Anonymous wrote:This was my first Hill Halloween (lived here 5 years but we have always gone to Halloween parties in other areas of the city - this year we have a baby) and I get what the OP was trying to say. I was on East Capitol thinking "where the hell did all of these kids come from?!?!?!?" It was CHAOS.

It's been that way forever. In fact, it used to be even more crowded than it is now. 10, 15 years ago, people on East Capitol would really go all out, deck their houses out-- I remember one year when someone had a line from their balcony to a house across the street and they rigged up ghosts to go back and forth over the street. Not to mention the house on the corner of 6th that would do a huge (and hilarious) political display every year. It's been toned way down in recent years.

This is just Halloween on the Hill, folks. If you don't like it, you can turn off your porch light and/or take your kids trick or treating somewhere else. It's not rocket science. There's plenty of parts of Capitol Hill that don't get nearly as many ToTers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The first year I lived on Capitol Hill ten years ago, pre-kids, I was shocked by the number of trick or treators. I never saw many kids at other times, and I wasn't prepared for the hundreds of kids marching through. Now that I know what to expect, I kind of love it. Big groups of kids in costumes, no one seems overly grabby, and the bigger kids generally have a sense of humor about it all. I buy a couple of the huge bags from Costco, give generously until we run out, and head inside to get the kids to bed.

Ditto! Hill East resident over here and Halloween is so much fun. Big kids, little kids, kids from wherever--I don't care. Almost every single one said "Trick or Treat" and Thank you!" And if they didn't, their parents were yelling at them from the sidewalk to do so. I love it. And yeah, we went through about 20 pounds of candy last night.

Seriously? Yet another reason I could never afford to live on Capitol Hill!

My sad little working class neighborhood got all of twelve trick or treaters last night. I guess all us poor folks' kids got bussed onto the Hill to piss off OP.

Anonymous wrote:They come from generations upon generations of people who were slaves or in some way or another, victimized by your criminal ancestors. You owe them, not the other way around.

20:00 here. FWIW almost every child I saw last night on E. Capitol was white.

They come from generations upon generations of people who were slaves or in some way or another, victimized by your criminal ancestors. You owe them, not the other way around.

16:24 - post your address so we will be sure to have the masses there next year. Just to see if you will be singing the same tune.

This was my first Hill Halloween (lived here 5 years but we have always gone to Halloween parties in other areas of the city - this year we have a baby) and I get what the OP was trying to say. I was on East Capitol thinking "where the hell did all of these kids come from?!?!?!?" It was CHAOS.

OP, I live on the Northeast side of the Hill (near Lincoln Park) and we don't get any TOTers. On the Hill there are a few areas that are known to be the go-to places to TOT so everyone goes there. We usually take bags of candy over to a friend's house on East Capitol because they get so many kids and it is pointless to sit at our house when nobody comes. There are a lot of kids who live in our neighborhood, but because people historically haven't come to the door most of my neighbors don't bother to have candy on hand, which further concentrates the TOTers to the active parts of the Hill. I wish we would get more at our house, but it is fun to go down and participate on East Capitol. Maybe next year you should invite over some Hill friends from less active parts of the neighborhood, have them bring over their candy, and have a Halloween party.

I also get the point of your post. Anyone who hasn't been in the thick of a Hill Halloween can't appreciate the sheer craziness and masses of people that are part of it.

Anonymous wrote:MOTH advertised Hilloween - and, WAIT FOR IT....

Told people to invite their friends.

People did, for years. Those people invited their friends.

Here we are.

Exactly!

Anonymous wrote:It is SHOCKING to me that people judge where kids trick or treat. They're KIDS. Having FUN. You should all be deeply ashamed of yourselves. I wish we'd gotten more kids - the more the better! It actually turns my stomach to read some of these posts.

X 1000000

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what....

The kid that doesn't wear a costume, may not be able to afford a costume.

I'll bet his mom has an iPhone, though.

Which means?

MOTH advertised Hilloween - and, WAIT FOR IT....

Told people to invite their friends.

People did, for years. Those people invited their friends.

Here we are.

Anonymous wrote:You know what....

The kid that doesn't wear a costume, may not be able to afford a costume.

I'll bet his mom has an iPhone, though.

I'd like to believe the OP and the "piggy piggy" poster are just teenagers looking to rile others up. I'd like to believe that people like that don't really exist, but gah! I think we all know otherwise.

Someone needs to tell the piggy poster that hard work does NOT entitle you to a nice neighborhood that is safe for children. It doesn't. Never has. If you don't understand this, I challenge you to go to some of these unsafe neighborhoods and ask them what kind of jobs they have. I'll bet you couldn't last a single day. You'd never hold up.

This was our first Halloween on the Hill too and can somewhat sympathize with OP. I'm giving OP the benefit of the doubt that his/her curiosity is honest enough. I was surprised by the number of ToTers as well and we ran out of candy very fast!

It also got a little tiresome and disappointing for me, especially as the night wore on - fewer costumes, more older "kids", more kids with a second bag or bucket for their "cousin who couldn't make it", even mom's practically dragging exhausted-looking 1 and 2-year olds in one hand and holding out a bag in the other. Next year, I think we'll just plan to shut down a little earlier. There were some great costumes however, and enough smiles though to make it fun overall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live near Marion Park on Capitol Hill - there were hordes of trick or treaters last night, and I would guess 95% of them do not live in the (nearby) neighborhood. Where do they come from?

OP here. I didn't say I MINDED the hordes of TOTers . . . I just wondered where they came from. Indeed, we had a great time and passed out over 1000 pieces of candy; we seemed to be the last house open on our block. And for those all up in arms asking how I know the majority don't live in the (near) neighborhood - give me a break! I live here and walk the blocks around my house and have children in the local elementary. I have a pretty good (evidence-based) idea of who lives in the neighborhood.

Having bought our first house in 1998 on Capitol Hill and have kids now in HS and MS I haven't seen a change in the amount/type of kids who TOT on the Hill. It has always been big. It got bigger when those of us who were urban pioneers started Hilloween but I can assure you that even before that -- loads of kids. It is what makes the Hill great for TOT. Lots of houses closed together!