The Booby Trapped Candy Bowl Halloween Prank

A guaranteed Halloween prank sure to trick the trick-or-treaters.

Find a large, cheap bowl of weak plastic or foil, and cut a hole out of the bottom, just large enough to fit a hand through. Take a plastic or rubber glove, like one for washing dishes, and paint or decorate it however you like (long, pointed red finger nails are likely to be super effective). Put on the glove, put it through the bottom of the bowl, and fill the bowl with large pieces of candy – larger portions are less likely to fall out the bottom of the bowl.

When trick or treaters come to the door, present them with the bowl of candy while your hand is hidden in it, with the bowl top tipped forward to conceal the hole in the bottom, and try to keep a straight face. When a child reaches in, poke or loosely grab his or her hand!

 A Variation

A variation of this trick involves a covered box. Paint a cardboard box black, cover the top with a black garbage bag, and cut a hand-sized slit in the bag. Fill the box with whatever yucky things you want, like rubber snakes, peeled grapes, or cooked spaghetti. Also include some wrapped candy, and when the kids arrive, tell them the candy’s in the box. They’ll have to dig around in the mysterious muck in order to get a treat.

Keep a bowl of safe, simple candy nearby too, just in case you run into a child too small to handle either prank.