Ghosts and Ghouls to Invade Downtown Tonight

Hurricane Sandy may have forced the city to rescheduled trick or treating to Saturday, Nov. 3, but there was no way she was ever going to prevent the Portsmouth Halloween Parade from happening on Hallows Eve.

Parade organizers expect as many as 5,000 people, most in costume, to descend upon Market Square and to line the downtown streets for event. There is one change, however.

Due to the recent murder of University of New Hampshire student Lizzi Marriott and the ongoing search for her body around Peirce Island, parade organizers announced on their web site they will step off from Prescott Park.

Parking will be available in the Strawbery Banke Museum lot off Hancock Street, but the rest of the parade route will remain the same. Another big treat that parade goers can expect to see is that parade organizers will be dressed up as their favorite DC Comics characters, which means folks like Superman, Batman , Wonder Woman, The Flash and the Green Lantern.

Many of the costumes that people create for this annual parade are pretty impressive and full of imagination, as evidenced by last year's spectacle.

Unlike other city parades, the Portsmouth Halloween Parade is a complete grassroots effort in terms of how they do their fundraising to pay for the needed insurance and Portsmouth Police support. People who wish to march in the parade also do not need to fill out an application or pay any fee. They can just show up at the staging area on Wednesday night at 7.

As always, the Portsmouth Halloween Parade promises to be a howling good time for everyone who dares to attend...