After moving to Lewiston from a smaller town, I had hopes of receiving more trick-or-treaters on Halloween. We did get more, but they were older than a trick-or-treater should be, and seldom was a costume even attempted.

This year, my boys, ages 4 and 2, were old enough to go trick-or-treating. My wife urged us to try a different neighborhood. I refused; our small neighborhood behind the Colisee has good-spirited people who suffer the onslaught of too-old, uncostumed candy-grabbers every year. Few places still put their light on in the hopes of making some young child’s night.

My boys were still at the door saying thank you to people who had just given them some candy when at least a dozen kids in their mid-teens (with no costumes) swarmed the stoop. They crowded the door and panicked my small children, flooding in and out like a swarm of locusts with no regard for the fact that they were bumping into children.

A few minutes later, passing by the same house on our way home, we noticed that the porch light was now darkened, and the skeleton decoration that had greeted us on the front door had been removed.

Those teenagers, with no regard either for people who look forward to greeting costumed children on Halloween or for the children themselves, have made it so that there will now be one less light on next year. Or maybe I should say two less, since I don’t think mine will be on, either.

Chris Pelkey, Lewiston