A number of Virginia cities have strict rules in place for Halloween celebrations, including Chesapeake law that threatens jail time for trick-or-treaters over the age of 12. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
The code lists the penalty for overage trick-or-treating as fines of up to $25-$100 and up to six months in jail.
The section of city code, ratified in 1970, also bans trick-or-treating after 8 p.m., with potential fines of $10-$100 and the possibility of up to 30 days in jail.
The city of Newport News also restricts trick-or-treating to children 12 and under, and adds that "no accompanying parent or guardian shall wear a mask of any type."
Historians said Halloween wasn't widely celebrated in New England for many years due to strict Protestant traditions, but the holiday eventually spread from other states and was a common celebration by the 1950s.
