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To begin with, this young lady dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein clearly won Halloween. I could end this post right now, and that would be the end of it.

Win. Halloween. Her.

The black flowers are what did it for me. Her mom said that there was a soda bottle providing structure for the hairdo, which stands out as a great tip for the costumers of Halloween 2015.

Lots and lots of photos of Astoria’s Broadway Halloween will be found below the jump…

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I figured my best bet on Halloween would be to find a static position in a friendly location, and then entice people into letting me take their picture. Doyle’s Corner is my local Irish bar, and they have tables outside wherein one might enjoy a pint. They’ve also got eats – their “slider plate” is actually paramount on the menu. An old fashioned sort of pub, Doyle’s was part of what turned out to be a good strategy. My pal Meg showed up with a few bags of candy – blow pops, Kit Kats, the usual Halloween fun or bite size stuff. I ordered a Guinness, and we didn’t have long to wait before the show started.

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The Trick or Treaters hereabouts do something that I’ve always found odd, but when I was a kid, Jimmy Carter was President and Ronald Reagan was the former Governor of California. Trick or Treating in 2014 Astoria means that you hit commercial establishments on the avenues – shops and the like – rather than ringing the doorbells of private homes. All the shops get in on the thing, and a significant amount of candy is harvested by the kids of Astoria.

This family were the first ones who agreed to a photo, by the way.

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This little crew was being escorted about by the Luchadore in the wrestling mask. Incidentally, I asked all the adults if it “was OK to take photo” before taking their pictures – just in case you might think I was taking advantage of kids lost to their candy desires.

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I can tell you that the neighborhood kids formed a skirmish line of sorts, and “beat the brush” all along Broadway. As one block after another found itself exhausted of sugary treats, they would move on to other targets. It was VERY efficient.

Doyle’s was handing out treats as well, and more than one of the adult chaperones asked if the bar tender might be giving away shots of booze for the grown up trick or treaters. They weren’t.

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Luckily, for Captain America here, the weight of the candy haul in her bag was offset by the Super Soldier serum in her blood. That Super Soldier serum would be sugar, of course.

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I was experiencing a few insulin related issues as well, as my friend Meg and I were frequently overwhelmed by the cuteness.

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I know this guy from the neighborhood, and the funny thing is that the mask he’s wearing isn’t too far off from what he looks like without it.

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They said nothing, appearing silently. The big one gestured toward the candy bag with that knife, and we gave these two as much candy as they wanted. We didn’t want trouble.

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This family went “all-in.” Mom and Dad were as committed as the kid to their costumes. Look at the face on that witch! Is Halloween not the greatest day of the year?

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Spider Man here, with whom I presume to be his Mom, was another huge winner in the Halloween sweep. That grocery bag, which he could barely hold up – and the ziplock that his Mom was holding – was all his.

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Loved this fellows 8 bit mask and prop.

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The young kids were all out in force, and there was a veritable pack of youngish lions loosed upon Astoria.

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You don’t get cuter than this…

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Ok, you do kind of get cuter, but its not possible to get any…

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…cuter…

Oh man. Everybody was in on the party, even Krypto the Superdog here.

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After a few hours and several pints of Guinness, it was starting to get cold, and Meg and I decided to start wrapping things up. This fallen angel passed us by, lamenting that she was late for a party. My lament was that I had to start using my flash.

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A few last minute trick or treaters were cleaning up the last of the candy just as I settled my bill at Doyle’s. The grownup part of the evening was beginning, which is infinitely less interesting than the junior variant.

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That’s when things were starting to get weird, anyway.

I had to get home and hang the garlic across my doors and windows, and settle in for another Halloween viewing of Night of the Living Dead. Holidays are all about traditions, right? Halloween 2014 did make me wonder though – how come there aren’t any “All Saints Day” movie marathons on November 1st?

Newtown Creek Alliance Historian Mitch Waxman lives in Astoria and blogs at Newtown Pentacle.


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