Of Urban Legends and Parental Behavior

Never, in the United States, has a child died from eating poisoned candy on Halloween.  (No, I didn't do my own research; I'm relying on The Wall Street Journal.)

Why then, the insanity around this relatively harmless holiday?

Lenore Skenazy has her own theories.  I think it's just a great case study for effective public relations and communications.  Consider:

• The overwhelming opinion seems to be that Halloween is a dangerous time for kids.  
• The facts do not support this.
• No one cares.

What we see here is that once a narrative takes hold it is next-to-impossible to dispel it, even if it is blatantly incorrect.