If you want to have some fun with trick-or-treaters, you might do what my nephew did one year when he was a teenager.

First, he persuaded his parents to turn off all the lights and pretend no one was home.

Next, near the front door, he placed decorations and a bench with what seemed to be a scarecrow sitting there holding a bowl of candy in its lap. This was meant to be an invitation to trick-or-treaters: “Sorry, we’re not home, but we left some treats here for you. Come help yourself!”

It worked. People approached to take some candy. But...

The scarecrow was really my nephew in a costume and mask. When the trick-or-treaters got close enough, he’d leap up to personally offer them a treat. And he’d scare the bejeebers out of them. My sister and her husband were peeping through the curtains, and she said they were dying of laughter.

It was a great trick.

This would probably work with any kind of costume – witch, ghost, pirate – but not clown. Do not dress up as a clown this year. Clowns are creepy.

— Sue Burke