Well, some towns in MA have designated trick or treating time, so people are aware of when the kids will be out and you can be ready. Sometimes, this happens if there are other events going on, but it has nothing to do with religion, as you all know, we are heathens here . There's usually some kind of special town celebration to go along with this.
I really don't like Halloween. When did this become a holiday that adults celebrate and go nuts over for a month? It's like another excuse to get drunk.
I would say I am getting old, but I remember feeling like this in my twenties and thirties... first I thought it was something particular to AZ, but no, it's the same here. It just didn't happen when I was a kid.
I enjoyed seeing the kids come to my door in our last neighborhood, where we lived on a cul de sac. But here, no one comes up the hill, let alone up our driveway. We moved into our house on November first five years ago, and spent the night of the 31st in the "haunted" room of the Colonial Inn. I didn't see any ghosts, though.