“This is Halloween, this is Halloween,

Pumpkins scream in the dead of night,

This is Halloween, everybody make a scene,

Trick or treat ‘til the neighbors gonna die of fright.” — lyrics from “This Is Halloween,” from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Halloween, according to history.com, “is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2024 will occur on Thursday, October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o’-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats.”

It goes on to note that America did not begin the celebration of Halloween until Irish immigrants fleeing to America from the potato famine in the 19th Century popularized it here. It began with people dressing up and going house to house asking for food or money, which led to the modern day Trick or Treating for candy.

We are entering Spooky Season and Newtown, as always, has plenty of Halloween spirit.

Events have already begun with The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Edmond Town Hall and The Night At The Asylum. See our stories in the Enjoy section on page C-7.

The Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (SHOP) will present its Thirteenth Halloween Walk on Saturday, October 26, from 11 am to 2 pm, in Sandy Hook Center. See full release on page A-7.

A Hoot N’ Howl event is planned for October 25 at the Newtown Community Center; see our calendar in print or online for more details.

The community center is planning a Halloween Parade at 11 am on Halloween day, Thursday, October 31.

Additionally, the long-standing tradition of Trick or Treating on Main Street in the Borough of Newtown will be continuing on Halloween night. In addition to the other homes and businesses participating, Bee employees will be handing out candy for some of the earliest Trick or Treaters on October 31. A few employees are planning to dress up that day. In recent years we’ve seen the youngest families heading toward the thoroughfare as early as 4 pm, so we’ll have candy ready at the front door for that time as well.

To reiterate a point made in Top of the Mountain last week, this is also a good time to remind everyone planning to head toward Main Street that night that unless you live there, you should consider donating at least one bag of candy to the homeowners there. “Halloween on Main Street” is not a formal event. Despite additional police who do traffic duty that night, the Town of Newtown has nothing to do with the hordes of people who descend to the area to enjoy Trick or Treating.

It’s just something that has grown on its own over the years. Homeowners have welcomed upwards of 3,000 costumed children to their doors, so please, if you’re going to be among those with Trick or Treating children, do the right thing. Candy donation boxes are available at Caraluzzi’s Newtown Market, 5 Queen Street; and Trinity Episcopal Church, 36 Main Street. Newtown Parks & Recreation is asking parents who register their children for the Halloween Hoot N’ Howl next weekend to bring a bag of candy with them to that event as well. Parks & Rec has a collection box available for additional donations.

Those donations can go right to the desk just inside the main entrance of 8 Simpson Street, and staff members will then deliver directly to homeowners ahead of Trick or Treating.

A number of Trunk or Treat events are planned around town, including one at Stone Bridge Center for Health and Rehabilitation on October 25 and one at Newtown Community Center on October 27; see our calendar in print or online for additional details.

Edmond Town Hall will be showing Casper the weekend of October 25, 26, and 27. The C.H. Booth Library will be showing Dracula on October 27 and Hocus Pocus on October 29; see our calendar for additional details and showtimes for all three movies.

If we missed anything, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Have a fun and safe Halloween, and most especially to drivers, be extra careful on the evening of October 31 for all the children out Trick or Treating who may not be the best followers of safety rules. Keep it slow that night and be constantly aware of your surroundings. A study shows Connecticut is in the top five for Halloween accidents, see the release on page A-4.