It was a “spooktacular” night in Montrose for trick-and-treaters and those who love to dress up when the Montrose Shopping Park hosted its annual Spooktacular event.

An estimated 10,000-plus people came onto Honolulu Avenue to show off their Halloween finery and, of course, collect candy from the nearly 100 participating merchants.

According to Dale Dawson, Montrose Shopping Park Association business administrator/events coordinator, folks can look forward to the same family friendly event next year.

“It’s just an old-fashioned, family-safe Trick-Or-Treat event,” he said.

Part of the attraction was that the avenue was closed to vehicular traffic from Verdugo Road west to Las Palmas Avenue, ensuring the safety of those attending.

“We’d like to give a huge thank you to our ‘hard closure car blockers’ from the Early Rodders car club and the local VFW,” added Dawson.

Also on Honolulu Avenue was a line for the haunted house hosted by the Church of Scientology Mission of the Foothills.

For the past six years, the Church of Scientology Mission of the Foothills has transformed itself into a haunted house for Halloween night. Grim reapers and witches greeted the line of trick-or-treaters, passing out candy and glowstick bracelets. The haunted house included a slightly spooky graveyard with roaming ghost, a toxic waste scene featuring ailing hazmat actors, skeletons and cute giant rats. The haunted mansion room was presided over by Gomez and Morticia Addams, along with many spiders and their giant spider traps, and the witch’s room featured potions and skeletal pets.

“Montrose has sponsored the Halloween Spooktacular for years as a safe activity for children and, being family-oriented ourselves, we’ve enjoyed contributing the haunted house since 2013,” said Stacy Kitchens, the Mission executive director, whose husband and two boys also get involved in the project. “The Haunted House is our gift to the community, a labor of love by our Mission’s staff with the help of many parishioners who volunteer their time and donate funding and an unbelievable amount of candy.”