By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Briana Rampley peeked inside her Halloween candy bucket that was filled with chocolate bars and other sweet treats.
Then the 5-year-old girl announced just how long she thought it would take her to eat all of the goodies.
What she said was, well, hilarious.
“Ten minutes,” Briana exclaimed as her parents, James and Pamela Rampley, burst out in laughter.
It was that kind of night at Sea Isle City’s Trunk or Treat celebration – plenty of treats and a monstrously fun time for Halloween.
As a complement to the trick-or-treating at private homes in town, Sea Isle also holds the family-friendly Trunk or Treat celebration on Halloween night.
The trunks and back compartments of cars, trucks and SUVs were decorated with spooky themes for the candy giveaway, which took place in the municipal parking lot next to the Sea Isle City Welcome Center.
Briana Rampley was dressed completely in black in a witch’s costume. Briana and her 7-year-old sister, Molly, who wore a cat costume, prowled the parking lot in search of bowls of candy.
Molly said one of the things she likes most about Halloween is getting dressed up in costume. She had a one-word answer for her very favorite part of trick-or-treating.
“Candy,” she blurted out.
With both Molly and Briana looking forward to eating so much candy, their father couldn’t help but asking them a question.
“How many cavities are you going to get?” James Rampley said.
In addition to the Trunk or Treat celebration, homeowners throughout Sea Isle also decorated their houses and handed out loads of candy to the costumed children.
One home on 39th Street was transformed into a haunted house – nightmarishly decorated with a macabre assortment of ghosts, ghouls, skeletons, zombies, witches, black spiders, a scary clown and the Grim Reaper.
“Do you really think you can run away?” the Grim Reaper said in a creepy voice accompanied by evil laughter in a spine-chilling soundtrack.
On 46th Street, Patti Albright was busy emptying bags of candy on a table in front of her house as she awaited her first trick-or-treaters for the evening.
However, stops at Albright’s house include more than candy giveaways. She even cooks up meatball sandwiches.
“There’s meatballs, candy and if you’re over 21, you get a beer,” she said with a laugh.
Albright recalled one man who could hardly believe that she was giving out meatball sandwiches for Halloween one year.
“He said, ‘Are you kidding?’” Albright said. “I told him, do you want meatballs and Provolone?'”
Albright explained that her Halloween celebrations have expanded over the years to take on a neighborhood-like party atmosphere.
“It’s kind of grown. People bring their own beach chairs,” she said.
As the evening wore on, Albright and her husband were joined by friends and neighbors in their driveway while waiting for the trick-or-treaters to arrive. Albright was dressed in a cat costume complete with gold ears and a black shirt decorated with pumpkins.
Each year, Albright decorates her house for Halloween. She said she absolutely loves Halloween because of her fond memories of the holiday when she was a kid living in Philadelphia.
“I’m one of nine children. In Philly, where we grew up, Halloween was fabulous. But it’s really for the children,” she said.
