His reasoning? He said he heard from too many single mothers and senior citizens complaining they were frightened by “6-foot-tall kids” showing up at their homes in search of candy.

“When I was a kid my father said to me, ‘You’re too big to be going trick-or-treating. You’re done,'” Mr. Eckert said. “When that doesn’t happen, then that’s reason for the city governments to intervene.”