In 1974 Ronald Clark O’Bryan did the unthinkable and killed his own child. He drugged his Halloween candy, and since that year, Halloween has never been the same. There is now an ever-present fear of children being poisoned at random on Halloween night. I wanted to write this Op-ed to show parents that they do not have to be so fearful. My hope is that I can de-bunk some of the urban legends surrounding one of the best holidays of the year.
My audience is mainly American parents, but also Americans in general. This topic is such a big “threat", so it is good to shed some light on the truth. I wrote this op-ed semi-informally. I was able to voice my opinion and not have to always worry if my language was too casual. I tried to state the facts clearly, and give supporting information, to make a strong argument. However, I was able to put in a sarcastic comment here and there, which gave the op-ed more
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Mr. O’Bryan laced his sons Pixie Stix candy with cyanide, killing him. This became the most infamous case of poisoned Halloween candy. Because of this crime, Mr. O’Bryan earned the title of “The Man Who Killed Halloween” or the “Candy Man Killer”. The incident sent a wave of shock through American families, mostly parents, in every state, not only Texas. This crime instilled the fear of poisoned candy being passed out at random on Halloween, and the fear still remains. Although people argue every year that children will suddenly become the victims of a crazed poisoner on the loose, that is just not the truth. Over years, and years, it has been proven that this has never been a threat. The cases that are brought in turn out to be hoaxes, targeted attacks, or a prank gone wrong. There is simply no evidence to lead to the conclusion that every year, the sweet old lady on your street could be handing out snickers bars injected with ant