No tricks at this Ohio house on Halloween — just treats. For everyone.
Seeking a fun activity to do with his 6-year-old daughter during the coronavirus pandemic, Halloween-obsessed Andrew Beattie of Cincinnati began looking around the house for ways to keep the spooky holiday alive for kids in his neighborhood this year.
“We took a tube from an Amazon package and got out the spray paint and the duct tape,” Beattie told TODAY Parents.
The end result was a 6-foot candy chute that Beattie affixed to the handrail of his porch and shared in a Facebook post.
“This will be a completely ‘touch-free’ experience for trick or treaters,” the post reads. “There will be a sign at the bottom of the tube showing them where to hold their bags and buckets so the candy can drop right in.”
Within hours, Beattie’s candy chute idea went viral.
“This was just my daughter and I doing something cool and the next thing I know, I have people a few hours later saying, ‘You have 300 shares!’” he said.
The Facebook post, which has been shared more than 80,000 times, has garnered more than 9,000 comments from across the country.
“They’ve been mostly supportive,” Beattie said. “I love that it’s taken off. I tried to respond to them all at first, but it’s taken on a life of its own.”
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What began as a quick COVID craft also solved a persistent porch predicament.
Beattie said he has always known the concrete steps in front of his home presented an accessibility obstacle for trick-or-treaters, but the coronavirus pandemic motivated him to find a solution.
“We knew we needed to come up with something different this year,” Beattie said. “People in wheelchairs or people with baby strollers — whatever the case may be. Different people have different capabilities with their mobility (and) we don't want this to be difficult.”
Beattie’s love for Halloween has been a lifelong pursuit, and it's one he now shares with his daughter.
“I’ve grown up having a little bit of a passion for horror movies, special effects and haunted houses,” he said, adding that a spare room in their home is so dedicated to the holiday that it resembles a Halloween store. “Having a little girl, I’ve tried to change it up over the years, so you might walk in and see a little girl dancing to Kidz Bop with a Freddy Krueger mask.”
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While several Facebook users have criticized Beattie’s social share, he remains optimistic.
“This is a holiday built around covering your face and staying away from strangers,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to get back to some sort of mental wellness. Take care of each other and yourselves and look for ways to be part of your community again.”
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