Trick of moving candy gathering to November is still a treat for all

Reese Hartbarger, 5, left, Connor Davis, 7, and Torie Davis, 11, get candy from the spooky ‘Bloody Bride,’ Michelle Atkinson, on Weldwood Lane in Sylvania. Or did they really get the cubes of ice?

It might be November, but young Sylvania residents had no problem accumulating a stash of chocolate and other goodies during a delayed trick-or-treat.

Sean Connolly, 7, his mom, Erin, and friends traveled from house to house on Weldwood Lane on Sunday night in search of Halloween candy. Ms. Connolly said initially she was disappointed with the rescheduling of trick-or-treat because of unpleasant weather on Thursday.

PHOTO GALLERY: Trick-or-treaters roam Sylvania

“But the weather was great, so it worked out good,” she said.

Sean, dressed as a ninja, said his favorite Halloween treats were Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and leaves. In the neighborhood behind Tam-O-Shanter and Olander Park, getting leaves is a Halloween tradition.

Sean, Holden Paris, 3, and Sammie Paris, 7, had just left the home of the Bloody Bride, where Michelle Atkinson and her husband, Steve, have put on a dead bride performance for nine years.

Mrs. Atkinson wore an old beaded wedding gown and blood dripped from her eye and lip. She stood in a strobe-lit tent, with fog all around, passing out candy from her basket filled with leaves and candy. If a child has been a bit of a “jerk,” she said she drops a cube of ice into his or her bag of treats.

“It’s so much fun. The older kids are who I want to get. I wait till I see fear in their eyes,” she said. A yard sign written in bloodlike script warned of the bride’s appearance.

Across the street, Gayle Treon was on her third refill of candy. “It’s been a good turnout. It was a great day, clear and sunny,” she said.

Kyle Smith 13 and Joey Vershum, 14, dressed as mustard and ketchup, held open their pillow sacks for the M&M packets.

But others were not on the prowl for candy. Students of Southview High School’s theater group participated in Trick-or-Treat so Kids Can Eat, collecting canned goods for the Sylvania Area Family Services food bank, part of the International Thespian philanthropy.

“We have a full Rubbermaid container filled with canned goods. People were very generous,” said Erin Duffey, 16.

Students of the school’s National Honor Society collected candy for troops overseas.