Hallowe'en: Good or Evil?

Just sitting on this pumpkin.

In elementary school I had a friend who wasn't allowed to celebrate Halloween because her mom was a freaky evangelical who though it was an affront to Jesus. My parents weren't believers, and in our house the holiday was very much celebrated (in fact, my Dad still gives my sister and I Halloween greeting cards every year; they usually include a pun), so understanding why one would deny their child the joys of costumes and candy troubled my tiny brain.

So, Halloween: good or evil? When you were a kid what was your impression of October 31st?