A journey through more than 30 Athens' Halloweens
The Athens NEWS Definitive History

Following is the definitive history of Halloween in Athens—that is, modern Halloween in Athens. We really can't say what those Ohio Company colonists back in the late 1700s were doing on Halloween night. Who needs a costume when you've got a cool tricorner hat, nifty knee breeches, and a cracking muzzle-loader.

No, this history begins in 1974, when the street takeovers began in Athens on Halloween, and ends in the present day.

One more note: throughout these articles, you'll see mention of various city officials, local personages and students. Many of these people are no longer in the positions they were in when these articles were written. For example: former Police Chief Ted Jones, quoted as the police chief in the early years of the party, eventually became chief of OU Campus Safety, and Joel Rudy, former Dean of Students at OU, left. From here on out, please enjoy the history:

1974: THE BEGINNNING
"Last night's full moon brought out all the crazies who took time off from their revelry ... and halted traffic on Court Street in front of the courthouse."
The above quote appeared as a caption for a front-page picture of costumed partiers who trapped a semi-truck on Court Street while it attempted to make a delivery at the former Baskin-Robbins on West Union Street in Athens. The date was Oct. 31, 1974.

Little did anyone suspect that the two-hour street takeover by Ohio University students on that historic Tuesday night would start an annual Halloween celebration. The event has occurred repeatedly for the past 24 years and has been sanctioned by the city of Athens for the past 10 years. After years of stonewalling, the city administration has finally given up opposing the Halloween celebration.

The Oct. 29, 1940 edition of The Athens Messenger reported a Halloween street party on Court Street. The article detailed how a community street party was sponsored by the Athens Kiwanis Club and the Junior Chamber of Commerce.

The modern-day Halloween street party first reared its partying head in 1974. According to the OU Post, the uptown bar crowd — decked out in costumes — attempted to trap a semi-truck's delivery to the ice cream store on West Union Street as the costumed students took over the street "for close to two hours around midnight," the Post reported.

Some of the ugliness associated with later Halloween parties also made an appearance on that warm evening in 1974.

The Post reported that several men "wearing flannel shirts," took it upon themselves to assist police with controlling the crowd by arresting some of the celebrants, and got a little carried away. At one point, one of them threatened a celebrant saying, "Walk or I'll break your arm."

1975: MYSTERY YEAR
No written documentation can be found of any type of Halloween street party in 1975. Ohio University held homecoming during the Halloween weekend of that year, and the only reference to Halloween located in the Post or the Messenger is a picture in the OU student newspaper.

However, the Post did run a front-page story about trick-or-treat. During that year, newspapers and television news shows were filled with stories about Halloween candy being tampered with poison, needles and other foreign objects.

"Due to the rash of candy poisoning reports in recent years, some areas have banned door-to-door candy soliciting, leading to more Halloween parties," stated the Post. "Some area merchants also pointed out Halloween is not as celebrated in Athens as in other parts of the country."That was soon to change.

1976: OUT OF CONTROL
In 1976, crowds again took over Court Street, and, according to news reports, things got out of control, both on the part of participants and those attempting to control them. "A sometimes unruly Halloween crowd, at times numbering around 500, spilled into Court Street," the Post reported.

After closing the street shortly after 11 p.m., the crowd threw bottles and firecrackers, and jumped on cars and kicked vehicles. "Most participants were students dressed in Halloween costumes," the Messenger reported. More than 500 people partied on Court Street, while police arrested 15 participants.

Athens Police, who had wanted to clear the street of the illegal crowd, expressed anger with then-Mayor Donald Barrett, who had been photographed with some of the costumed students and had forbidden police from taking any action to stop the celebration. The Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement, declaring they were "humiliated" by Barrett's decision.

Calling for Barrett's resignation, the police stated, "We feel there is no real law enforcement for politics." Then-Police Chief Ted Jones stated the following week, "My men were humiliated and not allowed to do the job that is expected of them. They were forced to stand around and be physically and verbally abused." Jones hinted that OU and the city's bars were at least partly to blame.

Barrett, despite his involvement, took a stronger stance against the university. "Speaking in general, higher education has abdicated the serious responsibility of setting the tone and to create an environment where the people involved turned out a heck of a lot better than what we witnessed Saturday night."

However, the mayor defended his action of preventing police from clearing the street, saying that the street should have been cleared but an "alternative" method was needed besides police force.

In retrospect, Barrett's decision not to clear the street signaled a growing restraint on the part of the city — given that Athens had been rocked by bloody riots every spring quarter since the early '70s. While the annual riots may have started as an outgrowth of student activism in the late '60s and early '70s, they deteriorated into raw expressions of frustration and antagonism between students and town police. The confrontations often ended with Athens Police, backed up by reinforcements from other Southeastern Ohio police departments, donning riot gear and spraying the crowd with large wooden pellets and tear gas, and receiving flying bricks in return.

Barrett may have correctly interpreted the Halloween crowd's mood as festive and confrontational, and decided not to provoke it with force, as usually occurred every spring when a relatively small police-student confrontation could quickly snowball into a full-scale riot.

The result: a subliminal message to the students from the city that peaceful street gatherings would be tolerated, while destructive mob behavior would not.

The mayor's actions on that evening in 1976 could be credited as one of the origins of the modern Halloween street party in Athens, while at the same time it marked the beginning of the end of the spring riots. Through the efforts of several campus and community organizations, the spring riots disappeared two years later in 1978.

Halloween, however, continued to grow.

1977: ORGANIZED
In 1977, after two years of illegal street takeovers, impromptu parties and a lot of community discussion, both the city and the university attempted to organize the festivities. Early in the fall, Athens City Council passed a resolution closing the street and endorsing an "official Halloween celebration." University officials took charge of the event and planned a variety of activities.

One possible reason for the sanctioned event was the fact that OU's Homecoming coincided with Halloween in 1977. Although a previous homecoming in 1975 occurred during Halloween and no street takeover took place, city and university officials cannot be blamed for wanting to take no chances after the chaos of 1976.

An appearance by comedian superstar Bob Hope was held in the Convocation Center on Saturday, with other events scheduled for Court Street following the concert.

After the street was blocked off at dusk, an "all campus/community costume judging contest" was held at Baker Center and, beginning at 10:30 p.m., music was provided to the crowd from a large stage constructed in front of the Athens County Courthouse.

