Great Barrington — They came in hordes and gangs, alone or with parents. Toddlers and teens crossed paths, occasionally running into each other as they marched for candy in vision obstructing costumes, weaving almost drunkenly with pre-sugar anxiety and thoughts of Sour Patch inventory.
Halloween is always a countdown in this hood and Hill families need to be ready. They had speed-carved jack-o-lanterns in preparation for the 5:30 arrivals, gathered the last bags of candy from supermarkets, stuffed their younger children with vegetables and rib-sticking foods to add vitamins to bodies that would badly need them after the candy had been organized and traded in the grand sugar orgy.
Hill families took it a step further. They had generous parties, knowing how hard it is to find the time to cook and eat on this Hallows Eve, and giving families a warm place to tuck in and take a breath. Devils complained of drooping horns, clowns of melting makeup, witches of misplaced hats.
Here are a few moments from the scene on Benton Avenue:
- What are you?
“Flamboyant Vampires.” Miriam Cooper-Myers and Ruby Lamond
2. And you?
“Vampire Hunters. I am the Medici prince and have come to America to see what this country is all about.” David Myers
Are you going to kill them with that, er, toy?
“Yes.” Susan Cooper Myers
3. So you are a pirate. What do you have to say? (he drops his drink)
“I need another drink. Arrrrrrgg.” Brent Morgan
- Male clown to the female: “Do you come here often?” Evers and Laura Whyte
5. You are Elvis and you are a professional soccer player. What happens when you two go home tonight?
“I tell Joe every year that Halloween is foreplay.” Jessie Cooney and husband Joe Cooney.
- So, Yosemite Sam, are you happy about the town’s new speeding monitors on the speed limit signs?
“It’s good to see the law being obeyed,” drawled David Logan, vocal anti-speeding activist.
- You are a beautiful witch, and you a beautiful devil. How do you feel?
Devil: “One of my horns keeps slipping.” Kirsten Baars Morgan
Witch: ”“It’s the one night a year I get to dress the way I feel all the time.” Kari Harendorf
