The local Maycomb ladies decide to have an organized Halloween festival in the high school auditorium to prevent adolescents from pulling pranks and creating mischief around town like they did the previous year. Scout mentions that in the past, Halloween was a completely unorganized affair in the town of Maycomb: the children were free to roam throughout the community, collecting candy and causing mischief.

On the previous Halloween, several "wicked" children pulled a humorous prank on Sarah and Frances Barber. On Halloween night, the children waited until the Barber sisters were sound asleep before they snuck into their living room. The children ended up removing every piece of furniture from their living room and placing it in their basement. The next day, the Barber sisters informed the local authorities about the "robbery," and several bloodhounds located the furniture in their basement.

Following last year’s prank, the Maycomb ladies agreed that things would be different and decided to hold an organized Halloween festival in Maycomb's high school auditorium in order to prevent any further acts of mischief.

The children of Maycomb enjoyed Halloween. For many years, "Halloween in Maycomb was a completely unorganized affair" (Chapter 27). Children in the area were often mischievous and pulled elaborate pranks. One elaborate prank was considered so troublesome that the ladies of Maycomb decided to make a change.

One Halloween, some mischievous children broke into the home of the Barber sisters, two deaf spinsters. On Halloween night,

some wicked children had waited until the Misses Barber were thoroughly asleep, slipped into their livingroom (nobody but the Radleys locked up at night), stealthily made away with every stick of furniture therein, and hid it in the cellar.

When the sisters woke up, they discovered their furniture missing. Bloodhounds were brought in, and the dogs soon found the furniture in the cellar. The ladies of Maycomb were determined to create an event for the area children to keep them out of trouble on Halloween. A pageant was held at the auditorium inside the high school. A variety of events were also set up inside the auditorium, including bobbing for apples and a costume contest with a small cash prize.