Hi. My name is Michelle, and I am 20 years old. In other words, I am Too Old To Trick-Or-Treat. I have taken the time out of my day to write this article because I know the public needs this information. Every year when October comes around, I feel fear creep back into my soul as I realize that people over the age of 12 might stop by my house and attempt to get my candy. Even the thought of this event occurring chills me to the bone, which is why I am writing this article: some people don’t realize that they are just too old for trick-or-treating.

The idea of people my age or, and it sickens me to even say it, older, trick-or-treating absolutely disgusts me. It saddens me that people think that they are allowed to put on a costume and go outside to get candy on Halloween.

The only way I can justify something like this happening every year is that some people just aren't raised right. I have come to realize that some people just aren't parented properly, and that is why they do something so horrifying. I’ve tried to contact the parents of these miscreant 17-year-olds that stop by my house on October 31 and express my anger towards how they parented their children, but so far, people aren’t listening. I can only hope that this article will be my last attempt, and after this, it won’t happen anymore. I just don’t know that my 20-year-old heart can handle it much longer.

Don’t get me wrong--I loved trick-or-treating. But I stopped that nonsense when I was 12 like a good little girl. Trick-or-treating is not an adult activity. Just as a 10-year-old should not be watching The Exorcist, someone above 12 should not be trick-or-treating.

It’s inappropriate. It’s crude. Quite honestly, it’s offensive.

To the people who think it’s okay to trick-or-treat once you’ve become a teenager, think about the children you are hurting by going door to door on Halloween. You are literally taking candy away from children. What child deserves that? Not even the worst, most disgusting, spiritless child deserves to have their trick-or-treating candy taken away from them. Because they are younger, they deserve it more than you. Additionally, I don’t understand why you aren’t more worried about your health as an elderly 13-year-old. Don’t you think your body is a little less capable of digesting chocolate once you hit 13? Shouldn’t you be a little more careful?

It doesn’t matter whether or not your costume was homemade and you look exactly Winnie the Pooh. Adults should never dress up as childhood cartoon characters! It doesn’t matter that you spent all of your free time in the last two weeks making a costume and another kid just went to Party City to buy one: they deserve this candy more than you.

There is something about putting on a costume and walk around in the crisp, cold autumn air and going door to door for candy that is childish. Watch out, because if you come to my door this Halloween, I will say, “Aren’t you a little too old to trick-or-treat?”