03 Nov Trick or treat on Duncan St. — the 2014 numbers

West End Halifax Hallowe’en statistician Dan Conlin has updated his 18-year record of ghouls, goblins, and octopi with this year’s totals. The numbers continue to sneak upward from their 2012 trough.

The little sugar fixers began arriving at 5:58 p.m. and peaked around 7:30 p.m., with the tardiest monster straggling in at 9:50 p.m. All these times are later than usual, probably due to the pagan ritual falling on a Friday. There were “no surly, un-constumed teenagers — once a late night constant.”

Conlin’s Best-costume honours went to a Giant Eyeball with its bloody optic nerve dangling. Honourable mentions to a homemade octopus with working arms, a vending machine that dispensed real candy, a well-acted tiger, and a pair of “fetching, homemade Ghostbusters.”

The insect category included a butterfly, a caterpillar, and a ladybug. One of Conlin’s guests, a dementer from the Harry Potter novels, may be a Contrarian relative.

Meanwhile, Hallowe’en totals at Kempt Head remained steady at zero, for the fifth year in a row. Birth control is not a top-of-mind issue in our neighbourhood. More Baby Ruths for Contrarian.