LEWISTON — It was 5:35 p.m. Wednesday, raining and not yet dark.

No matter, it was Halloween. Trick-or-treaters had begun in earnest.

On Brentwood Avenue, cars were streaming into the neighborhood to visit Peter Geiger, Lewiston’s beloved master of Halloween.

What makes Geiger so famous this time of year isn’t his Farmers’ Almanac; it’s his Halloween spirit, which he demonstrates with atmosphere and candy — lots of candy.

He gets so many trick-or-treaters, 500 to 700, that he had to create traffic flow in his house. Trick-or-treaters come in his front door, down the hall, through the kitchen and exit through the garage, which on Halloween becomes a haunted house complete with smoke, a life-sized vampire in a coffin and ghouls of all types, some alive, some not.

Inside the front hall is the mother lode, boxes and boxes of king-sized Peanut Butter Cups, Three Musketeers, Milky Ways, M&M’s — up to 18 kinds of candy.

The Geiger Halloween tradition is that trick-or-treaters get one candy bar for showing up, three if they can recite the secret password.

This year it was: “I survived Frankenstorm Sandy,” said James Borkowski, 10, of Sabattus, who was a werewolf. His friend, Hunter Jensen, 10, was next to earn three candy bars. “I survived Frankenstorm Sandy.” The password was announced over the intercom at school, Jensen said. The two moved forward to collect.

Many more came after. Kids dressed as brides, witches, trolls, vampires, a princess, a mummy, zombies and superheroes of all types.

“I’m a zombie punk,” said Jackson Arbour, 8, showing off his mask, brass knuckles and just a little underwear.

Trent Gordon, 5, was a skeleton. All week he couldn’t wait to go to Geiger’s haunted garage. When the moment came he cried, “No! I’m not going in!”

Max Lyons, not quite 2, was an adorable fluffy chicken. His mother, Amy Lyons, sewed his costume from white feather boas she got at a craft store. On his feet were yellow kitchen gloves. His sister, Isabella, 5, was Strawberry Shortcake.

Geiger said he loves Halloween. “I live for this day,” he said in his kitchen, surveying the scene as family and friends helped. He likes giving out generous amounts of candy, and he remembers how he and his brother scouted the best trick-or-treating routes as kids.

“Halloween is about families coming out and kids having a great time, the adventure of grabbing candy, your favorite kind,” Geiger said.

This year he bought 2,500 candy bars. “I spent a lot,” he said. As of 8:30 p.m., he had had 774 trick-or-treaters. “A record,” he bragged. Has he ever run out of candy? “Never,” Geiger said in a tone indicating he never would.

When it comes to Halloween enthusiasts, Geiger has plenty of company, including Randi and Dan Tolman.

At their Pond Road house, a sign near the street read, “Beware!” Their driveway was lined with pumpkins. On one side was an impressive graveyard with a live ghoul lurking, ready to pounce. On the other side a man hid, then jumped out at visitors, air horn blaring. All the while, spooky music played.

Randi Tolman answered her door, screaming. She was dressed as Lily Munster, dark hair, black cape, black gown, white-painted face.

Randi said she started acting out Halloween years ago when handing out candy proved boring. “I started screaming at the kids. The next year I put on a costume.”

She and her husband began adding decorations, turning their house into a spooky place. They get help from a couple who come from Waldoboro. They do Halloween big, she said, because “we love children,” she said. “This is an awesome community.”

Not far away, off Gina Street, Stacy Daniels greeted trick-or-treaters in her front yard, which was decked out with an amazing array of Halloween blowups, elaborately carved pumpkins and a host of other haunting decorations.

Her four little dogs were all in costume: a cow, a bumblebee, a sheriff and a banana.

“Halloween’s my favorite holiday,” Daniels said after she put a bag of chips in a little Dinosaur’s plastic pumpkin. “I like the spookiness, all the kids dressed up. It’s just fun.”

bwashuk@sunjournal.com

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