Shortly after midnight, the OU Marching 110 paraded through the crowd, led by then-Dean of Students Carol Harter, who was dressed in appropriate green and white as an OU cheerleader. On the heels of the band, OU's Food Services rolled in a 4-by-8 foot cake, which was then immediately sliced into 2,300 pieces for the crowd. OU's then President Charles Ping and Provost Neil Bucklew reportedly attended the party.

"I think things went incredibly well," then-Associate Dean of Students James Hartman said. Mayor Barrett echoed Hartman's observation, saying: "I think the OU students conducted themselves very well under the circumstances."
Athens police estimated the crowd at 7,000, while Barrett placed the figure 1,000 higher. A total of 65 people were arrested (36 for open container violations, 28 for disorderly conduct). Eight of those 65 were OU students.

1978: FOP CRIES FOUL
Uptown revelry was once again sanctioned by the city and university the following year in 1978 — and the event grew larger.

Discord over a Halloween street party surfaced as soon as plans for the event were announced, however. The Fraternal Order of Police stated publicly that the party placed a tremendous workload on the police, city and university, and it "inconvenienced" the community. The police also expressed concern that the Halloween party possessed the "potential for destruction and disaster."

Planners of the event, however, said they felt a safe and fun evening was possible. "I'm genuinely optimistic," Mayor Barrett said prior to the weekend.

"The (City/University Halloween Planning) committee has done a pretty darn good job. We can't control individual behavior and that's the one thing that bothers everyone. I don't think (city council) will want to support anything in the future that would be detrimental to the city. The success depends on the participants."

Despite opposition from the FOP, the "Community Halloween Festival Night" went on as scheduled. "The atmosphere was one of a country fair," described the Post. Seventeen city and university organizations set up concession booths, radio stations WATH and WXTQ provided live coverage, and both the OU Marching 110 and the Athens County Kitchen Swingers band performed (the latter consisting of female senior citizens, who reportedly felt intimidated by the "younger" crowd).

Once again OU Food Services provided a giant cake, and Harter again joined the party — this time dressed as the Madwoman of Chaillot, complete with black cape and pointed hat. Families with children were in abundance, lending a community atmosphere. Harter's assistant, Joel Rudy, also showed up, though without costume. "I've never worn a costume on Halloween in my entire life," Rudy reportedly declared.

Officials estimated that 12,000 attended what was later tagged as "the largest uptown street party in the history of the city." Police arrested 124 people over the weekend, 14 of them OU students. Approximately 28 percent of those arrested listed their college address as Columbus, lending support to the belief that the event attracted a large contingent from Ohio State.

The night was described as "relatively quiet," with "minimal damage." However, the large crowd and the arrest figures frightened many city and university officials, who cited the large out-of-town contingent as a deterrent to any future parties.

Police Chief Jones stated that the event "borders on the uncontrollable." Police Sgt. Ernie Antle was cut on the head during an altercation and received six stitches, the Post reported. A Columbus man was arrested for the assault. Though the majority of arrests were for open containers, police virtually gave up trying to enforce the ban on public drinking. "There were so many open containers on the street the officers couldn't process the claims," Jones said. "So after awhile, we just concentrated on the more serious disorderly conduct and intoxication offenses."

A total of $2,308 was spent on overtime by the city for the extra police protection, Jones reported. Still, Athens Halloween '78 wasn't all bad. "I see the (OU) student end growing more positive each year and the out-of-town element go the other way," OU's Harter said afterward. "It didn't seem like there were too many serious problems. It was very much like Mardi Gras. I thought it was good."

1979: THE CROWD RULES!
Because of the large and boisterous crowd that attended the previous year, in 1979 the "Community Halloween Festival Night" lost both its official community designation from the city and sponsorship from the university.
In addition, Police Chief Ted Jones warned that no street takeover would be permitted. Jones cited growing fear of the city's liability for the event and the nagging question of what would happen if a fire or other disaster struck uptown during the party.

OU's Student Senate sponsored informal "rap sessions" (remember this was pre-Public Enemy) during the fall quarter, warning students — especially freshmen — and reviewing the dangers of participating in uptown "disturbances."

In an effort to do something about the situation, OU administrators began planning for Halloween during the summer. Compounding the Halloween dilemma was a scheduling snafu. OU had scheduled Parents Weekend for the same weekend as the now-traditional street party.

In order to appease students and avoid situations where parents would witness student/police confrontations, the university sponsored a Halloween party in the Convocation Center, led by OU official Carol Harter. The party included refreshments, costume judging, live music and other activities.
An enterprising T-shirt vendor capitalized on a student backlash against the Convo party with an interesting product (and the forerunner to the annual Halloween T-shirt). He printed several thousand bright orange T-shirts which carried the slogan, "If God intended for Halloween to be in the Convo, He wouldn't have put it on Court Street."

Approximately 4,000 students and their parents attended the Convo party, university officials estimated. But as soon as the Marching 110 — the star attraction of the evening — performed, more than 3,500 of the crowd left, presumably for uptown, where an illegal street party was already underway.
Local newspapers estimated that 5,000 people took part in the uptown party. Police closed off part of Court Street at 9:30 p.m., when the crowd became too large for the sidewalks. The rest of the street — between Washington and Union streets— fell to the crowd at 11:30 p.m., shortly after the marching band finished its performance in the Convo. The Post later remarked in an article, "It appeared most of the fears of the city and university were realized as students generally ignored the OU administration-sponsored party in the Convocation Center and joined the large wave of out-of-towners uptown."

The party lasted until well past 3 a.m., with many parents obviously attending, even though a 45-minute rainstorm shortly after midnight forced much of the crowd to leave for shelter. Police arrested 141 people (another 63 had been arrested the night before), and Jones called the crowd "large and belligerent." Twenty-six of those arrested were OU students. However, the police chief was quoted as saying that damage from the evening was "minimal."

According to a Post story several days later, Jones said he deliberated about actually closing the bars and forcing the crowd from the street.

The Post article did not comment on whether Jones, when making his decision, considered the fact that hundreds of parents of OU students attended the street party. "Athens cannot endorse or tolerate a block party or the street being taken over," the police chief said.

Harter, whose Convo party was considered by many a "bust," said afterward that the Court Street "festivities lacked a festive mood," and further slammed the uptown party, saying, "It was not much of a party. It was pretty dull, pretty dumb, everyone just standing in the street. I can't believe we spent the last two months (planning the Convo party) and that our students can't have a party without getting bombarded with people from out of town," she said.
As a side note, many of the visiting parents told the media that they enjoyed the uptown celebration.

