Thousands of children and families are expected to attend Halloween in the Haymarket from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday along Canopy Street and the Railyard in Lincoln’s Historic Haymarket.
Lincoln kids 'back in the day' were downright frightening on Halloween
Nasty Nellie the witch delights Jess Dance, 2, at the Children's Zoo's Halloween Hullabaloo in 1981.
It's baaaaaack. What's your Halloween flavor? Dark and sinister? Delightfully spooky? Downright cute? Whatever your taste, this beloved holiday has something for everyone, every year. Let's look back on some of the ways Lincoln has celebrated All Hallow's Eve throughout the years.
A lone ghoul hangs around at dusk, waiting for trick-or-treaters to arrive, in 1990.
One hundred million volts might just do the trick in this lawn decoration from 1989.
An axe to the chest also gets the job done. Also 1989.
This highly conspicuous automobile was the grand prize at the P.O. Pears Halloween costume contest in 1988.
What Halloween is complete without a festive orange garbage bag stuffed with old newspapers? Not one I want to be a part of, that's for sure. Pictured in 1990.
Things are getting cuter now. Some rejoice; others beware. Brothers scope out their freshly carved jack-o'-lantern in 1972.
Little Deanna Kinnison gets a treat (or is it a trick? it sure isn't candy) at an indoor trick-or-treat event in 1993.
Corey Thomas, 5, (left) and Maggie Keogh, 6, try to get in a hand with these poker-playing props in 1996.
Moon-eyed cats have long been associated with Halloween. Blackbeard eyes the sky in 1971.
Courtney Stahl, 2, paints faces on pumpkins at a family member's house in 1990.
Pumpkin lanterns line the way to a friendly, candy-giving home in 1993.
Remember when costumes were homemade? 1975 does.
A pair of witches stir their bubbling brew in 1971.
Doug Miller, 5, makes a convincing spider, don't you think? Pictured in 1968.
Chris Wolfe (Dracula) and his two brides, Kim McAuliff (left) and Tracey Scherer, endeavored to frighten attendees young and old of a haunted house in 1987.
Yes, there's a kid under there somewhere. Darrell McCave, 11, is, well, I don't know really, in 1972.
Ann, 8, (left) Amy, 10, and Joe Tidball, 3, together make a happy meal in 1980.
Amy Davis, 7, gets a fright from Brother Jacobson and the Wolfman in 1980.
Ever since there have been Power Rangers (1993), there have been Power Rangers everywhere on Halloween. This little youngster reveals his true identity (although we didn't bother to write it down) in 1994.
OK, this one is actually pretty frightening. That's a photograph, not an illustration, taken in 1976.
The more mobile you are, the more houses you can hit up for candy. However, the 17-month-old cargo (sister Zoe) may have held back this Power Ranger (Zephen Miller, 7) in 1994.
Haunted houses are a longstanding Halloween tradition. This massive line of kids of all ages formed outside the Community Playhouse Guild's haunted house in 1969 (the red box is an old darkroom element stuck to the physical photo -- your screen is fine).
Dr. Frankenstein warns attendees about his monster at the Jaycees' Nightmare on O Street in 1990.
Childhood me would definitely have freaked out at the sight of these laboratory rejects in a haunted house in 1974.
Our trick-or-treat through the past has come to an end. Hopefully you found this edition to be mostly treats. Halloween will be over soon, but like the human remains in this 1989 lawn display, it will rise again soon enough. Happy Halloween, and be safe.
