Madam, - Surely it is time to start calling a halt to the outrageous exploitation of Halloween? Not so long ago it was a time for games with apples on a string, barm brack, pumpkin faces - a bit of fun on the night before All Saints Day.
Now, in what appears to be a market-driven rush to part us parents from our money, between back-to-school sales drive and the Christmas spree, there are things for sale all over the shops that struggle to outdo each other in ugliness.
And no, it's not being a spoilsport to decry this. Many children are genuinely disturbed by these images.
What is the point of promoting such warpedness? Why are we encouraging our children to dress up as devils and the like? What we feed into children's minds we will find coming back out again.
Have we lost all sight of the responsibility to encourage wholesome fun among the young, and to discourage what is depraved? - Is mise,
MICHEÁL Ó FEARGHAIL, Sallybrook House, Glanmire, Co Cork.