Halloween 2017 will go down as the start of a new tradition for the Palmer family of North Bay.
Parents Alannah and James, brought two and a half-year- old twins Leeland and Andreas and nine month old Imogen to Fire Station 1, which on Halloween night for nearly 20 years, is converted into a community Haunted House.
"We've only been in North Bay for a few years. We just thought it would be fun. We wanted to get out and see what was going on, check it out with the kiddos, and start a tradition," said dad James.
From a mom's perspective, "The fire hall is a safe place, and it's warm and easier for the kids so that's why we're here," added Alannah
Chantal and Shawn Raymond, along with five-year-old Addison were all dressed up for their tour of the four-room haunted house.
"We like the treats, we like the indoors, we love coming to the haunted house that's put on by the high school kids," said Chantal.
As for Addison, she admitted to being a little nervous just before going through the house, but it wasn't enough to detract her from her ultimate goal.
"Getting lots of treats."
By the end of the night, thousand's of little Halloween trick or treaters descended on the fire hall for a Spooktacular time.
“It’s probably the most well-known Halloween display within North Bay, and we’re very proud of that and want to keep it going,” said Fire Captain Derek Desilets. “We’ve had a lot of new people helping out over the years. Its grown to be a big community event, and we enjoy that we get to host it.”
Widdifield Secondary students have been a big part of the tradition.
See: Firefighters and students gearing up for busy Halloween
They volunteer their time to help build and decorate the rooms, then, relying on their thespian talents, they slip into character, jumping out and trying to grab those who dare take a walk into the unknown.
Widdifield student Bella Nashkawa joined her fellow students for a few hours of Halloween based drama.
"I thought it would be something fun to do with my friends. It's fun scaring all the people."
Dressed as the Queen of Hearts, grade nine student Marissa Brooks, was royally scared.
"I didn't really look, I just ran and screamed," she laughed. "It was scary. The people were reaching out trying to grab me."
Outside, pumpkins were lined up, casting a scary glow. Many of them donated from city grocery stores. Earlier in the week, area school children let their imaginations wander, carving out some unique looking pumpkins for the display.
And of course, there’s the other reason why the kiddies stopped by, the candy.
“We mostly get the candy from the residents in North Bay. One week ago we did not have too much collected, so we put the word out that we needed more. We had great success over the weekend, and the last two days there has been a lot of candy coming in," said Desilets.
And on Halloween night, a lot of candy goes out, as the tradition continues for a new generation.
