Halloween candy costs: Then and now
Take a walk down Memory Lane and check out the prices of popular Halloween candy through the years.
If you've been in the grocery store lately and are reeling at the high price of Halloween candy, you aren't alone.
If you've been in the grocery store lately and are reeling at the high price of Halloween candy, you aren't alone.
Nearly everything used to cost less "in the old days," and Halloween treats are no exception.
Daily Finance, an AOL money and finance site, takes a look back at the prices of popular Halloween candy and how they compare to today.
Tootsie Roll (1896) -- Large Tootsie Rolls sold for one penny each 115 years ago. Today, a 2.25-ounce package can be had for 99 cents.
Candy Corn (1898) -- By the 1920s, this popular treat was selling for 16 cents a pound, and dropped to half that during the Depression. Today, you can find candy corn for as little as 99 cents for a 4-ounce bag.
Hershey's Chocolate Bars (1900) -- These sweet rectangles of chocolate were originally sold for five cents, and you could still buy a giant Hershey's bar for just a nickel until 1969. Today, a giant bar costs $2.29.
Baby Ruth (1921) -- This chocolate-peanut-caramel confection originally cost just five cents. Today, The king-size version goes for 99 cents.
Milky Way (1923) -- Created by confectioner Frank Mars, these chocolate malt nougat-coated bars were originally priced at just five cents. Today, they sell for around 67 cents.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (1928) -- Originally, you could buy Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for a penny, two cents or five cents each, depending on size. Today, a package of two goes for about 89 cents.
Snickers (1930) -- Now the world's best-selling candy bar, Snickers originally sold for 20 cents. The average price of this chewy confection today is 75 cents.
3 Musketeers (1932) -- Like many candy bars at the time, 3 Musketeers bars originally sold for five cents. While prices vary today, the going price seems to be 89 cents.
M&M's (1941) -- Originally packaged in a tube for U.S. soldiers, this treat sold for about five cents a tube or bag. A bag these days averages about 69 cents.
SweeTARTS (1963) -- The colorful sweet-and-sour little candies, about the size and shape of a penny, originally sold for five cents a package. Today, you can expect to pay about 89 cents.
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (1971) -- Sweetened with natural flavors for the first time, Jelly Bellys originally sold for $2 a pound. Today, you can buy a 1.6 ounce box of 20 flavors for $1.25.
Skittles (1981) -- These colorful, sweet and juicy candies debuted in America in 1981. At that time, they sold for 88 cents per small bag. Most small bags still go for around 88 cents.
Dove Chocolate (1992) -- Nine years ago, you could buy an 11-ounce package of milk or dark Dove chocolate candies for $3.29. Today, you'll pay about $4.79 for a 9.5 ounce package.
The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays dates back to the Middle Ages and includes Christmas wassailing.
The custom of wearing costumes and masks at Halloween goes back to Celtic traditions of attempting to copy the evil spirits or placate them.
Guising, or going from home to home in disguise, at Halloween in Scotland is first recorded in 1895, when masqueraders in disguise carried lanterns made out of scooped out turnips and were rewarded by homeowners with cakes, fruit and money.
The practice of Guising at Halloween in North America is first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood.
