Halloween candy collection methods can be roughly split into eras.
If your sight and breath were impaired by a rigid plastic mask, you walked around the neighborhood or were driven to more bountiful areas. Around here, you might have been asked to tell a joke or sing a song.
If your options included drawing a Harry Potter scar on your forehead with a marker, you might have instead, or also, gone to a trunk or treat.
Noah and Zachary Zumbach celebrate Halloween 2024. Oct. 31 is Noah’s birthday. (Charissa Zumbach)
Lindsay Dragon, organizer of the Parenting Autism United sensory-friendly Trunk or Treat, is a fan of Halloween. (Denise Perkowski)
At a trunk or treat, loot is gathered from decorated vehicles in the parking lot of a church, business or community group, often in the daytime. Many go beyond candy, with extras like refreshments and music.
They started to appear in the 1990s, often at churches.
Halloween vendors offer decorations specially designed to fit around the opened rear door of a vehicle.
Some are big. Giving Back to the Community closed registration for its Nay Aug Park event at 425 children and 30 trunks. The Wilkes-Barre Twp. Police Department event drew nearly 500 children last year.
Some children, like Zachary and Noah Zumbach of Taylor, get a bit of both worlds.
They trick or treat in their neighborhood, where some families light fire pits or invite friends inside. Zachary comes prepared with a joke. The regional tradition came as a shock to his mother, Charissa, who grew up in New Jersey. Noah will turn 4 on Halloween, so the family will start the evening with cake.
In the meantime, they plan to go to two trunk or treats chosen for their school and municipal ties.
Zachary and his mom say they prefer trick or treating.
“Trunk or treats aren’t as personal, right?” she said. “You don’t know them. You get the candy and move on.”
For some parents and sponsors, trunk or treat has advantages, such as community, publicity and safety.
There are at least 45 in the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton and Pottsville areas.
The Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel is hosting a trunk or treat in partnership with the Scranton police and fire departments Oct. 28.
In Clarks Summit, 4Play Auto Addicts has one Oct. 26, with vintage cars, a firetruck and food truck. It will also sell merchandise at a sale tent.
The IAM Local 2305 Scranton Department of Public Works union is calling theirs a truck or treat. It is Oct. 25, with heavy equipment, a DJ and a “Goosebumps” movie to follow.
The Greater Scranton YMCA swapped its traditional Halloween party for its first trunk or treat Oct. 22.
“Trunk or treat seems to be year over year becoming more popular,” said Meghan Carnevale, mission advancement and marketing director.
“For us at the Y, it is a really fun way to engage our whole community, not just our members,” Carnevale said.
It’s a chance for the YMCA and trunkers to meet the public, she said: “You are learning about community resources that you might not be aware of.”
Parenting Autism United held an event recently. When Parenting Autism United held its first trunk or treat in 2020, organizer Lindsay Dragon was struck by the response.
“The families that showed up were all in tears,” she said. Many said that they had never been able to trick or treat.
Costumes were optional and it is understood that some won’t say “trick or treat.” It was held early in the month, so it can be a practice run for school parades and trick or treating.
It was a drive through event so kids could experience it through open windows. That’s a COVID accommodation that turned out to have other benefits for children who might become overwhelmed or wander.
Some children with autism and related conditions are prone to “elopement,” or wandering. Some are unaware of dangers, such as traffic and water. About seven children with autism die each month because of elopement, according to the National Autism Association.
Halloween traffic is a danger for all children. The risk of pedestrian fatalities is 43% higher on Halloween, compared to other nights, according to the American Red Cross. Children between the ages of 4 and 8 are 10 times more likely to be hit by a vehicle on Halloween than on any other evening.
The riskiest time seems to be from 6 to 7 p.m. The Red Cross asks drivers to limit unnecessary driving through residential areas that evening.
Some parents consider trunk or treat treats to be safer.
It might make it easier to avoid allergens. Act Out Theatre Group is bringing solely nut-free candy and candy alternatives to the Giving Back to the Community event.
Fear of poisoned candy goes back at least as far as the 1950s. Actual cases are incredibly rare and most reports are hoaxes. The recent twist: marijuana-infused candy in packages that closely mimic real brands.
Find a gallery of trunk or treat flyers at thetimes-tribune.com.
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Check out a gallery of flyers for trunk or treat events at thetimes-tribune.com.
YMCA flyer (YMCA)
Radisson Trunk or Treat flyer (Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel)
Trunk or treat flyer (Jenneca Simkonis Memorial Foundation)
Flyer for Clarks Summit Trunk or Treat.
(Sam Senuk)
Lions Club flyer (Lions Club)
Courtdale flyer (Courtdale Police Department)
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YMCA flyer (YMCA)
Originally Published: October 11, 2025 at 12:00 AM EDT