We had dinner earlier than usual last evening to be prepared for the onslaught of trick-or-treaters.  Not that there are now all that many young children living on our short street, but there is never any lack of children coming around from nearby streets in the neighbourhood, brought up to the porch by their attentive parents, some of whom also garb themselves in costumes and a general atmosphere of spooky celebration ensues throughout the early evening.

As the night wears on the young children become fewer and groups of older ones begin appearing, festive and eager to have goodies doled out, impatient to move on to the next house.  With the exception of our direct neighbour to the right of us none of the houses is decorated for Hallowe'en other than for the appearance of an uncut pumpkin or a Jack-o-lantern sitting on the porch as indication that this is a house that acknowledges the imperative of handing out loot.

Our direct neighbours, despite that their children are now adults, traditionally festoon their lawn and their house and their trees with hanging white apparitions, skeletons, ghosts and creepy-crawlies of all manner designed to titillate children's expectations of fearsome things that go 'thunhk' in the night.  And a recording of a creepy voice telling tall tales of ghouls and goblins threatening small children permeates their atmosphere.

The pre-adolescent and teen groups of boys who come around diffidently appearing at the door, dressed as they normally do, which in most cases is costume enough, are intent on gathering as much edible junk as they conceivably can, and bursting-at-the-seam pillowcases are the norm for their caches, bumping up against their legs as they proceed.

With the pre-teen and teen girls, it's an entirely different enterprise; they enter the forbidden world of the demi-monde, dressed skimpily despite the weather, make-up lavished on their unblemished youthful faces, giggling and conspiring with one another to entertain themselves and elicit the admiration of home-owners responding to their 'trick-or-treat' calls.

Raja, a Komodo Dragon, bites a carved pumpkin during a Halloween-themed media event at the London Zoo October 30, 2012. Raja appears as himself in the latest James Bond film "Skyfall."   Photograph by: Suzanne Plunkett, REUTERS