When I was a kid...... a very, very long time ago..... our parents allowed us to go "trick or treat" (although not permitted to "trick" at all). We were not allowed to dress as anything scary or demonic so we dressed up as some superhero or whatever. ALL it meant to me was candy. And the fun of being out with friends (actually, my parents and sibs ate most of my candy because I've never been too much into sweets). We were forbidden to do that after 12. I really wasn't aware of the "history" of all this - in Europe or the US - that came much later.
My wife, however, was forbidden from this as a girl. Her parents stressed the "dark" history of this. They had candy for the kids who came to the door (they didn't just turn the porch light off and not participate). Instead, they gave my wife and her sibs each some special treat they requested - simply because they were loved.
Since we have no kids (yet, anyway) this isn't something we've discussed yet.
- Josiah