1980: PARTY GETS RELIGION
During the years when no organized party was held and crowds pretty well took over Court Street at will, post-mortems often focused on just when and how the street takeover occurred. In 1980, the first year of the Reagan Revolution, the party started on a religious but confusing note.

Traditionally, the street party occurred on the Saturday closest to the actual date of Halloween — Oct. 31. In 1980, traditional Halloween fell on a Friday. Prior to the weekend, most bar owners speculated that the party would be on Saturday, Nov. 1; all bar owners agreed that both nights would be banner evenings for business.

In an effort to curb some of the violence and injuries associated with the unplanned Halloween celebrations, bar owners independently agreed to use only plastic or paper cups when serving alcohol. No glass bottles would be served. "We just don't want people to get hurt," said Ivan Faske, owner of the legendary Swanky's on South Court Street. "This way, we prevent projectiles from being on the street. It's sort of a pain to have to pour bottles out into paper cups, but it also saves us from getting glasses ripped off," he said.

According to media reports, the street didn't fall to the crowd until shortly before 10:30 p.m., but on Friday, not Saturday. At 10:20 p.m., the Post reported, the sidewalks were packed with costumed revelers impatiently awaiting some sign that the street party had arrived a day early. As luck would have it, two men, both dressed as the Pope, spotted each other from opposite sides of the street. The ersatz pontiffs stepped into the street, joined and embraced, signaling the crowd (estimated at more than 6,000) to follow. As one police officer later said, there were "too many of them" to prevent the street takeover.

Court Street was closed for more than five hours; 145 people were arrested, primarily for disorderly conduct charges. O'Bleness Memorial Hospital reported that five people were treated for injuries, mostly from fight-related cuts and bruises.

One problem developed when the crowd engulfed cars left parked on Court Street before the party. During the Friday night party, the crowd rocked cars caught in the crush and harassed their drivers. Two men, dressed in petticoats, were wrestled to the ground by police after the pair climbed on a car roof. These incidents presaged future problems of this type at Halloween.

On Saturday, another large crowd gathered along Court Street sidewalks, but the street didn't close. Overall, a total of 222 people were arrested during the weekend.

As a side-note, a group of OU students attempted to organize the festivities during the preceding month. The group, consisting primarily of student leaders, dubbed themselves "S.H.I.T." (Save Halloween In Town). However, several weeks before the event, the group conceded defeat and abandoned its plans after receiving no help from either the city or university.

1981: STUDENTS STEP IN
Several student groups attempted to deal with the Halloween problem in 1981. Early in September and after a meeting with Police Chief Jones, Student Senate President Greg Moore announced plans for a Senate-sponsored party uptown. Moore's plan hinged on holding the party in the Intramural and College Street parking lots, and the owner of the Intramural lot (now Secure Parking) gave his permission without charging any fee for its use.

Moore approached City Council with the idea, but received a cold shoulder. "I don't know what the city administration will think; they're not too crazy about Halloween parties," commented Councilman David Beals, an OU political science professor.

Athens Law Director Garry Hunter reflected that attitude in his opposition to the parking lot entertainment. Hunter said that the Court Street takeover was due to a "concerted effort" by pedestrians to take over the street. He voiced the fear that if the party were held in the parking lot, the crowd could possibly spill not only onto Court Street, but onto College Street as well.
"At least we can now move the crowd down Court Street toward the campus," Hunter said.

Councilman Bic Weissenrieder summed up council's stance on the project. "It wasn't particularly well chosen, given the terrain of the parking lots. We stand a real good shot of people getting hurt," he said. Instead, council members said they preferred to concentrate on the following year's Halloween celebration and basically ignore the event in 1981.

Chief Jones again criticized any attempt at an uptown party. "The goal (city and university officials) worked towards is to remove the Halloween party from Court Street," Jones told the Post. "That was the goal when I met with Greg Moore and (then-Post editor) Andy Benson in May. Now for Senate to come back and engineer a party adjacent to Court Street is exactly opposite of what we're trying to do."

Undaunted by Moore's failure, two other student government groups stepped into the void. Mike Baker, president of the South Green Council, announced at the beginning of October that the green's government would sponsor a "Mock Court Street Halloween Party." Featuring live bands, vendors, beer, games and contests, Baker said the event would be an attractive alternative to keep students off Court Street.

For the party South Green residence halls constructed mock facades of popular uptown businesses, allowing students to party on the grass and under trees in the green's commons and still enjoy a quasi-uptown street party atmosphere.

The East Green Council joined the campus party bandwagon by sponsoring an event called East-Hallogreen, which featured live bands, food and beer.
With the fate of the street party unknown, seven Athens businesses financed and printed a "rules" sheet for students who wanted to go uptown on Halloween. The fliers, distributed around uptown the day of the event, warned students to obey the open-container law, not to interfere with emergency vehicles or police, to wear safe costumes and to stay on the sidewalks.

Meanwhile, both the city and the university prepared for the unexpected. "We'll probably have special problems," said the director of resident life services and auxiliaries at OU. "The biggest concern is just people who are visiting for the weekend. They don't have a sense of loyalty to OU. "Nonetheless, costumed students returned to Court Street. The crowd was estimated by police at 8,000 — some 2,000 more than the previous year. The takeover began at 9 p.m. when four males dressed as motorcycle gang members walked into the street at the intersection of Washington and Court Streets and began ushering the crowd off the sidewalks.

Police arrested 118 people, including an OU student who reportedly put his head through an Athens County Courthouse window. "We should have enough policemen to get these people off the streets," lamented Chief Jones. "It's time we put a stop to it."

As Jones and the approximately 100 police officers monitoring the crowd nervously watched uptown, the two OU-sanctioned parties rolled along successfully. An estimated 8,000 people attended the South Green function, organizers said, while clean-up cost for the uptown party would exceed $4,000, praised the green parties, saying that the twin campus celebrations helped thin the uptown crowd.

At least two national publication highlighted Athens' notorious party during October 1981, lending credence to university officials' fears that the event would attract more unwanted out-of-town visitors.

1982: GOIN' SOUTH
Capitalizing on the success of the South Green Council, Joel Rudy, who later became Dean of Students at OU, joined the "Halloween Party diversion" game in 1982, this time calling the South Green function, "Halloween — the Night You'll Go South." Some 10,000 people did go south, but either they didn't stay the entire night, or official crowd estimates for Halloween were way off mark.

