A haunting they will go

A haunting they will go
From left, Jeanne and Pickle Gutierrez came to the hamlet of Wassaic to celebrate Halloween by dressing up in costume and watching the Wassaic Haunted Parade on Saturday, Oct. 31. For another photo, see Wassaic gets ghoulish.
Photo by Kaitlin Lyle

WASSAIC — Not even the cold weather could halt the Halloween happenings taking place in the hamlet of Wassaic as The Wassaic Project and the Wassaic Fire Company co-hosted a COVID-19 safe Halloween parade on Saturday night, Oct. 31. 

In the moments leading up to the parade’s launch, the hamlet sidewalks were swarmed with families and children both in costume and bundled up in their warmest coats. Everyone was required to wear face masks and maintain social distancing as they observed the parade. 

After lining up at the Luther Barn, the Wassaic Haunted Parade wound its way through the center of the hamlet, starting at 5:30 p.m. and featuring a series of artist-made floats. Led by a grand marshal vehicle carrying a skeletal bride and groom on its rooftop, the parade featured a series of creative floats bearing inflatable ghosts, pythons, bats, skeletons and more as well as a few tractors and even a pair of butterflies on bicycles. 

From “Thriller” and “This is Halloween” to the ever-classic “Monster Mash,” music could be heard streaming out of some of the parade floats, while individually wrapped bags of Halloween candy were seen flying out of others, thanks to the generous donations of local businesses.

— Kaitlin Lyle

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