Halloween different this year for street billing itself as “Scare-borough”

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (WOIO) - Many Northeast Ohio communities will go forward with trick-or-treating this Saturday, but with limited hours and new guidelines.

That’s the case for a local street billing itself as “Scare-borough.”

Neighbors on the street, Scarborough Road in Cleveland Heights, have put up spooky, elaborate decorations in the past.

“It’s a blast," says Joe Banks, one of the organizers. "Upwards of 12-hundred kids”

“There’s music playing, there’s sound effects, some houses have fog machines," adds his wife, Sheryl. "It’s like a big Halloween festival”

Coronavirus concerns caused the street to rethink its plans this year.

“We had some neighbors say, ‘What do you guys think we should do?’” Sheryl says. “Scarborough always has big expectations, and we want to temper expectations while not disappointing everybody.”

The street decided to go forward with the elaborate decorations while enforcing social distancing guidelines like mask, social distancing, the giving neighbors an easy opt-out if they aren’t comfortable giving out candy this year.

“We came up with two signs, one with a welcoming jack-o-lantern and another with a sorry ghost to quickly let kids know.”

The Banks family will also hand-out their treats through a ten-foot PVC tube. They’re also discouraging outside visitors.

“We’ll encourage people to come and enjoy the street on another night," says Joe Banks. "They have all of October to do that. And maybe longer. It takes a while to tear it down.”

The City of Cleveland Heights cut back trick-or-treat time to an hour and a half, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

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