LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The spirit of Halloween is thriving on Wyoming Avenue in West Pittston, and that's not just because the windy weather animated some of the displays.
"Well, our big guy fell over, and the witch fell over, and somebody's losing their hat, but, you know, we're putting it all back together. So hopefully, this is the end of the wind," said West Pittston resident and fan of Halloween decorations Charlene Maroni as she adjusted her display.
These homes and dozens of others throughout the borough have given it the seasonal reputation as 'Halloweentown.'
That drew thousands of visitors here last year.
"Last year was our first year," said Halloweentown committee member Debrah Nazario.
Fran: "The First year it went public because we've been doing this for years. This is not new," added Francesca Carannate, fellow committee member and business owner in West Pittston.
"We had about 3000 here last year. We're expecting at least that this year, maybe more, but now more people are joining in. There's neighbors down there that are joining in. Neighbors down the other way are joining in. So everybody's giving out candy, and it's a super fun night," said Maroni.
Now, those neighbors are hoping to make it easier for visitors with a new website that highlights participating homes on a map.
"To try to get people to spread out into West Pittston because there's a lot of nice homes out there. They do such a good job with decorating. They want trick-or-treaters, so we want everyone to just kind of explore," explained Carannate.
The key shows Halloweeners where they can find displays, candy, a scavenger hunt, and even a public restroom.
So congestion, confusion, and a lack of candy are far from the visitor's field of view.
"We do it because it's nice to watch everybody come by. People come by every day with their kids. They take pictures with the props. And then, on Halloween night, everybody comes together. There's candy, there's costumes, there's no controversy, and everybody just has fun," said Maroni.