What time does trick or treating start tonight? Halloween 2015

All sorts of little ghosts and goblins will be showing up at doors tonight as Halloween trick or treaters visit homes in hopes of a candy haul.

One of the big questions for parents is: when does Halloween trick or treating start – and end – on Oct. 31? That depends on where you live, where you will be trick or treating and how old your children are.

Traditionally, Halloween trick or treating starts at nightfall, though younger children may start making the rounds earlier. In Alabama, sunset tonight is 5:56 p.m. so you can expect a barrage of little ones – and some big ones – around that time.

Here are some other thoughts on how to make the most of your trick or treating:

• Experts advise not to send kids out on an empty stomach to help keep them out of the candy at least for a little while. Apparently, lots of people think of pizza for dinner before they head out - delivery services say it's one of their busiest nights of the year.

• Don't go out too late in the evening. The general rule of thumb is if a house has turned its lights off, don't go knock on the door.

• Different towns sometimes have events or specific hours for Halloween. Because Oct. 31 is on a Saturday this year, there's not quite as much rush to hit the doors early so we're likely to see a later start time.

• Here's a tricky question: When are you too old to go trick or treating? A survey showed 57 percent of the people thought somewhere between the ages of 12-15 was a cutoff line but no one could agree on a specific age. One rule does seem pretty clear, however: if you're old enough to drive yourself from house to house, you're too old.
• Experts on such things – yes, there are people who study these topics – said the best time to go door to door in hopes of a candy haul is 6:30-8 p.m. Surveys show that's the time most people head out, so looks like people are in on the news.