Typical memories. But as I recall, the special excitement of Halloween didn’t come from candy or costumes or dark, whispery streets. The overwhelming thrill came from going out of the house at night and wandering freely around the neighborhood with no parents.

Halloween was a night of incredible freedom.

I’ve written dozens of Halloween books for children, and I try to capture those memories and that feeling of liberation. So it was alarming to think that adults were taking the holiday away from kids. Was it really happening?

I walked into the Barnes & Noble in my neighborhood and spotted a table of Halloween-themed books near the front. Sure enough, they were all for adults:

“Halloween Collectibles Price Guide”

“Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night”

“The Original Duct Tape Halloween Book.”

Duct tape? Really?

Farther down Broadway, I saw a Halloween costume store. Yes, you guessed it — there were no princess costumes with sparkling tiaras, no duck costumes with fuzzy tails. I saw a lot of flimsy negligees as well as studded black leather outfits with handcuffs and whips. A popular item seemed to be fakeblack, curly chest hair for men.

I returned to my apartment disheartened. Perhaps in a few years, I would write a 10-year-old character who described his Halloween like this:

“Best Halloween ever! First, Mom and Dad let my sister and me help decorate the house for their party. Then, they said we could help them get into their costumes! Totally awesome!”

I fretted about this for days, the end of Halloween as I’d known it. And then I happened to eavesdrop on a group of kids waiting in my lobby for their school bus.

They were talking about their Halloween costumes. One boy said he was going to be an iPhone with a lot of apps up and down his front. Another boy said he was going to wear two fake heads, one on each shoulder, and go as triplets.