distance away.
Police say they are treating the death as suspicious and have arrested three juveniles.
In a separate incident the day before, a 12-year-old girl had her hip broken after an attack by Halloween trick-or-treaters.
But egg and flour-throwing seem to be the main activities indulged in. Although this might sound harmless, not everyone can indulgently smile when pelted with eggs, and the elderly find it a chore having to clean up their doors, windows and house frontages the day after Halloween.
In Suffolk police designed a series of posters which were distributed to schools and businesses. One, to be put in windows asking Halloween celebrants not to call, were made available from police stations.
A second encourages retailers to be responsible over the sale of eggs.
"The damage caused by egg-throwing will be treated as criminal damage and those caught throwing eggs will be prosecuted. If found guilty they risk a criminal record," the police spokesman said.
Well, maybe a criminal record is going a bit too far for throwing eggs. But anyone who injures people or damages property has to face the consequences of criminal behaviour.
Police in Taunton planned a major crackdown on Halloween "troublemakers". Extra officers were on patrol in a bid to stop anti-social behaviour or criminal damage.
In past years egg and flour-throwing has been a problem, say police, particularly when the elderly have been targeted.
"Posters have gone up all around the area warning people about the consequences of throwing egg and flour and the damage it can cause.
"We have also worked with local traders to try and make sure they are not selling such goods to young people", said the spokesperson.
Burnham Crime Reduction officer PC Dave Adams said: "Every year we have a problem with youths causing nuisance at Halloween, but this year we are stepping up our warning to stay out of trouble.
"We are working with all of the schools locally to get the message across to those who might think it is fun to throw eggs and flour.
"Action will be taken against those who commit criminal damage and we will not stand for anti-social behaviour.
"What may seem a joke to someone can often be very upsetting for the elderly or those who are easily scared at night."
Patrols around the Burnham sector were stepped up on October 31.
The Co-operative Society, which has around 70 convenience stores and five supermarkets in East Anglia, were refusing to sell flour and eggs to youngsters who staff thought were bent on causing trouble at Halloween.
A spokesperon said it had introduced the ban because of concerns among residents living near its shops.
"We have not imposed a ban on selling eggs and flour to youngsters. It's a case of us being aware of the concerns of the local community," said Mike Faulkner, secretary of the Ipswich and Norwich Co-operative Society.
"We have signs in our stores saying that staff reserve the right to refuse to sell flour and eggs to individuals if they believe they are going to cause trouble", he added. The policy was in operation on October 30 and 31.
In South Wales, it was the busiest day of the day, with the force's control room receiving some 2,500 calls in 24 hours. In 2001 the police in the South West received more than 400 calls about wild pranks.
Officers are particularly concerned about incidents involving the elderly. Last year, one pensioner in Cornwall had to be taken to hospital after washing up liquid was squirted into his eyes.
In Barnstaple in Devon, officers had to deal with more reports of disorder on Halloween than were reported across the whole of North Devon and Torridge district on Millennium Eve.
There were even complaints of groups of children moving cars.
Some elderly people have said they would not answer their doors on Halloween night because they believe some of the youngsters can be intimidating.
The solution is not to stop young people having fun, it is to make them aware that pranks are not appreciated by everyone. And it is one thing pelting your friends with eggs, but a free for all targeting people their homes and cars is simply not funny.
Young people need to know that they cannot go too far with their pranks and that there is a fine line between high jinks and criminal behaviour.
Maybe the answer is to have a huge Halloween party somewhere far enough away from residential areas where the young can vent all thier anger and frustrations by pelting as many eggs and throwing as much flour as they like until they drop from exhaustion.
Competitions and prizes could be awarded to the best egg pelter, etc. and the people of Swieqi would probably not mind throwing in the prizes if they got some peace and quiet.
phansen@timesofmalta.com