Years ago when we moved to the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, we were told Halloween would be a mob scene, and we could perhaps expect hundreds of trick or treaters ringing our doorbell looking for loot. Stocking up on mass quantities of candy, we felt prepared for the oncoming onslaught- only to discover all the hoopla was up the hill, and not on the “flat of the hill,” where we live. I can’t recall if we had any trick-or-treaters that year or not, but by the time we returned from taking my son to the correct location to trick-or-treat, all the candy we’d left in the buckets on our steps was gone. I’m not so sure my son appreciated that lesson in charitable giving or not.
It’s true, though, that once you cross Charles Street up Beacon Hill on Halloween night, it’s quite the atmosphere. Streets are closed and barricaded to prevent traffic from entering the area and the result is a sea of humanity that seems to grow larger every year. Some come in elaborate costumes and others in everyday clothes, but all come to marvel at this unique gathering and the creative, often ingenious decorated homes that line the streets. In a way it’s like Mardi Gras -minus the beads.
Photos probably don’t do it justice, but I’ve enclosed a few just to give you a sense.