The Athens NEWS estimated the uptown crowd the night of "Halloween-South, Part II" to be somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 partiers, though all evening steady streams of costumed revelers wandered between the legal South Green party and the illegal Court Street bash. This may have marked the first time that The Athens NEWS entered the now-annual Halloween crowd guessing game, with the city and university always coming up with substantially lower crowd estimates than those advanced by NEWS Publisher Bruce Mitchell. (In recent years, everybody has pretty much agreed that the crowds are gigantic.)

The South Green party was sponsored by South Green Council and the OU University Program Board, which initially committed $900 to the event.

1983: SIMMERING DOWN
"The celebration came off with no noteworthy calamities," The Athens NEWS reported on Oct. 30, 1983, about that year's Halloween party.

According to police estimates, 10,000 partiers roamed Court Street in every conceivable type of costume from Ronald Reagan, Playboy bunnies and nuns to renditions of Mr. T and swarms of Killer Bees, courtesy of the then-nascent "Saturday Night Live." Long-time Athenians said it was one of the most peaceful Halloweens in recent years, and police officers on duty admitted the crowd seemed less rowdy than the previous year, The NEWS reported.

"The crowd had grown to an estimated 5,000 people when it spilled off the sidewalks onto Court Street about 9:30 p.m.," the Messenger wrote afterwards. Those in attendance stated that "one could feel the electricity in the air" as the crowd swamped the street that evening. "Caught in the mood of the night, crowds of people often broke into spontaneous cheers and applause," The NEWS reported.

Police called the crowd "generally well-behaved," but some vandalism and damage did occur. According to the Messenger, about 11:30 p.m. four men wearing Halloween masks overturned a car on South Court Street, causing about $1,500 damage to the automobile.

The party broke up shortly after 2 a.m. (the second 2 a.m., since Daylight Saving Time ended that morning), mainly because the evening was bitterly cold. Police arrested 175 people, including 87 from Athens County, 12 OU students and one OU faculty member. All told, more than 200 people were arrested over the entire weekend.

According to the Messenger, the clean-up and repair costs for Halloween came to $7,450.

1984: LIL' BO PEEP
In an effort to fill the void left by the departure of both the university and the city from Halloween planning, a group of Athens business people banded together to form the Athens Clean and Safe Halloween Committee.
"The response from the business community has been overwhelming," said Bruce Mitchell of The Athens NEWS, acting chairman of the committee. "We're not trying to promote Halloween; we're just trying to make it cleaner and safer."

With the help of 20 uptown businesses, mostly bars and restaurants, the committee raised more than $1,000 to pay for the rental of portable toilets the night of the celebration. The 20 portable toilets were located in the Intramura parking lot (now Secure Parking).

"Mainly, individuals call thinking it's a good idea and wanting to help out. We're taking phone numbers and still urging businesses to call in and volunteer," Mitchell said shortly before Halloween.

Meanwhile, city and university officials hoped Halloween would attract fewer people to Court Street. But 9,000 partiers showed up anyway, taking over the street for almost seven hours beginning at 9:15 p.m. In a twist from previous years, the crowd spilled into the street chanting "Halloween."

More than 60 officers from Athens Police, the sheriff's department, OU Security and Hocking Technical College patrolled the crowd, arresting 140 people.

Throughout the evening, the police philosophy was, "Try to maintain some semblance of order," Athens Police Lt. Rick Mayer stated at the time. To compound the police department's job, law enforcement officers had to deal with a rumor which swept the OU campus prior to the event.

The rumor maintained that an escaped lunatic dressed as Little Bo Peep would conduct a mass murder (some versions said at a sorority house).
"When you get this many people in here and 20 or 30 Bo Peeps (which became a popular costume), people get scared," said Ptl. Jerry Elgin. However, none of the Bo Peeps was reported to have conducted any mass murders, and the rumor has resurfaced every year since.

Police did have to contend with a rash of bomb threats. Police reported that a caller repeatedly stated that a bomb was set to explode on Court Street. Of course, no bombs exploded.

Businesses reported a busy weekend and well-behaved customers.

"We were busier than the average weekend, but not as busy as was expected," said Jeff Anderson, then manager of The Frontier Room (now the Front Room) in OU's Baker Center. Added Rax office manager Mary Sparks: "I don't think that we were any busier than in the past years, but overall it went pretty well."

McDonalds restaurant on Richland Avenue reportedly served more than 10,000 customers during a 65-hour period between 7 a.m. Friday and 11 p.m. Sunday — the first time the store ever stayed open an entire weekend.
OU Security Director Robert Guinn reported no major problems on campus, and other university officials downplayed the event. "I think over the last two years, (Halloween) has been dying down," OU President Charles Ping told the Post optimistically.

Dean of Students Rudy, who was just coming into his own as the university's point man on Halloween, was even more critical. "It has continued to be the kind of event that OU and Athens just can't handle," Rudy told the Post. "It attracts people from out of town who just don't give a damn about this community. We find ourselves faced with hordes of people, many of whom are drunk and disorderly. Many students I talked with, especially freshmen, talked about how boring it was. After so many years, the fun may have gone out of it."

Subsequent years proved Rudy wrong.

1985: MORE PLANS
For the second consecutive year, the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee took charge in hopes of guaranteeing a safe and clean celebration. Committee members, referring to themselves as "progressively minded business persons and individuals who believe the annual Halloween celebration will be better if planned rather than ignored," expanded on their efforts from previous years.

Besides the printing and distribution of a flier informing visitors about the dos and don'ts, portable toilets, and clean-up after the party, the committee sponsored a children's costume party and provided live entertainment.
Strategically placed in the Intramura parking lot, the committee erected a stage and sound system. The night of the Halloween street takeover, three bands and a disc jockey performed and entertained the crowd. Security guards were hired to monitor the areas of the portable toilets, and the committee sponsored several costume-judging contests.

Probably one of the committee's best ideas was the addition of free parking at the Athens County Fairgrounds. Shuttle service was provided from the fairgrounds to uptown.

The committee's co-chair, Athens businessman Walt Babics, said the event helped the local economy. "It can't be ignored. There is support in the community for Halloween. The mayor and the dean are wrong in saying it is not good for Athens. Just look at the support of the businesses, these are some of the mainstream businesses in this community," Babics said.
However, neither the city administration nor the university thought much of the committee's attempt at making the event safer.

