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Retro Halloween candy

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Halloween is all about reliving your youth -- Mom sewing that red velveteen cape for your Superman costume; the crunch of dry leaves underfoot as you went house to house; and especially a mouthful of Bonomo's Turkish Taffy, or maybe orange marshmallow "circus peanuts." Novelist Thomas Wolfe said "you can't go home again," but he was wrong, at least as far as finding the candies "you ate as a kid," as one purveyor of old time confections puts it. You'll !be surprised at the number of once-familiar brand names you can buy online, at spots such as Cracker Barrel and Bob Evans Restaurants, and even neighborhood drug store candy counters, especially this time of year. Here are some favorite old-time candies. We've included full-size, single-serving versions in some instances, because that's what you really wanted when you knocked on a door each Halloween and demanded, "Trick or treat!""

Charms Blow Pop

"The original 2-in-1 candy treat with flavorful hard candy outside and a large bubblegum center inside," according to the manufacturer, which also makes the similar Tootsie Roll Pop. They come individually wrapped, a big plus.

Cost: Ten to 15 cents "a pop" at Delaware News Co., 130 N. Delaware St.

Necco sugar wafers

It's almost your patriotic duty to buy this "fine candy since 1847," made by the New England Candy Co. (hence the name). Consider this, from the company Web site: "Admiral Byrd took 2 and one-half tons of Necco wafers to the South Pole, practically a pound a week for each of his men during their two-year stay in the Antarctic."

Cost: 69 cents at many CVS pharmacies.

Cracker Jack

Probably THE most American of all sweet treats -- it's popcorn, for gosh sakes, smothered in caramel and mixed with peanuts. Then there's the baseball anthem connection, plus that's Sailor Jack and Bingo the dog on the box! (The "free toy inside" always was a disappointment, however.)

Cost: 99 cents per box at Cracker Barrel.

Candy buttons

Admit it -- you loved to nibble on candy buttons on the narrow, cash-register-tape-sized paper strips that held them in place. Just don't ask too many questions about what the manufacturers used to make them stick to the paper.

Cost: $1.49 for a package of six strips at Bob Evans Restaurant.

Dubble Bubble bubble gum

OK, it's made in Canada now, and not everyone believes it tastes just like the original, though the manufacturer boasts that it does. But learning to blow bubbles once was a rite of passage for kids, like mastering the yo-yo or the Hula Hoop.

Cost: $1.49 for a box of 25 pieces at Cracker Barrel.

PEZ candies

One of the first candies that also was a toy, PEZ candies always were fun to pop out one at a time, somewhat like flicking a Bic lighter. Here's background from the PEZ Web site: "PEZ was first marketed as a compressed peppermint candy over 70 years ago in Vienna, Austria. The name PEZ was derived from the German word for peppermint ... PfeffErminZ."

Cost: About $1.49 for a container with two refills at Cracker Barrel.

Mallo Cup

Says one online purveyor of this hard-to-find classic: "You remember biting into the whipped marshmallow and coconut center of Mallo Cups, with their smooth chocolate coating. Your memory is not playing tricks on you."

Cost: 99 cents at Cracker Barrel.

Chocolate coins

The one bad thing about chocolate coins is that the foil invariably is hard to peel off, leaving consumers with messy, sticky fingers. Oh, the other bad thing -- no one bothers to use very good chocolate in chocolate coins, which are mostly a novelty item. Parents liked them as a Halloween treat because at least they were individually wrapped.

Cost: $1.49 for a small bag at Cracker Barrel.

Circus Peanuts

No one is really sure what circus peanuts are -- or why they're called that. They're basically a marshmallow treat that's invariably yellow-orange on the outside, with a more brittle crust than most marshmallows. They look like peanuts that have been fed too much Round-up.

Cost: $1.49 for a 4.5 ounce bag at Bob Evans Restaurant.

Wax bottles and wax lips

The wax lips make little kids look like Cruella De Vil or Dracula, and the wax bottles make them look like a Prohibition-era bootlegger, even if they are generally shaped like Coca-Cola bottles. We have no idea why anyone would want to chew on wax, however.

Cost: 79 cents at Bob Evans Restaurant.

Raisinets

A confection of raisins smothered in chocolate. Legendary comedian and Bahamian weight-loss program inventor Dick Gregory once advised that if you must eat chocolate, eat Raisinets because there are only 190 calories in a typical single-serve bag. As a plus, he counted it as a serving of fruit.

Cost: 69 cents or less for a single-serve bag at drug stores.

Candy necklace

Sure, these reinforce gender stereotypes, but how can you resist the colorful, button-size candies on a string that you can wear around your neck (or wrist), or eat?

Cost: $1.49 for package of three necklaces at Bob Evans Restaurant.

Twizzlers

Chewy, even rubbery candy sticks. Similar products available as licorice sticks or twists. Twizzlers now are marketed as a "low-fat" candy. But what about all that sugar?

Cost: 69 cents or less at drug stores.

Abe Aamidor / Indianapolis Star