Header image: Zahn Family Spooks at 16th PL W // Linda War Bonnet

This year has felt like one big trick and with the CDC classifying Halloween is a high-risk event and finding out that It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown will not be on network TV this year, it feels like we should just throw in the towel. 

But there is hope for something that is spooky and hair-raising that is not of the pandemic kind. The CDC has made some specific recommendations for how we can celebrate what is a favorite holiday for many of us. We won’t be going to house parties this year or doing traditional trick-or-treating, but if we get creative, Halloween might just be the most fun we’ve had this year. 

Here are the CDC Guidelines for making trick-or-treating safer:

• Avoid direct contact with trick-or-treaters.

• Give out treats outdoors, if possible...and this is very possible where we live. 

• Set up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take.

• Wash hands before handling treats.

• Wear a mask. A traditional costume mask does not count as a mask under the CDC’s mask guidance. 

• Stay 6 feet apart from people not in your household.

• Be prepared with hand sanitizer. It’s probably always already in your pocket, right? 

Here are some ideas to make our Halloween nightmares come true and keep our ghosts and goblins safe during the pandemic. 

Handing out Candy

The goal is to get candy to the trick-or-treaters from 6 feet away and making sure they don’t have to come in close proximity to one another. We don’t want the little gremlins going down walkways or corridors where they will have difficulty keeping socially distanced. A little creativity will solve this problem. 

I checked with my neighbors, The Zahn Family Spooks as they officially call themselves now, to find how they were making Halloween safe for the gremlins.

They have been working nightly on their ghoulish Halloween decorations, doing test runs with the lights and sounds. They are on 16th PL W in the Holly Neighborhood and have a yard full of tricks and treats that you can see from the street. You can even stay safely in your car if you wish. The Zahn’s have crafted a no-contact candy delivery system that really adds some fun to the holiday. 

Others are making treat bags and will have them near the sidewalk for trick-or-treaters to pick up.

If you are decorating for the holiday or handing out candy, log your location on the Nextdoor Treat Map. 

Finding Candy

The Downtown Everett Association is currently hosting a scavenger hunt. Businesses will hide a spider in their decorated window. Each spider will have a letter so find all the spiders to reveal a Halloween phrase. Submit your answer for a goodie bag full of treats from downtown businesses. Goodie bags will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Check NextDoor for the treat map for your neighborhood.  

Other Ways To Have Fun

If you aren’t interested in acquiring a cache of candy, here are some other ideas to celebrate the eerie holiday. 

Historic Everett is hosting Gruesome Everett: Tales of Untimely Death Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Log on and listen to local historian Gene Fosheim share true stories of murder and violence from Everett’s early days.

Not afraid of ghosts? AGHOST will stream live from the Historic Everett Theater Saturday at 9 p.m. as they search for the local ghosts reportedly inhabiting the theater. 

Irwin Family Lights, traditionally known for their Christmas lighting display, has you covered for Halloween entertainment with a huge display and spooky music you can tune in on your car radio. Check out their Facebook page for details. 

Share your costumes and decorations with us on Instagram with #LiveInEverett  and you might be featured in an upcoming article or even win a prize.  

Just like everything else this year things will be different, but with a little creativity we can be safe and make the best of Halloween and have some fun.  

Learn more about the AGHOST event at Historic Everett Theater.

Linda War Bonnet represents south Everett on the Live in Everett Team. When she isn’t working, she is running the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association. You might spot her walking her dog in the Holly neighborhood.