"It's ironic students who only live here three-fourths of the year recognize the potential tragedy Halloween presents, and permanent residents continue to perpetuate it," complained Police Chief Jones about the committee's efforts. Mayor Ed Beckett, who took over from Barrett two years earlier, was even harsher in his statements about the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee. "In no way is a drunken brawl in the city's interest," Beckett said. "If the A-NEWS and these self-serving business people would stop promoting (Halloween), maybe it would slow down to the point where the city could contribute sponsorship."

Nevertheless, on Saturday night, Oct. 26, Halloweeners arrived uptown shortly before 9 p.m. dressed as Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Jesus, Moses, the Flintstones, and innumerable other creatures and characters, the Messenger reported.

Official crowd estimates were placed at 8,000, and the Messenger reported that more than four city blocks of Court and Union streets were taken over by the mob. Police arrested 103 participants for misdemeanor violations, while another 72 were cited for various infractions but not jailed. Police reported also that vandalism was up from the previous year.

However, the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee claimed its efforts helped control the crowd, which the committee estimated as much as three times higher than police estimates.

"Anyone who has two eyes and has been to an OU football game knows there were more people on Court Street than at a football game," Mitchell said. "The most severe incident we had at the parking lot was (that) one well-endowed lady lost the top of her costume. Tonight reaffirms Halloween is a strong tradition in Athens and a joyous holiday — no deep meaning, but just fun."

Shortly after 1:30 a.m., when the crowd was beginning to leave uptown for home, a spectacular fire broke out at OU's Peden Stadium, which pulled police officers off the street and committed the city's entire fire department to battle the blaze.

"How can you control 10,000 to 15,000 people in a two-block area of Court Street?" Beckett asked afterward in a Messenger story. "If there was an emergency at 2 a.m., we had no one (firefighters) to commit," Beckett was quoted by the Post. "We had all of the city's forces committed to the stadium fire and Halloween. All we could do was pray nothing happened anywhere else."

The fire, which lasted more than six hours and caused more than $350,000 damage, was determined later to be the result of arson, but nobody ever figured out who did it and why.

"If we ever get hit with a major disaster during Halloween, I hate to think what could happen. We can't handle it," Dean of Students Rudy told the Post.

1986: SURVEY SAYS...
During Halloween in Athens, "trick-or-treat" takes on a whole new meaning for both sides of the controversial issue. The trick, Mayor Ed Beckett said prior to the 1986 event, is the fact that the illegal street party costs the city thousands of dollars in overtime — expenditures the city could ill afford.

But for dozens of Athens businesses, the "Court Street Shuffle" during the last weekend in October is a major attraction that boosts business in the city — thus providing an economic treat. "All the party does is cost money," Beckett complained to The Athens NEWS. "In a sense, I equate it with any event in the city where we have to have police, fire and clean-up personnel." Citing a clean-up cost in excess of $8,000 from 1985, the mayor said that despite the thousands of dollars generated by Halloween, the city receives little revenue in return.

Although the city does receive money from the 1 percent income tax paid by those who work in the city, and money from the local hotel/motel tax, the total amount doesn't cover the city's clean-up costs, Beckett claimed. For example, he said, Athens businesses would have to have a total payroll of more than $800,000 for the weekend in order for the city to cover an $8,000 clean-up bill.

Yet, many Athens business leaders disagreed with the mayor's arguments. "If you follow that logic, then the city does not make money on Homecoming, on Parents' Weekend, or on the Athens Criterium," said Bruce Mitchell, entering his third year as co-chair of the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee. "The city must not make money on the state softball tournament or Ohio University home football games."

To add to the mix, the previous spring an OU graduate class in journalism had conducted an in-depth survey about community attitudes on Halloween. "The survey shows overwhelming approval by the community for a well-organized, controlled Halloween festival," declared Anne McDowell, the primary research coordinator for the group.

The students found that 90 percent of Athens residents and OU students supported a controlled festival that would include activities for the young and old, resident and students. The study showed that nearly 60 percent believed that the event should be widely promoted for tourism purposes.

City officials were unimpressed, and an unsanctioned Halloween erupted once again on Court Street.

In order to prevent cars from being trapped on the street during the celebration, Athens City Councilmember Guy Philips introduced an ordinance banning parking on the street the night of the party. Both council and the mayor approved the measure.

At 7:30 p.m. on the night of Nov. 1, a warm Indian summer breeze blowing, the sidewalks along Court Street overflowed with vampires, flashers, human beer bottles and assorted other costumed characters. At approximately 8:45 p.m., the crowd surged into the street and Halloween 1986 had begun. The city estimated the crowd size at 7,000, though, true to form, Mitchell and others on the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee estimated the crowd at its peak at roughly 25,000.

A total of 88 people were arrested the night before, police reported. Once again the Halloween committee provided free parking at the fairgrounds and a shuttle service to uptown.

1987: RECORD CROWD
"Halloween already is beginning to haunt city council," the Post wrote on Sept. 29, 1987. The reason for the early interest in the event was that Bruce Mitchell and Pat Sauber, co-chairs of the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee, approached city council in September with the idea of actually closing the street and making the street party legal.

The purpose of a legal street closing and sanctioned party was to create a focal point for the event, Mitchell said. With the street closed, the committee offered to construct a bandstand across the north end of the street, with the idea that the crowd would be dispersed over a wider area.

Sauber added that the change could allow for a "Community Halloween Festival," featuring various activities not centered around drinking (Ohio raised the legal drinking age from 19 to 21 the previous summer). "Athens can have a Halloween festival with very little drinking," Sauber said.

However, Councilwoman Stephanie Goldsberry questioned the committee about the city's liability for the event in the event the street was officially closed.

Sauber countered, "The liability question hasn't stopped the Circleville Pumpkin Festival or the Halloween festival in Carbondale (Ill.). Liability should be something to be aware of, but positive steps will serve to lessen the city's liability."

Athens Law Director Garry Hunter stated that the city's liability for the Halloween street party was not clearly defined. "I've always said that if the city undertakes such an event, they better be prepared to control it or they increase their liability," Hunter told the Post. However, the committee, along with City Councilman Kropf, argued that the city would be held liable whether the street was officially closed or not.

Council ended up approving the measure to close the street by a vote of 6 to 1. However, Mayor Ed Beckett vetoed the ordinance less than one week before the event, preventing city council from overriding his decision.
Beckett's veto didn't stop the committee from continuing with its plans, however. "The whole debate was like a sideshow. We're glad to put that behind us and concentrate on our plan," Mitchell said. The committee raised more than $3,000, the most ever, Mitchell reported.

