>but it ruined treat or treating for kids
Seems to me it started the thing where parents went along with kids on Halloween. Before then it wasn't to cool to have your parents tagging along, Toddlers were different, of course, but at 6 or 7 it was free range. Older siblings would also take outf the little ones for a couple of streets, too.
It also put tampered down the trick part. Soaped windows, toilet paper, egging cars were frequent, at least in my typical suburb in the NE. Payback night for bitchy shopowners.
I do remember Unicef, but it wasn't that popular a thing because you were after candy. It was another thing like the , "Eat all your food because kids are starving in China", line your parents used. No one gave a shit, propaganda doesn't work when kids are focused on candy.