When University of Memphis student Jonathan McCarver was a kid,his parents inspected his Halloween candy before he could eat it,looking for suspicious hues and embedded pin needles.
"They always checked," the sophomore mechanical engineeringmajor said. "But they let up when I was older because they figuredI could see if a razor blade was sticking out of a piece ofcandy."
Many cautionary tales about October and Halloween -- from candytampering to gang initiation tales -- are either grosslyexaggerated or as fake as plastic ghosts, according to experts.
Steve Shular, Shelby County Sheriff public information officer,said none of the officers he talked to could remember any instancesof candy tampering in the past several years.
According to the myth-debunking Web site, www. snopes.com, whichhandles everything from urban myths to computer virus scares, thereare only 80 documented cases of objects inserted into food onHalloween, and almost all of them were hoaxes or pranks. Only 10resulted in even minor injuries, and only once did someone requirestitches.
Poisonings are even less frequent. A 4-year-old died in 2001after ingesting candy, but the candy had nothing to do with herdeath.
Only in a few rare cases in which children died after eatingcandy was the candy ever blamed as the cause of death.
In one case where the candy was contaminated, Ronald O' Bryanwas convicted and executed for lacing his son Mark's Pixie Stixwith cyanide, according to the Web site.
Another urban legend that usually surfaces during the fallconcerns gang initiation rituals.
Since the early '90s, usually in the last week of September orthe first week of October, warnings, rumors and e-mails circulate,forewarning of gang initiation rituals. The most often-told talewarns that flashing one's headlights at dark cars on the roadprompts murder by gang initiates.
"There is no data indicating October, or any other month or timeof year for that matter, is set aside for gang initiations," saidMaj. Ronnie Booze of the Metropolitan Gang Unit, a task forcecomprised of officers from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, theMemphis Police Department and the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation.
But despite the mostly-untrue urban myths, parents still need tobe careful, Shular said, and police will be on high alerttonight.
Parents should accompany their children while trick-or-treatingand inspect the candy when they get home, he said. Additionally,Shular recommends parents dress their children in brightly colored,flame-resistant costumes.
"It just seems like there are fewer and fewer kids out everyyear," he said. "Families are finding safer things to do."
Representatives from the Sheriff's Department said they expectthe usual bag of tricks tonight -- pranks, drag racing, eggthrowing and vandalism. Additionally, since Halloween falls on aFriday this year, DUI officers will be out in larger numbers thanusual.
"Lots of adult parties go on -- and lots of times with alcohol,"Shular said.
