Weather forces Halloween indoors

West Park Mall was the site of a pleasant chaos when hordes of costumed children arrived Thursday for the mall's annual "Spooktacular Trick Or Treat" celebration.

The event, which was from 5 to 7 p.m., saw mall merchants handing out candy to the various superheroes, princesses and parents who passed by their stores in a single-file line, a line that stretched outside the mall past Barnes & Noble to J.C. Penney.

According to mall officials, merchants were prepared to hand out enough candy to 10,000 children.

"We were aware that a lot of parents may not take their kids trick-or-treating due to the bad weather," said Christy Easley, assistant general manager of West Park Mall. "Based on past attendance and that kids come from all over the area including Southern Illinois, we wanted to be prepared."

Landon Swoboda, an employee at the AT&T retail store, said it was "awesome" to see the children, and some parents, in costumes.

"I just saw a family dressed as The Avengers," Swoboda said. "They were The Hulk, Thor, Captain America and Iron Man."

Heath Cashion and his wife Kristi were in the candy line with their son Damian, 5, who was dressed in a bulky Batman costume.

"This is our second time to come for this," Heath Cashion said. "Damian is a Batman fanatic."

Richard Banks of Cape Girardeau was at the Spooktacular with his son Jonathan, 3, who was dressed as Spider-Man.

"We came last year," Richard Banks said. "We're going to go trick or treating tonight, weather permitting."

A tornado watch that had been in effect for most of the evening was upgraded to a warning about 7:15 p.m. Police scanner traffic reported damage extending from Bollinger County south to Cape Girardeau.

According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., an inch of rainfall was expected from the storms that hit the area Thursday, and a tornado watch in effect until 1 a.m. today that included Cape Girardeau County was issued by the weather service Thursday afternoon. Trick-or-treating was to go on as planned in Cape Girardeau, but Perryville, Mo., postponed the activity until today, as did Delta and the Scott County towns of Oran, Morley. In Marble Hill, Mo., trick-or-treating wasn't postponed but a 9:30 p.m. curfew remained in place.

There were several places in Cape Girardeau that offered children indoor Halloween fun Thursday in spite of the inclement weather. The Fall Festival at Mount Auburn Christian Church featured free food and games and a bouncy house, and the "Heroes Unmasked" festival at Cape Community Church offered a dozen carnival games with candy and prizes. Bethany Baptist Church hosted a festival with a professional photographer who took family and individual pictures while Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church presented their "Trunk Or Treat" festival.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Staff writers Erin Ragan, Linda Redeffer and Samantha Kluesner contributed to this report.

Pertinent addresses:

3049 William St., Cape Girardeau, MO

3024 Highway 177, Cape Girardeau, MO

1712 Randol Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO

2222 Bloomfield Road, Cape Girardeau, MO

930 Mount Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau, MO