The last time we really celebrated Halloween was on the 31st of October 2005.

My wife and I had both grown up and found our place in a small, friendly neighborhood.

It was full of families that loved the fun tradition of trick-or-treating.

Each year, dozens of tiny monsters would pour out onto the street, looking for all sorts of candies

to fill their bags. Linda and I were thrilled when our own son, Matt, finally grew old enough

to partake himself. And at the ripe old age of five, we accompanied him on his first

journey into the night, making sure he'd stay safe. He was a bit nervous at first, seeing all the

masked children running about, some jumping out from bushes and futile attempts at scaring their

friends. But he quickly came to enjoy the sight. We dressed him up as a tiny version of death,

with a minuscule scythe made from wood. He'd swing it around clumsily, more often than not,

hitting himself in the head. Together, we made our way from house to house,

watching as Matt's bags slowly filled up. Before we'd even made it halfway through,

we knew there would be no way he'd finish a fraction of the candy without getting a tummy ache,

meaning I'd have to find a way to sneakily claim some of his treasure for myself. A lesson in

sharing, perhaps. As the clock struck nine, it was the high point for the kids. Most were running

on a scheduled curfew that would take effect at ten, meaning there was precious little time to

knock on as many doors as possible. I took note of a particularly good costume that looked like a

demon, full on with wings and a tail swinging with each step. That temporary distraction was all

it took. My wife had just turned to say goodbye to one of the neighbors, and as we reverted our

attention to Matt, he was just gone. We didn't take it too seriously at first. We figured he was waiting

around a corner, preparing to jump out and scare us. But as we called his name, he still didn't respond.

Matt, then to call out, getting more distressed by each second. I ran around the houses,

...