BURLINGTON - Burlington was invaded Thursday by some scary-looking Halloween characters who took over the town.
They were there for the 66th annual Burlington-West Burlington Halloween parade.
Adults and children, many of them in costume, lined both sides of the street to watch the spooky procession.
As clouds moved across the night sky like phantom ships, the parade made its way through town with all kinds of chilling sights.
Looking like a nautical nightmare, one of the floats was a pirate ship with a skull on its bow. Costumed marchers, meanwhile, were dressed up in different outfits - a werewolf, a vampire, and assorted ghouls.
Some weren't so scary.
Kylie Cazassa of Towanda and Chase Brown, Jeff Shedden, Tressa Brown, and Blake Shedden of Gillett dressed up like the characters from "The Smurfs."
Tressa liked the doughnuts that were given out, and she was happy to find the "same nice people from when I was little" at the parade.
They thought the pirate ship float was the best.
Last year, the parade was held in West Burlington and the weather was cold - just the opposite of this year.
Sharon Butts, one of the volunteers working at the parade, thought the pleasant weather this year was "outstanding" and helped the attendance.
"We've certainly been selling lots of food, and there's lots of people."
"I've lived here 50 years, and it (the parade) is just a great community thing. The kids love it, and we have lots of fun."
She thought the free cider and doughnuts drew people to the event.
Donna Nye of West Burlington was at the parade with her granddaughter, Ella, 2.
"So far, it looks like it's a pretty good turnout," she said, prior to the start of the parade.
Sarah Ketter, 11, of Wellsburg, N.Y. was dressed as Batman, and was looking forward to seeing people she knew. She liked the fire trucks.
One thing in town, however, wasn't so scary.
The local gas station showed lower gas prices - at $3.69 a gallon for regular.
Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; email: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.
