INWOOD — Ghouls and goblins came out to celebrate Halloween with children and parents showing off their costumes along uptown's streets and neighborhood parks.
Monday afternoon evoked a feeling more like Small Town USA than that of a big city with children going door-to-door to trick or treat, and assembling in Inwood Hill Park for the neighborhood’s annual Halloween get together.
In addition to more traditional costumes, kids donned clever holiday costumes including amusement park game “Whac-a-Mole."
A handful of parents also dressed for the occasion, with one couple dressing as a woman eaten by a shark, and another a character from the popular iPad game Angry Birds.
Inwood mom Margaret Peeler dressed as a pirate wench, with her daughter Liliana dressed as a pirate. Her son Jonah was dressed as a skeleton, with the madcap choice of a Santa Claus hat.
“It’s a lot of fun to see everyone here together,” Peeler said of the annual event.
“Halloween in #inwood it's amazing!” tweeted Inwood mother Shannon Park.
Once the sun went down, older kids and adults headed into the forest for the eighth annual Inwood Hill Haunted Forest and House, where they were guided on a spooky walk through the dark woods.
A few blocks away, families walked along the streets of Park Terrace, trick or treating in apartment buildings or stopping by Fred Matzner’s garage on Park Terrace West, which he has decorated for the holiday each year since 2003.
Children ranged from excited to downright terrified as they entered the fog-filled lair strewn with cobwebs, a spooky movie projected on the back wall and shrieking cackles and screams from the dark corners.
“Now this is what I’m talking about,” called out one girl dressed as a witch as she filed into the haunted house.
Matzner doled out candy from a bowl that displayed a spider in its center, scaring dozens of children as they grabbed treats.
“It’s a great way to celebrate Halloween, we quietly prepare the garage, open the doors quietly for the day and then shut them again on November 1,” he said.
“It leaves the kids wondering if it was ever there in the first place.”
