Category: Halloween

Halloween 2016

Cruft Manor has once again returned to our Halloween traditions. Every year, we give out full size candies, made a listing of all costumes, and make a timelapse movie.



~300 Full Size Candies, ready for the trick or treaters! This year I had sugar-free, gluten-free, and vegan options just in case.

I let the kids choose their favorite candy themselves. This can sometimes lead to a prolonged choosing process and discussion. It’s awesome to hear them debate the pro and cons of various candies.
As has become tradition, I made a timelapse movie of handing out candy to the kids. This year, I started when the first trick or treaters appeared around 5:30 PM. Former Nanny Rachel was here to help in the beginning.
Early on I ordered a pizza for dinner but it took a long time to arrive. Once it was here, I was so busy with kids, I couldn’t get up to eat. Syd arrived around 7:30 and spelled me for a bit while I wolfed down a pizza slice. To our Halloween horror, we realized that I was out of Rye and we could not make our regular Manhattans. We cracked open a bottle of Glenfiddich and enjoyed some scotch on the rocks.
I had wired up the GoPro camera to make the timelapse movie and had have power full time. Unfortunately, in my haste I forgot to flip the power strip on, so the camera ran out of battery before the evening was over. The video captures just over 2.5 hours of the 3 hours we were handing our candy.

When people come to the door, I ask every person what they were dressed as and wrote down their answers. I am careful to ask what they are, accepting their answers rather than interpreting what I see.
This Halloween makes it 12 years of data to compare, going back though 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Here are the top ten costumes for the last eleven years compared.



This year, Dwarves take the top spot. A bit of an outlier, a family showed up with a toddler dressed as Snow White accompanied by 7 adult dwarves. Each dwarf had a custom and correctly colored costume made of felt. They put a lot of work into the effort, all for a toddler that seemed bewildered by the whole thing. I considered not counting the Dwarves, but considering the time they took, decided to count them all.
The rest of the list are perennial favorites with Witch easily taking second place. I was pleased to see Zombie Adam Sandler make a return visit from last year. Amazingly, there was not a single politics themed costume. It seems children aren’t into the nonsense.
Our total number of visitors was up significantly, into 200s easily. Getting back to a weeknight for Halloween has seemed to improve the numbers.
This year’s complete costume list of 211 people:
7 Dwarves
6 Witch
4 Batgirl
4 Captain America
4 Death
4 Días de Muertos
4 Elsa
4 Minnie Mouse
4 Princess
4 Vampire
4 Zombie
3 Batman
3 Iron Man
3 Spiderman
3 Superman
2 Animaniacs
2 Bumblebee
2 Cat
2 Devil
2 Dorothy
2 Elena
2 Fairy
2 Harley Quinn
2 Indian
2 James P. Sullivan
2 Jason Voorhees
2 Minion
2 Monkey
2 Ninja
2 Police Officer
2 Skeleton Boy
2 Snow White
2 The Flash
2 Wonder Woman
1 $100 Dollar Bill
1 50s Girl
1 Alice in Wonderland
1 Amelia Earhart
1 Andy Biersack
1 Angel
1 Anna
1 Anonymous
1 Assassin
1 Astronaut
1 Baby
1 Baseball Card
1 Bear
1 Bela Legosi
1 Belle
1 Black Panther
1 Bunny Hopper
1 Butterfly
1 Buzz Lightyear
1 Candy Corn Fairy
1 Charizard
1 Cheeky Chocolate
1 Cleopatra
1 Cloud
1 Darth Vader
1 David Beckham
1 Deadpool
1 Doctor
1 Dora the Explorer
1 Dracula
1 Eastwood
1 Elmo
1 Evie of Descendants
1 Ghost
1 Ghostbuster
1 Halo Soldier
1 Hot Dog
1 Hulk
1 Ice Cream Cone
1 Insane Asylum Inmate
1 Irish Dancer
1 Jabberwocky Dancer
1 Jack Skellington
1 Jasmine
1 Jedi
1 Jeffrey
1 Jester
1 Joker
1 Josh Dun
1 Katniss
1 Killer Clown
1 Kings Hockey Player
1 Kubo
1 Kylo Ren
1 Leo – TMNT
1 Lifeguard
1 Light Up Pumpkin
1 Little Red Riding Hood
1 Mad Scientist
1 Mass Murderer
1 Mickey Mouse
1 Monster High Skeleton
1 Monster Hunter
1 Mr. Grimm
1 Negan
1 Noah Syndergaard
1 Obi Wan Kenobi
1 Optimus Prime
1 Ostrich Rider
1 Panda
1 Party Animal
1 Piggy
1 Pikachu
1 Pirate
1 Princess Leia
1 Queen of Hearts
1 Rafael TMNT
1 Reaper
1 Rey
1 Robin
1 Ryu – Street Fighter
1 Saint
1 Samantha
1 Scarecrow
1 Scary Skeleton
1 Scream
1 Sheriff Kelly
1 Skeleton
1 Skull Man
1 Slinky the Dog
1 Soldier
1 Spider Cat
1 Squirtle
1 Stitch
1 Supergirl
1 Surgeon
1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
1 Thing 1
1 Thing 2
1 Tokyo Ghoul
1 Transformer
1 Turtle
1 Tyler Joseph
1 U of Wisconsin Fan
1 Viking
1 Waldo
1 Yoda
1 Yokai
1 Zombie Adam Sandler
1 Zombie Cheerleader
1 Zombie Prom Queen
1 Zombie Skeleton
211 Costumed Visitors

Halloween 2015

Cruft Manor has once again returned to our Halloween traditions. Every year, we give out full size candies, made a listing of all costumes, and made a timelapse movie.