The Halloween committee scheduled plans for the Secure Parking lot, including an expanded children's program, bands and portable toilets, along with free transportation to and from Athens County Fairgrounds.

Both city and committee officials agreed that the party was the celebration's largest crowd in its controversial history, with more than 12,000-15,000 in attendance — according to official estimates. The Halloween committee leaders, of course, estimated that twice that number participated in the event over the course of the evening. "I'd say it was the biggest crowd to date, organized or not," said police Lt. Rick Mayer, who estimated the crowd size as "too large."

Dan McKee, ACT spokesman, said between 1,000 and 2,000 automobiles parked free at the fairgrounds.

Although crowds began to gather on the uptown sidewalks as early as 6 p.m., the annual student-led coup of uptown's main street did not begin until shortly before 8:30 p.m.

Mayer reported that Saturday's arrest figures totaled 92, with an additional 70 citations being issued to people on the street.

Fifteen of those arrested were OU students, seven were from other Mid-American Conference colleges, eight from Ohio State University and the rest from other parts of Ohio.

While no serious accidents were reported in connection with the street party, one visitor to Athens died from injuries received when he fell from a third-story window in Brown Hall Saturday evening.

One of the more talked-about incidents occurred late in the evening and prolonged the event slightly.

Two young women bared their breasts to an encouraging crowd from an apartment window at 19-1/2 N. Court St. as the crowd was departing for home shortly before 2 a.m.

The crowd, which had been dwindling, reversed itself and swelled to a boisterous throng, hooting and hollering "beneath yon window ledge." Police deflated the moment, however, when they raided the apartment from the rear and arrested the two women for disorderly conduct.

1988: BRRRRRR...
At a city council meeting late in September, members of the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee announced that after four years of thankless endeavor they were taking their porta-potties and going home.

Taking credit for a steady improvement in the safety and organization of Halloween, and blasting Mayor Sara Hendricker for what they called a lack of leadership, members informed the mayor that she wouldn't have the committee to kick around anymore. Clean and Safe chairman Bruce Mitchell groused, "We have taken nothing but grief from the administration for our efforts."

Quickly moving into the void left by Clean and Safe was the Student Responsible Halloween Committee, a group put together by OU sophomore Mike Mastrino.

Mastrino announced that his group would attempt to pick up the ball where the Clean and Safe Committee left it, and began negotiations to line up parking, toilets, clean-up and entertainment for the big night. Mitchell donated $800 of the Clean and Safe Committee's money to get the ball rolling.

City Council called a special meeting Oct. 6 to deal with the question of whether to officially close Court Street; in a marathon session, council surprised many observers by voting to close off one block between Mulberry and President Streets for a bandstand. OU President Ping slammed the decision, Halloween supporters cheered, and a week later Hendricker vetoed the street closing, citing once again liability costs.

Initially confident that they had the council votes to override the mayor, the motion's backers watched their well-laid plans dissolve when Councilmember Stephanie Goldsberry began waffling shortly after the veto, hinting that she might not be willing to vote for an override after all. Shortly thereafter, Goldsberry revealed that she had never, in fact, supported street closing, but had voted for it in order to "encourage discussion." With the veto standing, Mitchell lamented, "it looks completely now like a Hendricker Halloween."

Despite the big build-up, the celebration itself was, according to The NEWS, a "relatively tranquil, harmless" affair, thanks no doubt to redoubled security efforts by Athens and OU police, and a cold snap that took temperatures down to freezing Saturday night.

The street fell Saturday at 9:04 p.m., after a crowd in front of the courthouse poured off the sidewalks. Halloween old-timers continued to note with dismay the trend toward more uncostumed revelers among the throng, but inventive outfits among those who did dress for the occasion included a framed Mona Lisa, a man with three heads, and far too many "Noids," the notorious pizza gremlin.

Police Chief Rick Mayer estimated crowd size at between 8,000 and 10,000, down from previous years — an assertion that Hendricker and Dean of Students Rudy cited as proof that Halloween was fading away like a bad dream. Councilmember Guy Philips disputed this estimate, guessing that the crowd was around the same size as that of 1987.

Owing probably to the cold, the street party began to dissipate shortly after midnight, and by 1 a.m. a car could drive from one end of Court Street to another without getting ghouls and goblins stuck in its wheel wells. Arrest figures were up slightly from 1987 — possibly because of the recent raising of the drinking age — with 63 people arrested Friday and 125 Saturday. Though the street was left much cleaner than in previous years, city officials once again complained afterwards that the celebration cost too much — $27,000, in the form of police and city workers' overtime, police court appearances, damage costs and clean-up.

1989: POLITICKING
Athens Mayor Sara Hendricker didn't have to veto the closing of Court Street for Halloween '89; City Council did it for her.

In an Oct. 2 meeting that Her Honor chose not to attend, council split 3-3 over whether the south end of Court Street should be closed and a bandstand erected. Because Council President Steve Kropf was acting for Hendricker in her absence, he couldn't cast the tie-breaking vote, and the motion limped off to the Halloween ordinance graveyard with its forebears. (Hendricker had promised to veto if it passed anyway.)

Then, in an effort to head the unofficial Halloween party off at the pass, Hendricker shelled out $200 of city money to place ads in several college newspapers around the state, hinting that Athens might not be the most hospitable place to party away the Halloween weekend.

Though the ads didn't specifically say, "Don't come," they pointed out how very dutiful Athens Police officers can be when enforcing, say, parking regulations. Dailies such as the Akron Beacon Journal also picked up on the story. The usual exchange of pleasantries among interested local parties followed:

Bruce Mitchell: "(The ads) may bring more people — the wrong type of people."

Hendricker: "He can mouth off all he wants."

The more things change ...

When the party finally came off, it was ... fair to middling, as these things go. The street fell minutes after 9 p.m. on Saturday, a few more people were arrested than in 1988, and crowd estimates ranged from a conservative 8,000 (Athens Police Department) to an optimistic 25,000 (Bruce Mitchell).

1990: IT'S OFFICIAL!
Finally, an official Halloween bash!

With a snip of the scissors and a snipe at the mayor, the Athens Clean and Safe Halloween Committee closed down Court Street and opened up the city to a sanctioned Halloween in 1990.

Attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony were co-chairs Bill Bias and Elliot Ratzman. Bruce Mitchell, long time Halloween supporter, set the tone for the evening with his enthusiastic call-to-arms:

"Halloween in Athens... may it last 100 years."

