This is from the British Newspaper Archive. Mentions of the phrase “Trick or Treat” don’t really gain traction to the 1980s.

@MartinKnight_ I’ve seen photos of kids doing penny for the guy. But none of kids in halloween dress from that period.

@alan64hayes Good point.

@MartinKnight_ We certainly didn't. It was a night to stay in, because witches and ghosts were out and about outside. In our Suffolk village it was something taken very seriously - no one went out.

@MartinKnight_ Not a clue, I wasn’t hatched.

@MartinKnight_ I was a child of the 60s and can confirm Halloween was a non event then. We were too interested in doing Penny For The Guy the following week. I have always thought Trick Or Treat became popular in UK in the early 80s following the ET movie

@MartinKnight_ We did in Scotland. Not so much of an English thing then iirc. (My Mum was Scottish and used to do a party for the neighbourhood kids, but there was no "trick or treat" which I think is very much an American phenomenon).

@MartinKnight_ Trick or treating was unknown in our communities in 50s/60s. We'd go to homes we knew & we'd be expected to sing or tell a joke or recite a poem/limerick. We never went to strangers' houses & always got some fruit, nuts or chocolate. Trick & treat is/was US import via movies/tv.

@MartinKnight_ Yes, of course. Why would they not have?

@MartinKnight_ Yes lol

@MartinKnight_ No

@MartinKnight_ Yes! Absolutely

@MartinKnight_ Yes. I remember “dooking” for apples and carving a turnip (not a pumpkin!!) as a kid in Glasgow.

@MartinKnight_ Of course! My brothers and I were allowed to trick or treat until 9 pm. Things are vastly different now.

@MartinKnight_ Yes

@MartinKnight_ Yes

@MartinKnight_ Speaking for where I grew up, suburb of Glasgow, in the 1950s we definitely did we went guising and our Mothers made our outfits and Dads blackened our faces with soot sometimes and it was wonderful!

@MartinKnight_ In the 70s we did certainly. A swede lantern and dressing up as witches. We'd go door to door wishing people happy Halloween and hope for 10p or so.

@MartinKnight_ Yes

@MartinKnight_ We barely celebrated it in the 1990s!