Masses of children fill the streets of Cockle Bay, Auckland, for Halloween

Hundreds of children dressed in their best Halloween costumes flooded the streets of Cockle Bay in Auckland this evening to trick or treat.

Cockle Bay local Tim Stubbins estimated at least 3000 people young and old were out tonight hoping to visit a special house that went all out for the occasion.

“So what happened was a neighbour started decorating his house and he gets really into Halloween and Christmas and it started to build up,” Stubbins said.

“He’s turned it into like a massive event and every year he makes it bigger and better.”

Stubbins said it began about three years ago but at that time only those from the surrounding streets joined in.

Over time, people from around East Auckland got wind of the decorations and flocked to the area to walk through the man’s yard.

“It was like watching a movie,” Stubbins said.

The best costumes in his opinion included a family dressed as characters from the movie Shrek, others looking like young Labour politicians, and there were many ghosts, witches and pumpkins.

The tradition of trick-or-treating dates back to 16th century Scotland where children dressed in disguise (guising) and went door to door to get small food gifts for their Halloween party.

It developed in North America where lollies were sought as insurance against a practical joke.

If you thought things were out of hand with the practice these days, here’s a description from 1917 in the Sault Daily Star in Marie, Ontario: “Almost everywhere you went last night, particularly in the early part of the evening, you would meet gangs of youngsters out to celebrate... ‘Tricks or treats’ you could hear the gangs call out, and if the householder passed out the ‘coin’ for the ‘treats’ his establishment would be immune from attack until another gang came along that knew not of or had no part in the agreement.”

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.