Reddy added that for peace of mind in regards to wildlife safety, pumpkin carvers can always rinse their jack-o-lanterns off in water to make sure that no bleach is left behind before putting them on their porches.

The Pile-On Phenomenon

Lucchesi told us that instead of deleting the post and retreating, she chose to stand her ground on Facebook. Her post has been edited to reflect that and now includes a screen shot of a vulgar message she received in response to it.

“I WILL NOT edit MY post to what you want ME to say, YOU do not control ME. You do not like it carry on, keep moving,” Lucchesi wrote, imploring trolls to “find something nice to do” instead of flooding her with hate over a pumpkin post.

Lucchesi isn’t the first private citizen to be turned into a target for trolls at large, and probably won’t be the last. The explanation is a phenomenon that has become all too familiar in an era of social media pile-ons.

“It’s called the ‘behind-the-screen’ phenomenon,” said Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University Dominguez Hills. “Once you’re behind a screen, you feel anonymous, even if you’re not. Once you feel anonymous, it lets your ego free. You can and do say anything you want to, which is why cyberbullying has become such a major problem.”

Rosen, who recounted that he himself was once the victim of aggressive cyberbullying, said the best way to deal with it is to delete comments, block people if needed, consider making accounts private — but most of all, don’t read the comments, because “it will just upset you, and they (the trolls) win.”

He also recommended that victims of the bullying reach out to their core group supporters, like close friends and family, and get positive reinforcement.

“Make it so that you’re asking them for support and explain that this has hurt your feelings,” Rosen said. “You don’t get over this easily, you just don’t.”