Your Neighbors' Homes: Trick-or-Treating Memories?

Other people's homes always felt mysterious and strange to me as a child; perhaps I just couldn't yet comprehend that people actually lived their own disparate lives apart from mine. But on Halloween, this perplexing concept was always brought to the fore as neighbors opened their doors one after another, offering quick peeks into their private worlds. Do you have memories of these fleeting glimpses of your neighbors' homes?

Perhaps it can be said that some kids, over the years, develop a mental trick-or-treating map, whose geography is based not on street names or house numbers, but on what kind of experience to expect on Halloween. One grumpy neighbor always doles out toothbrushes; another offers a bowl of full-size Snickers; at the corner house, a haunted hallway awaits. But what I remember best is the little voyeuristic thrill of getting a peek inside the homes of neighbors we didn't know.

One house, the outside of which was beige and unassuming, had a bright red hallway—blood red, even—that kind of gave me the creeps. Another had a large mirror hanging opposite the door, where the sight of myself in costume always shocked me. Yet another always smelled like someone had just scrubbed the whole place down with Murphy's soap. And the biggest house on the block, which was rumored to shelter some kind of cult, had a dim foyer packed full of fake plants.

On the eve of the big day, will you share your memories of Halloween glimpses into your neighbors' homes?

(Images: Flickr member tomeppy, licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (13)

Being a kid in NYC sucked on Halloween. Trick or treating in an apartment building, in well-lit hallways, just doesn't have the magic.

My husband's favorite trick-or-treating story to tell is when he and his friends (around age 9 or 10) knocked at the home of the Yeti (their term of endearment for the large, reclusive, hairy neighbor who lived on the corner). Yeti opened the door, scrounged around for some candy for a few moments, eventually found some and all the while, porn was playing on the tv in front of them.

I loved to look in my neighbors homes LOL. We would make our rounds based on the houses.

Last year we took our kids to my old neighborhood with 100= year old houses with huge trees cracked sidewalks and beautiful architecture. It brought back so many memories I just soaked it up and walked so slow the kids were trying to hurry me up.

The dentist across the street who handed out toothbrushes with his name on them was by FAR cancelled out by the house down the street that set up tables and tables of doughnuts and hot apple cider. (this was obviously pre-candy tampering era!) But my biggest thrill was going to the house of the couple who resembled Mr. and Mrs Claus. It was so delightful to imagine Santa and his wife celebrating a different holiday along with us mere mortals!

An elderly couple in our neighborhood always invited all the trick-or-treaters into their front hall, where they'd bring out a huge platter of change and scrape a few dimes into each kiddo's goody bag. I knew this stop on the Halloween route was special, but not just because of the unusual treat. It stood nestled amid a streetful of typical ranch houses, but wowed me (even then) with it's tall, tall ceilings and black and white tiled floors in the huge foyer. That floor always stood out in my memory and probably influenced my love of a checkered black and white floor (set on the diagonal). I have the same in my kitchen now.

One of the oddest memories I had as a kid was there was this woman who had decorated her entire living room with american flags. She would only allow a certain amount of kids inside at a time, and we all had to sing the National Anthem before we got our treats. Kids outside would look in and laugh at the kids inside who were singing, but moments later they were doing the same thing. The whole experience was incredibly odd.

oops - "its" tall, tall ceilings -- misplaced apostrophes bug me : )

I remember peering through the plastic mask of the devil I was, dripping with sweat from my brow, longing for the cavity inducing delights of the Reese's Pieces my old neighbors always handed out. Even at the age of 7 or 8 I remember looking beyond into their home that was so early '60s it must have been decorated that way once and never touched again. The Danish modern lines, the jewel box tones of the flocked wallpaper, and the bright green shag rug called my name.
I have included that style into my adult life, but much more modern and clean. Not so much a fan of the smoke billowing from the old couples mouths as the cigarette dangled lightly between their lips as they gave my an extra 2 packets of candy, knowing I was their next door neighbor and always "such a good kid".

God, if they only knew...

I have very clear memories of a particular house just a block or so from the house I grew up in, which had a high fence facing the street and a narrow gate; Halloween was the only chance we got to see the enclosed front yard, which was a beautiful, serene, Japanese-style garden. The way from the gate to the front door was a raised path made of narrow wood planks, and there were areas with gray stones and a small pool. It was totally unlike the other suburban yards I was used to, and it blew my mind. I'm sure those memories still inform my real-estate fantasies.

I've really enjoyed all of these comments! Thanks for sharing your stories. How fun they all are.

I always peered into the hallways and marvelled over how odd everyone elses' homes looked (becuase the decor was not identical to my parents home that was filled to the gills with antiques).

I also always noticed the unusual candies I accumulated on my annual trek. My mother bought particular candies that she preferred (snickers, peppermint patties). I thought it was unusual to get candy corn and taffy pops.

I was always intrigued by how differently families lived even though they were on the same street.

our neighbors who lived their the entire year with haunted house decor and always put on a great show every year had a sign up that this is their last halloween doing it.... they lost all their money in a ponzi scheme and lost their house. My brother, who's a jerk, cried. Their house, spooky and overgrown will be missed.

A lot of homes in my neighborhood had a country-ish decor, roosters and baskets all over the place. Also, a lot of 70s motif... bright, slightly shaggy carpeting, wood paneling, interesting "groovy" lamp shades, dream catchers on the living room wall, tweedy-looking sofas.

I always felt ill-at-ease inside neighbors' homes, even if it was just inside the foyer while they got the candy bowl. I'm still not a huge fan of being inside someone else's house, unless they are a very close friend or family.