Think Before You Treat: 3 Spooky Halloween Laws

legal statuteYou could say that the Senate is a bit of a graveyard. After all, there are over 300 bills waiting there for action, but only 33% will be enacted by Congress for December in the first year of a session. There’s also checks and balances to consider, too. After a proposed amendment makes it all the way through Congress, it must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states. That’s a lot of federal statutes falling into their graves.

Even scarier are some of those laws that actually do make it out alive. Here are just a few spooky legal statutes recent law research found!

No Priest Costumes in Alabama.
It’s not just certain towns and cities that have legal statutes taking some of the fun out of Halloween. There are state rules that do it, too. Take one of Alabama’s state statutes: Section 13A-13-4 says that “Fraudulently pretending to be clergyman” will get you arrested and fined.

No Unlicensed Trick-or-Treating.
For some reason, legislators in Walnut, California felt it necessary to require people to get a permit to wear a mask or any disguise of any type on a public street. This means that kids who live on private streets can go trick-or-treating, but if you live on a public street, better go get your permit… or else.

No Trick-or-Treating At All.
Believe it or not, there are legal statutes out there that forbid people above a certain age from trick-or-treating. Bellville, Missouri had one of these rules. The Mayor signed an ordinance banning anyone past the eighth grade from going around asking for candy in public, AKA trick-or-treating. He believed that Halloween “is for little children.” Chances are his house didn’t come out of mischief night unscathed.

If you know of any other spooky, scary, (or dumb) Halloween laws, feel free to share them in the comments.