I DON'T agree with J Ashton's comments regarding Hallowe'en.

Yes, Hallowe'en may once have been part of pagan rituals, as was once December 25, but the children who dress up to play trick or treat these days are just ordinary children having a bit of fun. They are hardly satan worshippers.

It is taking it a bit too far when it is suggested that taking part in Hallowe'en can lead a child into occultism, witchcraft and paganism.

As a child, I used to dress up and play trick or treat. I am now a 34-year-old mother of two. I don't drink chicken's blood and I don't dance around a fire naked at midnight (much to my husband's disappointment), so obviously Hallowe'en hasn't turned me into an evil devil worshipper. In fact I was once a Sunday School teacher for a few years.

Yes, Hallowe'en was once shrouded in darkness and rooted in cruelty, just as the history of mankind has always been shrouded in evil and cruelty. Mankind has an extremely violent past, which has been born out of hatred and paranoia. Whilst you could say that as human beings we are still far from perfect, we have come a long way from what we used to be. Hallowe'en has been going on for some time and generations of children have enjoyed it. Our local schools even organise fund raising parties around it, so these days, for most people it is just a bit of harmless fun.

In fact, some of today's religious cults pose more of a danger to our young people than Hallowe'en does Hallowe'en after all just means All Hallows Eve, or the Eve of All Saints Day. The word hallowed actually means sacred, spiritual, blessed or godly. It is only when people start to take Hallowe'en out of context by looking for something more sinister then there is a chance that the interest could perhaps lead to something more malevolent. I personally believe that just as long as Hallowe'en is treated as a harmless bit of fun, without the paranoia, then that is all it will be. Nothing more.

As a parent I am more concerned about the real evil happenings in the world. Our children being abducted by paedophiles, murderers and rapists; this really worries me as it does every parent. These crimes are in no way connected to Hallowe'en and it is these evils we should be concerned about, not innocent children dressing up in costumes to play trick or treat once a year.

J Walkden, Park Road, Adlington.