ROME - Two Italian boys were recovering in hospital on Tuesday after a 70-year-old man shot them with his hunting rifle because he was frightened by their Halloween costumes.

The 14-year-old boys, dressed as demons, had knocked on the pensioner's door during an evening of "trick or treat" near the northern town of Turin and set off a firecracker.

When the door opened, instead of a treat, the pensioner fired four shots at the boys having been scared by the noise and their strange outfits, agency ANSA said.

Police arrested the man, who lived alone and was the victim of several robberies, for attempted murder, ANSA said. Police said the boys' lives were not in danger but one risked losing an eye.

The tradition of asking neighbors for sweets or money on Halloween is relatively new to Italy but is gaining popularity.