All Hallows' Eve on South 45th

Wow. I've always been a bit sniffy about the American way of Halloween but I'd never actually experienced it until tonight. West Philly has gone crazy! Children, and their parents, and their DOGS are all dressed up for the occasion. Streets are blocked off allowing families to roam around in fancy outfits, visiting other people who have stationed themselves outside their houses with bins of candy and trays of spooky titbits for the taking. Coloured lights and cobwebs drape the porches. Ghosts and skeletons swing from the bushes. Pumpkins glow through carved grins or scowls. It's street theatre for everyone and everyone is taking part.