ABSTRACT
Halloween sparked a connection between all the interests and the more clear-cut, historical theory of The Lonely Crowd. “Trick or Treat” is the contemporary quasi-ritual play and celebration of Halloween. “Trick or Treat” was set aside for the preadolescents of the town, while teen-agers were obliged to celebrate the event at parties. On Halloween, the gift has become the right of every child in the neighborhood, however he or his family is esteemed. Stone might also have said more about the social-character aspects of changes in Halloween, in line with his basic support of Riesman’s theory. He could have argued, for example, that the new victory of “treat” over “trick” went with eagerness to please and fear of personal conflict. Gregory Stone’s tale of Halloween in a midwestern town—Columbia, Missouri—is probably the most entertaining of the many test studies generated by The Lonely Crowd.
