Halloween's COVID blue moon: Children across the nation dress up in their scary costumes to trick or treat for candy during the day while the adults come out at night to party as virus cases soar across the US
The witches, wizards, ghouls and goblins were out in force on Saturday night - but this year they made a beeline for candy chutes rather than front doors, and carried hand sanitizer along with their buckets.
The pandemic left its mark on Halloween this year.
Parades, parties and haunted houses were canceled due to bans on large gatherings and concerns that spooky celebrations could spread the coronavirus.
But across the U.S., parents and costumed kids found ways to preserve the essence of the holiday Saturday while also observing the rules of social distancing.
When night fell, the adults took over - some observing pandemic precautions more than others.
Anna Dabney stands on a ladder to slide candy to a trick-or-treater through the candy shoot in Nyack, New York
Children receive treats by candy chutes in Woodlawn Heights, New York City
The blue moon is seen from New Jersey rising above lower Manhattan - an even that only happens ever 2.5 or 3 years
A moon is officially termed 'a blue moon' when it occurs twice during a calendar month
The blue moon is seen rising in the sky during a NCAA college football game between Boise State and Air Force in Colorado
Costumed revelers walk down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Halloween
A 'bloodied' man in a face shield out on the streets of New Orleans on Saturday night
A man wearing a pig mask dances for the cameras in the French Quarter of New Orleans
A man dress as Gene Simons from KISS poses sitting on the back of a car in the East Village, Manhattan
A woman wearing a mask uses a hollow tube to maintain social distancing to give out candy to kids in the East Village
A person wears a Pennywise costume in Times Square on Saturday night
People dressed in Halloween costumes sit at an outdoor restaurant in the West Village, Manhattan
The night was made extra special by the full moon - a blue moon, meaning that it was the second full moon in a month.
The moon did not actually look blue.
But having two full moons in one month is rare, happening only once every 2.5 or three years - or 'once in a blue moon'.
In the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Tomeka Ray took her four-year-old daughter, Diamond, trick-or-treating in the afternoon.
The girl, dressed as a princess, wore her mask and carried sanitizer, with more of the disinfecting gel in the car for good measure, Ray said, so 'I wasn't too worried.'
At one home neighbors had rigged a remote treat-delivery system fashioned out of a ventilation tube, with a cardboard cutout at the end colored to make it look like a dragon's mouth.
'I like that. I really do. That's the third house I've seen that has that,' Ray said.
Dressed as coronavirus and hand sanitizer for Halloween, Daphne Origanti, age 9, and her brother Owen, age 7, in Kansas
Markers on the floor in Overland Park, Kansas, were put in place to try and keep the crowds six feet apart - with dubious success
A boy in a Scream masks receives his candy through the chute in Overland Park, Kansas, on Halloween
Salem, Massachusetts canceled their annual Halloween parade but the city's residents still celebrated, in a low-key way
Costumed and masked revelers walk the city streets on Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts
Caden Korchuk, 11, and friend Jayden Schoning, 10, both dressed as skeletons, also appreciated getting their candy delivered from a distance.
'Everything out here is really cool because of all the chutes,' Korchuk said.
In Glen Allen, Virginia, just outside Richmond, neighbors left individually wrapped bags of candy on tables at the end of driveways to avoid having dozens of kids coming to their doors and sticking their hands in the same big, germy candy bowls.
Matt Cheadle, a 35-year-old furniture designer, called it 'extremely' socially distanced trick-or-treating.
Parker, his five-year-old son, was going as Yoshi, the green dinosaur from the Mario Kart video game series, and the chance to show off his costume and get candy is all he's talked about recently
'He's already had so much taken away from him this year,' Cheadle said.
'We think this is a small compromise for Halloween. The little kiddos will still dress up, they'll still get to go driveway to driveway, but not door to door.'
People dressed in dinosaur costumes pose together in Times Square on Halloween - an ingenious way of covering faces
People dressed as luxury brands pose in Times Square, with Moschino, Chanel, Versace, Westwood and YSL represented
People dressed as Elvis and Borat sing and dance in the West Village of Manhattan
A group dressed as robbers pose near the Stonewall Inn in New York City
Two men dressed as pinatas pose in the West Village, New York City, on Saturday night
People wearing Money Heist costumes pose in Times Square
Children receive treats by candy chutes while trick-or-treating for Halloween in Woodlawn Heights, New York
Candy is delivered to trick or treaters in Brooklyn through a specially-made candy chute
A person dressed in a hand sanitizer costume poses in Washington Square Park in Manhattan on Halloween
Chuck Archie uses a chute to deliver candy to trick-or-treaters in the Elmwood neighborhood of Columbia, South Carolina
Halloween comes as coronavirus cases are surging in many parts of the country and health officials warn of the potential for even higher numbers this winter.
More than 230,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the country, and total U.S. cases surpassed 9 million on Friday.
Over the past two weeks, more than 78,700 new virus cases have been reported each day on average, up from about 55,100 in mid-October, according to John Hopkins University.
So, many cities and towns issued guidelines for celebrating Halloween safely.
New York City's health department recommended avoiding large groups, haunted houses and bobbing for apples — 'Keep your spit to yourself,' it said in an advisory.
Officials urged people instead to focus on safe activities like pumpkin carving, home decorating, outdoor scavenger hunts and virtual costume parties.
Lots of festivities were canceled, including the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, a nearly 50-year tradition that typically draws tens of thousands to the streets of Manhattan. Organizers staged a virtual puppet parade instead.
Kids in costumes and face masks dance in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on Halloween
People dressed as ghosts wear face masks outside the Brooklyn Museum in New York City
Costumed revelers walk the city streets on Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts, despite the official festivities being canceled
Revelers in face masks out on the streets of Columbia, South Carolina, on Halloween
In New Hampshire, where coronavirus cases are also on the rise, emergency management officials in Coos County recommended residents not participate in door-to-door trick-or-treating or group events.
Trick-or-treating was called off entirely in Pittsburg, a town of about 900 in the northern part of the state.
Betsy Curtin of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, and her sons were also skipping it for safety's sake.
Instead, it was a visit to their grandparents' houses in costume — seven-year-old Alex as Batman and nine-year-old Charlie as Captain America — then back home for pizza and a movie.
'I only bought Kit Kats for them, so I've officially ruined their weekend,' Curtin said.
'Hoping the grandparents come through with specialty chocolates.'
Costumed revelers walk down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans without proper face masks
The streets of New Orleans were busy with partygoers out to celebrate Halloween