Creepiest Things to Happen On / Near Halloween

Murder Of Marvin Brandland

In 1982, 69-year-old Marvin Brandland lived with his wife, Ethel, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. On Halloween 1982, the Brandlands were handing out candy to trick-or-treaters who came to their house. They answered the door to a man wearing a mask. He said, “Trick-or-treat. Give me your money or I’ll shoot.” The masked man entered the house and pulled out a gun. He demanded that the couple give him all the money they had in their safe. The Brandlands became suspicious since very few people knew they even had a safe in their basement. Marvin made a grab for the gun. The intruder wound up shooting Marvin in the throat before fleeing the house and inexplicably leaving his mask behind. Ethel was so traumatized by her husband’s death that she died only a few months later.