Halloween, Hauntingly horrid or erroneously evil?

For years as a child I looked forward to Halloween as a time to dress up and get candy. It was as innocent as could be. For much of my young childhood I was raggedy ann and we went to my Great Aunt and Uncle's house for a get together where we would all dress up. My dad was dracula and he really looked the part. One particular year comes to mind when my dad dressed up and answered the door and growled at the kids who just wanted candy. They ran down the street screaming. He ended up calling them back to get their candy.
For my early teen years my friends and I would get together for Halloween parties at each others houses where we would dunk for apples and all the other fun stuff. I dressed up as an Indian. We would go to a few neighbors houses as a group and "trick or treat". It was years of fun.
Then I met and married my husband who never went to Halloween parties or trick or treated in his neighborhood (maybe it was the Detroit thing) . They went to community activities at the VFW hall or things like that, but they never dressed up and went from house to house.
Now as we are parents, we are trying to figure out our own traditions. It is not easy. I am of the belief that for a kid to dress up and go to houses of people that you know is innocent fun, but is it really? How well do you really know the people whose houses you are going to?
In the past we have gone out to dinner, or taken the kids somewhere away from the house and left our lights off. This year our kids program at our church was our activity to stay away. Well, certain circumstances called for us to cancel our kids program, so that presented a different situation.
As Christians should we bury our heads in the sand and run from the darkness that the holiday presents? I don't think so. Should we take part partly by giving out candy and/or tracts, or totally by allowing our children to go trick or treating? The lingering question is how much should Christians really do on a day like this where the darker side of our lives is glorified.
We are trying to figure out our own family Halloween traditions. This year we are experimenting by giving out candy to the kids and sending our kids to "trick or treat" as little princesses at their Uncle and Aunt's house.