~250 Full Size Candies, ready for the trick or treaters! This year I had sugar-free, gluten-free, and vegan options just in case.

Our happy Halloween pumpkins.

The night view of the decorated Cruft Manor.

Michele scaring children in her No-Face costume from Spirited Away.

I let the kids choose their favorite candy themselves. This can sometimes lead to a prolonged choosing process and discussion. It’s awesome to hear them debate the pro and cons of various candies.
As has become tradition, I made a timelapse movie of handing out candy to the kids. This year, I started when the first trick or treaters appeared around 6:25 PM. Michele was here, as was our friends Kate & Syd to help. Piper & Lulu the dogs were supervising.
Children arrived in clumps, as usual. We had a great dinner of steak, salad, and corn to help prevent eating only candy. Syd made me a few delicious Manhattans to drink. We watched John Wick and the beginning of Inside Out.

When people come to the door, I ask every person what they were dressed as and wrote down their answers. I am careful to ask what they are, accepting their answers rather than interpreting what I see.
This Halloween makes it 11 years of data to compare, going back though 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Here are the top ten costumes for the last eleven years compared.

Surprisingly, perennial costumes like Cat & Witch were fairly low on the list compared to previous years. The Purge masks arrived in full force, surrounded by other common costumes.
Our total number of visitors was up a little, but not into the 200s as in previous years. Many kids in our neighborhood are growing up and out at parties and college now.
This year’s complete costume list of 185 people:
6 Ninja
6 Skeleton
6 The Purge
5 Batman
5 Spiderman
4 Jason Voorhees
4 Minnie Mouse
3 Elsa
3 Princess
3 Scream
3 Superman
3 Witch
2 Angel
2 Bee
2 Belle
2 Chuckie
2 Clown
2 Construction Worker
2 Day of the Dead
2 Devil
2 Grapes
2 Grim Reaper
2 Indian
2 Iron Man
2 Kitten
2 Little Red Riding Hood
2 Pirate
2 Storm Trooper
2 Supergirl
2 The Joker
2 Vampire
2 Walker (Walking Dead)
2 Zombie
1 A Bush
1 Akatsuki from Naruto
1 Angry Bird
1 Anonymous
1 Ariel
1 Army Guy
1 Assassin
1 Bat Fairy
1 Baymax
1 Beta Pig
1 Blue Man
1 Blue Man Superhero
1 Boba Fett
1 Boogieman
1 Bunny
1 Buzz Lightyear
1 Cat
1 Cat in the Hat
1 Cavegirl
1 Charlie Brown in Costume
1 Cheetah
1 Cher from Clueless
1 Cheshire Cat
1 Chewbacca
1 Cinderella
1 Color Runner
1 Cop
1 Cowgirl
1 Creeper from Minecraft
1 Dead Basketball Player
1 Dead Clown
1 Dead Schoolgirl
1 Deadpool
1 Demon
1 Destructive Monster
1 Dinosaur
1 Doll
1 Elementary School Teacher
1 Emoji
1 Flash
1 Frankenstein
1 Friar
1 Gypsy
1 Half Reptile Half Woman
1 Harley Quinn
1 Harry Potter
1 Hippie
1 Hulk
1 Indiana Jones
1 Inmate
1 Invisible Man
1 Killjoy
1 Kung Fu Panda
1 La Muerta
1 Ladybug
1 Little Flower
1 Manga Character
1 Mardi Gras
1 Mary Lennox from the Secret Garden
1 Masquerade
1 Maybelle from Gravity Falls
1 Messi (football)
1 Minion
1 Napolean Dynamite
1 Nerd
1 Neymar (football)
1 Ninja Turtle
1 Ninja Turtle – Leonardo
1 Ninja Turtle – Michelangelo
1 Penguin
1 Phantom
1 Pin-up Girl
1 Police
1 Rapunzel
1 Ren
1 Ruby from Steven Universe
1 Sally (Nightmare Before Christmas)
1 Scorpion
1 Sinister Jester
1 Skeleton with red mowhawk
1 Soul Taker
1 Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
1 Supervillian
1 SWAT
1 Timmy Turner
1 Tony Esposito (Blackhawks)
1 Unicorn with wings
1 Waldo
1 Wanda from Fairly Odd Parents
1 Wild Kratz
1 Wizard
1 Zombie Adam Sandler
185 Costumed Visitors

Halloween 2014

Cruft Manor has once again returned to our Halloween traditions. Every year, we give out full size candies, made a listing of all costumes, and made a timelapse movie.