From that point on, the street filled steadily with costumed revelers and their non-costumed counterparts — pretty much a 50-50 mix between those who really got into the spirit and those who declined to dress up.

One of the best costumes: the Energizer bunny with maleness, a costume designed and created by Nick Russell, an OU graduate student. Each time the bunny banged his drum, something would emerge from his anatomically correct bunny loins.

The Athens city police department placed the crowd size on Court street at an estimated 12,000 during the peak hour of 11 p.m. to midnight. However, in a press release, the police stated that a crowd "that may have been equal to the crowd uptown" wandered in the three-block area adjacent to Court Street — adding up to a total Halloween attendance of some 24,000.

"That's probably without a doubt the worst crowd estimate since Custer," said committee co-chair Bill Bias who placed the crowds to a number around 30,000 to 35,000 at its peak. Total Halloween attendance probably came close to 50,000, he argued.

Arrests were down from last year's 154 arrests to 113 Saturday night. Friday's figures were also down. Forty-one arrests were made as opposed to 70 in 1989. About one-third of the arrests were OU students.

1991: ROUTINE
In its second straight year as a city-sanctioned event, the uptown party took a long stride toward the respectability its backers have long claimed it can achieve. Uptown partiers said the event was a mellow, enjoyable affair, and praised police for their non-confrontational attitude.

"That's the line," said City Councilmember and Halloween supporter Guy Philips. "The police have been great."

An OU student decked out as a ludicrously over-sexed female agreed. His only contact with the police happened when two officers checked out his costume and laughed.

Councilmember Bill Bias, co-chair of the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee, echoed the general sentiment. "I really appreciate the attitude of the police department this year," he enthused. "I think all things went very, very well."

The councilmember noted that only 90 arrests (mostly for underage drinking and disorderly conduct) were made in connection with Halloween Saturday between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. — down from 113 in 1990 and 154 in 1989.

"Every year its been sanctioned, the arrests have slightly decreased," he said. Police reported more than 60 arrests Friday night.

Police reported the crowd at 15,000 during its peak between 11 and 11:30 p.m. Other Halloween observers and partiers agreed, noting that the crowd waxed and waned throughout the night.

"There were a couple of waves," said Vicki Linker, who ran a concession stand selling t-shirts and other items. "They were so big we were getting scared." After 1 a.m., however, when the last band left the bandstand at the north end of Court Street, the crowds started to evaporate. The chilly weather probably helped to get people off the streets early.

1992: BIG CROWDS
Good weather, good music and good food combined to make Halloween 1992 in Athens the biggest in the event's 18-year history.

The Clean and Safe Halloween Committee placed the record breaking crowd at 20,000 to 30,000. With police estimating the crowd at around 25,000, 1992 marked a significant change in the traditional gap between committee estimates (high) and police estimates (low). From this point until the most recent Halloween, the police estimates — at least in the estimation of Halloween supporters — would be more realistic.

For the third year running, Halloween was sanctioned by Athens City Council.
"This is incredible," enthused an Ohio University graduate student. "When we got to the end of the street, we looked up (toward the south end) and there was nothing but people."

The huge crowd was sprinkled with many non-student faces — partly a reflection of the number of parents in town for OU's Parents Weekend. Most huddled on the sidewalks, their expressions a mixture of disbelief and humor.
"Everything's running A-plus," observed Paul Jacobson, co-chair of the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee. "It couldn't be better."

Jacobson said a popular costume theme, as in other years, was "Men Who Like to Dress as Women." As an example, he cited the winners of the 1992 best group costume, a group of students who billed themselves simply as the Hooters, sporting bosoms Dolly Parton would be proud of.

Other creative costumes: the Fisher Price TV repairpersons; the Fallopian Swim Team, who made a general nuisance of themselves in search for fertile eggs; a milk carton with the slogan, "Have you seen Waldo?" written on the back; and — a crowd favorite — a dead ringer for Cheer's Cliff Claven.

Arrests on Saturday were slightly up from last year, but lower than 1990's figures. On Halloween night, 101 people were arrested, most for disorderly conduct.

As in other years, Police Chief Rick Mayer said that arrests for disorderly conduct increased as the night wore on.

"While I remain steadfast in my belief that Halloween, as we continue to experience it, is not good, there continues to be other avenues that should be discussed," he said. Mayer listed starting the party earlier and ending it earlier among his top suggestions. He also suggested fencing the uptown area and charging admission.

Still in opposition of the annual street party, Mayor Sarah Hendricker came out strong against Halloween again in an interview with the Messenger.

1993: ALASKA HALLOWEEN?
Though the '93 street party wasn't plagued by excessive rowdiness, it did get hit with probably the worst Halloween weather in 20 years — a steady, freezing rain that turned to snow. The untoward weather may have helped contribute to the relative calmness of the event, though in the last few years Halloween had been getting less frenzied anyway.

Arrests were up slightly from 1992, though not by much, and there weren't any major offenses. The Clean and Safe Committee gauged the peak '93 crowd as a bit smaller (20,000 to 25,000 people) than the record-breaking 30,000 from the year before.

Athens Police Chief Rick Mayer figured the crowd was "about the same" as in '92; seeing as how he'd estimated the '92 crowd at 24,000 to 26,000, that put the police and the Halloween committee's numbers right in the same ballpark.
This agreement alone lent credence to the notion that the city was gradually learning to live with Halloween. Over the years, the police chief and the event's organizers had always made a point of coming up with wildly differing crowd estimates, with the Clean and Safe people typically spotting at least 10,000 more partiers than the cops detected.

Still, Chief Mayer seemed as rankled as ever by the uptown bash, admitting afterwards that as it approaches every year, "I get snappy, and I get touchy."
The Athens NEWS' roving costume watch spotted, among other creative outfits, Beavis and Butthead, a Jamaican bobsled team, and a herd of cow people with squeezable udders.

1994: A BIT WARMER
The warmest Halloween weather in years brought out almost 30,000 partiers to the Court Street bash and racked up a record number of arrests.

Eighty-seven people were arrested Friday night and 210 Saturday night. The 297 arrests greatly outweighed 1993's 182 arrests and 1992's 141 arrests.
Athens Police Chief Rick Mayer blamed the number of arrests on the 30,000-plus crowd that he said was "more antagonistic" than previous years and spread out along side streets.

