🎃Trick or Terror: The Halloween Candy Scare of the 1980s🍬

Halloween night, 1980s, the streets were full of ghosts, goblins, clowns and one unshakable fear: poisoned candy. If you were a kid in the '70s and ’80s you remember it, your parents inspecting every piece of candy bar and throwing out the homemade treats.

Did apples contain hidden razor blades? Was candy laced with poison? Was there really anything to fear? Discover how Ronald "The Candyman" O'Bryan and the Tylenol Murders turned a fun night of trick or treating into a nationwide fear of candy.

Join us as we unwrap the truth behind the myths that terrified parents, filled headlines, and became one of America’s most enduring urban legends.

Read the 1970 New York Times article that started it all.

Get all the links and see all the Dear Abby and Ann Landers articles in the show notes on Gen X Archives!

Check out our partner site The Retro Network for more great retro content!

• (00:06) - Welcome to the premiere episode!
• (01:19) - Halloween PSA 1977
• (01:51) - Trick or Treating in the 1970s & 80s
• (04:50) - Humbug Billy and Aresnic poisoning
• (05:44) - Dr. Shyne & Heart Shaped "Candy"
• (06:25) - Helen Pfeil The Long Island Poisoner
• (06:57) - NYT Paranoid Article
• (08:01) - Detroit candy laced with heroin
• (08:34) - "The Candyman"
• (11:59) - 1982 News Break - Poisonous Candy
• (12:32) - Chicago Tylenol Murders
• (13:17) - Tylenol Murder fears
• (14:59) - James Lewis Profile
• (18:17) - Poison candy; Real or Urban Legend?
• (19:23) - Halloween changed forever
• (20:32) - Kids, don't eat the candy
• (21:13) - Wrapping it up
• (21:46) - Share with your friends, or Whatever!

• Gen X Archives - Host

Follow Gen X Archives on X.com | Mastodon | Blue Sky

📜Sign Up for our newsletter

Gen X Archives is independent and AD free because of our wonderful producers. Help keep Gen X History alive by becoming a producer today.

Keep Gen X History Alive!

• Share the glory days: Introduce your friends to the music, movies, TV, and pop culture that defined our generation—they’ll thank you for the trip down memory lane.
• Become a Latchkey Legend!: Help keep the Gen X stories alive! Visit GenXArchives.com/support to donate via PayPal, Venmo, or Stripe.
• Immortalize your awesomeness: Get your name in the credits, a permanent shout-out for your love of all things Gen X.

Support the stories you grew up with. Make your mark today!

Boost the show and see the artwork with a Podcasting 2.0 certified app: Castamatic | iCatcher! | Pocket Casts

RSS Podcast Feed

Thank You to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports the show. We appreciate you taking the time to listen to each episode. Share it with your friends!

Copyright © 2025 · Dragon Moon Media
All Rights Reserved. No Infringement is Intended.
Gen X Archives & Dragon Moon Media production.

Welcome to Gen X Archives, the podcast for Generation X history, news and Pop Culture.

Thanks for listening to the intro episode. The best way to stay informed is by heading over to GenXArchives.com you’ll find links to subscribe to the podcast, our social media channels and you can sign up for the newsletter.

<----------->
Contact: podcast@genxarchives.com
Call in to the Gen X Archives hotline at +1 720.722.1066

Follow Gen X Archives on X.com | Mastodon | Blue Sky

📜Sign Up for our newsletter

Medieval Archives is AD free and AI free because of our wonderful producers. Help keep Medieval History alive by becoming a producer today.

Boost the show and see the artwork with a Podcasting 2.0 certified app: Castamatic | iCatcher! | Pocket Casts | Fountain | Breez | Sphinx

RSS Podcast Feed

Thank You to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports the show. We appreciate you taking the time to listen to each episode. Share it with your friends!

Copyright © 2025 · Dragon Moon Media
All Rights Reserved. No Infringement is Intended.
Gen X Archives & Dragon Moon Media production.