~300 Full Size Candies, ready for the trick or treaters!

The Mike Tyson costume was great.

A Minecraft Creeper showed up, but had a hard time juggling his head, sword, and bag.

My favorite costume of the night, a Cereal Killer.

I let the kids choose their favorite candy themselves. This can sometimes lead to a prolonged choosing process and discussion. It’s awesome to hear them debate the pro and cons of various candies.

The classic sheet over head with eye-holes cut out costume. I gave him two for awesomeness.

As has become tradition, I made a timelapse movie of handing out candy to the kids. This year, I started when the first trick or treaters appeared around 5:30, so there is some time until the action gets started after dusk.

When people come to the door, I ask every person what they were dressed as and wrote down their answers. I am careful to ask what they are, accepting their answers rather than interpreting what I see.
This Halloween makes it 10 years of data to compare, going back though 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012and 2013.
Here are the top ten costumes for the last ten years compared.

Many predicted that Elsa would dominate, but I only saw 3 Elsa costumes. Cat and Witch again dominate as the go to costume for girls. There was more variety, as you can see when costumes with 2 people wearing them make it into the top ten.
No one showed up without a costume, except one father who appeared quite new to the concept of Halloween and was simply interested in the free candy.
This year, we saw a dip in visitors. I had thought that Halloween on a Friday woudl lead to big numbers, but maybe people went to parties or other things instead of heading out. Another factor may have been the rain forecasted. Some may have stayed home due to that as well. This was the first time under 200 people in several years. I have a lot of candy left over.
While I waited in the doorway, I watched The Shining and 47 Ronin. The Shining was better. Thanks to Cousin James who helped me set up for the night and keep me company in the beginning.
After giving out ~200 full size candies, the rain started around 9:15 PM and I closed up for the night. Outside a few groups were scurrying home to get out of the rain.
This year’s complete costume list of 177 people:
1 “I Don’t Know”
1 50s Girl
1 Alien Soldier
2 Anna – Frozen
1 Annie Oakley
2 Ariel
2 Assassin
1 Astronaut
1 Ballerina Bat
1 Batgirl
2 Batman
2 Belle
1 Biker Girl
1 Black Mask Guy
1 Box Troll
2 Broken Doll
1 Broken Porcelain Doll
1 BumbleBee
1 Bunny
1 Burglar
1 Buzz Lightyear
2 Captain America
1 Carebear
9 Cat
1 Catwoman
1 Cereal Killer
1 Cheetah
1 Chinese Girl
1 Cinderella
2 Clone Trooper
1 Comic Book Character
1 Commander Cody
1 Cowgirl
1 Dad
1 Darla from Nemo
3 Darth Vader
1 Demigod
1 Demon
1 Dipper from Gravity Falls
1 Doctor
2 Dorothy
1 Elmer
3 Elsa
1 Fairy
1 FBI Agent
1 Finn the Human
1 Fiona – Adventure Time
1 Fireman
1 Floating Sheet
1 Football Player
1 Goth Zombie
1 Greek Goddess
1 Green Ninja
1 Guy w/ Cigarette & Tux
1 Indiana Jones
1 Iron Man
1 Jabberwocky Dancer
1 Jason Voorhees
1 Killing Guy
1 Kitty
1 Koala Tamer
1 Lilo
1 Link
2 Little Red Riding Hood
1 Lizard
2 Luigi
1 Luke Skywalker
1 Magician
1 Mangaverse Spiderman
1 Mario
1 Matt Harvey of the Mets
1 Merida
1 Mermaid
1 Michaelangelo – TMNT
1 Mike Tyson
1 Minecraft Creeper
1 Minnie Mouse
1 Monster High
2 Monsters Inc.
2 Mouse
1 Mulan
3 Nerd
3 Ninja
1 Panda Bear
1 Paper Doll
1 Pikachu
2 Pirate
1 Pokey
1 Policeman
1 Power Ranger
1 Princess
1 Queen of Hearts
1 Rafael – TMNT
1 Rapper
1 Red Power Ranger
2 Robber
2 Sailor
2 Scarecrow
1 Scary Clown
1 Scary Hockey Player
1 Scary Rice Picker
2 Scream
1 Severed Hand Guy
2 Skeleton
1 Skeleton Girl
2 Snow White
1 Soccer Player
1 Soccer Referee
4 Spiderman
1 Starlord
1 Stitch
1 Sub-Zero – Mortal Kombat
1 SWAT
1 Sweet Scare Crow
1 The Devil
1 The Doctor (11th)
1 The Purge
1 The Reaper
1 Thor
1 Tuxedo Guy
1 Union Soldier
1 Unusual Kind of Alien from Homestuck
2 V for Vendetta
2 Waldo
1 Werewolf
1 Whoopie Cushion
5 Witch
1 Wolverine
1 Woody
1 Zombie Bride
1 Zombie Doctor
1 Zombie from the Core