Paul Jacobson, co-chair of the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee, said that the arrest numbers have grown over the years because of underage drinking. According to a police press release, 89 out of the 210 arrests Saturday night did stem from underage consumption/possession violations. Jacobson said, however, that although the crowd was bigger than (in 1993) — when an estimated 25,000 people packed Athens — people didn't appear to be much rowdier. "I saw more people having fun than getting into trouble," he said.

Mayer, as in previous years, was still annoyed by the annual uptown bash, and in a press release asked, "Why should we, the residents of Athens, be locked into playing host to a wave of out-of-town late night partiers that increase city expenses, vandalism and disorderliness?"

Costumes ranged from the trendy: the late Brandon Lee's spooky character in "The Crow," someone clad in a soccer outfit riddled with bloody bullet holes with the name "Escobar" on the back (post-World Cup soccer trivia), and an Uma Thurman look-alike; to outmoded Beavis and Bart Simpson costumes.
Mike Turack, of Columbus, a first-time party-goer, thought the party was "awesome — a definite experience."

1995: BOO! NOT SO SCARY
Neither rain, nor cold, nor dark of night kept Ohio University partiers and their many out-of-town friends from their self-appointed rounds on Court Street as Athens once again celebrated Halloween.

"I thought it went well," said Athens Clean and Safe Halloween Co-Chair Jonathan Holmberg the day after the party.

As usual, a huge number of people thronged the streets, many of them intoxicated, resulting in a large number of arrests and plenty of work for local police. A total of 279 people were arrested on Friday and Saturday by police, 184 of them on Saturday (down from 1994's 210 arrests).

Athens Police Chief Rick Mayer said in a prepared release that the peak crowd appeared larger than 1994's (which was estimated at 30,000), though he did not offer a crowd estimate.

"I thought it was one of the largest crowds that I've ever seen," Athens Police officer Tom Pyle said.

Some of the costumes that stuck out during the evening: a Bill Clinton jogger (there were a few Clintons), accompanied by Secret Service officers; Judge Lance Ito, though since there were more than one, it might have been the Judge Ito dancers from the Tonight Show; and cavemen, who did a good job acting like cavemen, but could have used a little more clothes, preferably underwear.

As in previous years, many of those arrested were not OU students or Athens residents. Also, as in previous years, Mayer blasted the event, saying, "I continue to believe that this event is a strain on the community and the police department."

Mayer suggested in the press release that organizers start the party earlier and end it earlier and change it so that it's more like an "Oktoberfest" atmosphere. He also said that the city "may need to consider hiring additional officers instead of just depending on the good natures of nearby communities to send officers."

1996: HORSING AROUND
Perhaps the largest Halloween crowd ever in Athens paraded through the uptown streets during Halloween 1996, resulting in a slight increase in arrests over 1995, but no major new problems.

Athens Police Chief Rick Mayer, in a prepared release, said the crowd was "probably the largest I have seen." The peak crowd, Mayer said, was larger than that in 1995, though the area around the bandstand was "not as jammed as last year."

No official crowd estimates were offered by the police chief in his prepared release, except for stating that the crowd appeared larger than 1995's — which had been estimated at around 30,000 people or more. "The general density of (this year's) crowd was greater and spread all over North Court and a large portion of South Court," Mayer stated in his release.

The police department had about 30 horseback patrol units on hand for the street party, mainly with the intent of watching over the side streets. "Due to the presence of the mounted units, we didn't need to consider closing Mill Street," Mayer said.

Jonathan Holmberg, chair of the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee, said he was among those impressed by the equestrian units.

"I think the mounted patrol really helped," Holmberg said. The mounted units looked good, he said, and apparently did the job of helping to control the crowd away from Court Street, while also helping with the clean-up.

Holmberg said the police officers as a whole were very cooperative with the committee members in keeping the stage area under control.

Arrests were up slightly over 1995 year, according to the police, as 211 people were arrested on Saturday night. This is up from the 184 arrests in 1995, but up only by one arrest from the 210 in 1994.

The majority of the arrests were for underage consumption/possession and disorderly conduct.

Friday night saw 109 arrests, which was up from 98 on Friday 1994.

Once again, the bulk of the arrests involved people who came in from out of town for the bash, according to the prepared release.

Only 15 of the arrestees on Saturday night were Ohio University students, while 42 were from other Ohio colleges and eight were from out-of-state colleges. Ten of the people arrested were from the Ohio State University, the report states.

All in all, Holmberg said, the party went pretty well. "It's something that the community should be proud of," he said.

1997: INDECENT EXPOSURE
The size of the 1997 Halloween block party crowd — estimated at more than 30,000 — and the number of arrests — 318 for Friday and Saturday night — didn't change much from the previous year's party, police officials reported. But a notorious new trend popped up. Seemingly in the spirit of Mardis Gras, many revelers clamored for young women on second-story Court Street balconies to bare their bosoms, and a few of them happily obliged. A few males also reportedly got into the act, with their ... um, well, you know.
In one particular incident, when a reveler exposed herself after 20 minutes of crowd coaxing, a mob on North Court Street around Zachary's Delicatessen went into a frenzy, reportedly coming close to pressing into, and breaking, a storefront window. The police responded by wading into the crowd on foot and horseback to break up the crowd. Businesses in the area also reportedly had to usher people out their back doors to relieve the pressure of the mob.

The next day, Athens Police Chief Rick Mayer acknowledged that the Halloween crowd was repeatedly incited by people in second-story windows exhibiting "nude behavior" and dropping things.

Though Mayer lamented the "noticeable lack of good costumes," the 1997 party did inspire a 15-foot-tall Empire State Building costume, complete with lights and a King Kong on top; a group lampooning SECO, the Southeast Counties of Ohio Narcotics Task Force; Ghostface from the movie "Scream;" several Jedi knights from "Star Wars"; and the usual cast of goblins, witches, clowns and spooks.

The police chief, a persistent critic of the street party over the years, also expressed concerns about the lack of organization surrounding the party. "With only one person, Jonathan Holmberg, coming forward at the last moment to be the Clean and Safe Halloween Committee, who will the committee be in the future, and should there be any (city) ordinances (sanctioning Halloween) without the committee first being in existence?" he asked.

In January, Athens Mayor Ric Abel tried to address those party planning concerns by creating the Halloween Task Force, a group of city officials, merchants, local residents, Ohio University administrators and students, to develop ways to make the annual street bash safer and more organized. The task force presented Athens City Council with dozens of proposals in July, and later expressed some criticism when council didn't follow some of the suggestions,