Halloween 2011

Behold, the Mystery Inc Team...

The fake, real ones...

The real, fake ones...

Michelle was Scooby Doo (not really), and I was the Lake Monster (no costume required).

Halloween

Halloween was a bit odd this year. We made the decision as a family to go TT’ing on Saturday the 30th rather than Sunday the 31st. The reasons vary, but it all boiled down to religion. And, I’m not talking so much about us being Mormon, either. In Pennsylvania, particularly near Pittsburgh, the religion is football… Steelers football.

While our hometown of Cranberry Township and its neighbors (Wexford, Zelienople, Mars) all elected to hold TT’ing on Sunday (with the caveat on their websites that this date will stick unless riots are started over conflicts with the Steelers game being held the same night), other towns held it on Saturday. So, we picked Saturday.

We drove to locations near Zelienople and Evans City, two nearby towns. At first, I was a bit hesitant about it. I mean, I had been to Evans City, and it isn’t what you’d call a major metropolitan area. It’s a small town—really small. Something like a couple of traffic lights and a population of 2,000 people, all surrounded by farmland. They don’t even have a WAL-MART (GASP)!

However, upon further research, I learned that Evans City was the PERFECT place to go TT’ing. The film “Night of the Living Dead” (the original 1968 version) was filmed in the Evans City cemetery and in nearby houses. Ha! So, go ahead and laugh, y’all… we are trick-or-treating in the very place that ZOMBIES arose from the dead to devour the city’s residents… back in 1968.

So, Amberlee was a witch. Preston was Indiana Jones (complete with fedora hat and a whip that actually made the whipping sound AND played the Indiana Jones theme at the same time). Ethan was a transformer. And Chrissa… well, I’m not sure what she was. She said she was a dragon witch or something to that effect.  She was an eclectic mix of witch, zombie, and bird all wrapped up in one. She covered herself with a feather cape, and when combined with her blackened eyes and lips, I thought she looked more like a dust mop.

 

But, when you looked at our whole bunch, we weren't much like we had intended.  Amberlee wouldn't wear her witch hat.  Preston's fedora hat drooped around the brim, making him look more like Jed Clampett than Indiana Jones.  Ethan's transformer suit made him look like a superhero. 

 

Anyhow, we hit the big houses, and the kids walked away with bags of king sized Snicker's bars, full cans of soda pop, king sized packets of Skittles, etc.  As Ethan quoted during our expedition: "Rich families give out WAY better treats than poor ones!" 

What did we give out?  Small bags of pretzels.  I guess that means we're numbered among the poor.