Here's to traditional Halloween

Trunk or treat is fine. Harvest festivals at area churches offer safe and perhaps more efficient alternatives to going door-to-door the old-fashioned way.

But when it comes to Halloween and tricks or treats, we give two zombie thumbs up to mobs of little ghouls and goblins roaming neighborhoods in search of a little excitement and a lot of sugar. The days of tipping over inhabited outhouses or, lacking those, certain livestock might be long past, but the tradition of answering your door and beholding the creative little faces peering up at you will never grow old. The younger ones might go home with the goodies, but we contend that the older witches and warlocks benefit even more from a few hours of door-answering once a year. Their laughter and smiles - without cavities - are all the proof you need.

We won't press the point too vociferously, but traditional trick-or-treating can break down some mounting societal barriers. Neighborhoods crawling with giddy kiddies thaw the frozen notion that good fences make good neighbors. Interactivity, particularly blending younger generations with older, is crumbling like an ancient civilization. Albeit behind masks and makeup, children coming face to face with kind strangers is a powerful exercise in personal interaction and community building. They can't get that on their smartphones. Thank goodness there isn't a trick-or-treat app yet.

We encourage you to keep your light on tomorrow night and bestow upon visitors what candy you can spare. It's going to be cold and possibly wet out there; reward your devout treasure seekers the best you can. Maybe it's good for society, but certainly it's still a heck of a lot of fun.