Dinosaurs, witches, Lego people, a family of neon signs and other elaborately costumed revellers flooded the streets of Mossy Rock and Hawthorn in Roberts Creek for their annual Halloween Haunt on Thursday.
“I think you have to be into Halloween to buy into this subdivision,” said a neighbourhood resident who has bought into the festivities big time. Spread across his lawn were dozens of crosses. If you believe what you read, Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, pipelines and wild salmon were buried beneath.
The Mossy Rock subdivision has become a centrepiece of trick-or-treating in the area. For some, preparations begin a week before the big night. Others begin in September. Roberts Creek Elementary School collects donations to subsidize the residents’ candy budgets. Upwards of 350 trick-or-treaters were expected at the residents’ home.
A highlight for some is Chainsaw Guy.
As two trick-or-treaters approach one house, they whisper that it’s his. Decked out in bloody white pants, face covered with a ghoulish clown mask, local paramedic Steve Reed stalks the neighbourhood carrying a chainsaw – chain removed – in search of victims.
“Some of them laugh, some get a little bit scared, and I’ve got to watch who I’m chasing and how I do it,” said Reed.
One little witch flew in from Sandy Hook. “I’m really excited but most of this is pretty scary,” she said. “Not too scary. Like, I’m not going to have nightmares.”
Her favourite parts about the evening are the haunted houses and because her friends flock to the neighbourhood, too.
From dusk onwards, fireworks pop and eerie music floats through the air. Children scream, cry and giggle. For safety, the neighbourhood is cordoned off to cars.
“I guess a lot of properties are so spread out, but here everyone does a display, gives out candy. And it’s a lot of fun,” said Reed.
Halloween spirit was also on display in other parts of the Sunshine Coast. During the day, a coven of witches were sighted paddle-boarding in Pender Harbour and dancing across Sechelt, and in the evening shíshálh Nation put on a fireworks display, among other festivities.
