Also worthy of friendly fodder, it was on Oct. 31, 1517, when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses for Church Reform to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, kick-starting the Protestant Reformation. Many Christian groups continue to celebrate the day as "Reformation Day."

But for self-proclaimed witches (or practicing Wiccans) such as Tia Bartholoma, 21, of Magna, the revered day marks the celebration of the final fall harvest and gives them a chance to remember those who have died and are passing along to a spirit world. It also gives Bartholoma and her friends a good reason to enjoy each other's company and drink some brew.

"It's a religious holiday for me," she said. "I love it."

That this Halloween happens to fall on a Sunday adds another element to the issue. Some don't mind participating on Saturday but are spooked by the idea of a Sabbath Day secular celebration.

Savannah Memmott, a college student in Cedar City, said her family devotes the Sabbath to godly things like church, not Halloween parties. She believes most Utahns will trick-or-treat Saturday. So does her mom, Leslie, who added: "When it's been on Sunday before, nobody's come to our house."

Some "Bible belt" Christians don't sugar-coat their feelings about Halloween.

Barbara Braswell of Georgia told the Associated Press: "It's a day for the good Lord, not for the devil." And fellow Georgian Sandra Husley believes you just shouldn't trick-or-treat on Sunday. "That's Christ's day. You go to church on Sunday, you don't go out and celebrate the devil. That'll confuse a child."

Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster and founder of the Christian Coalition, would like to see the United States "close Halloween down," and says children who dress up as witches are "acting out satanic rituals."

The issue escalated in the 1980s, when evangelicals' influence increased in the political arena along with the movement concerning school prayer and abortion, said Charles Haynes, senior scholar for the First Amendment Center in Arlington, Va.

"Some evangelical and conservative parents asked, 'If we can't have Jesus in (the schools) in December, why can we have witches and ghosts in October?' They see it as a religious issue, but it does not have much of a legal basis," Haynes told the Chicago Tribune.

"No court is likely to see the secular use of ghost or witch images as a religious imposition. But that does not mean it's right to do it. Halloween has become a big public-relations issue, especially in schools. And districts that have the least problems have learned to compromise."

Some Utah churches are attempting to do that, giving alternatives to the re-paganized festivities surrounding All Hallows Eve.