Most of my life I’ve been a fan of Halloween.

Who doesn’t like free candy?

When I was a kid, I remember dressing as an assortment of things, most of which came in a box. The box, which you could buy at Food World, contained a vinyl suit and a plastic mask. A small rubber band was supposed to keep the thing on your face but it usually wound up breaking the first time you put it on.

Two small eyeholes, a hole for the nose and a tiny slit for the mouth; it’s a wonder we didn’t all suffocate or get run over on Halloween night.

For Lizzie’s first Halloween, she was a frog. Barely three months old, she was decked out in a fleece frog outfit and helped hand out candy to the trick or treaters.

Halloween number two, she was a Ladybug. This was our first Halloween to actually go door to door and solicit candy. In year three we moved on to Elmo. To date this one is probably my favorite. At two years old she was an Elmo fanatic and she was old enough to understand that saying, “trick or treat” meant she could have candy.

Last year we donned a Supergirl costume. This was the first costume she actually picked out herself. We were prepared for just about anything but not Supergirl. I had my bet placed squarely on Spongebob.

There was nothing wrong with the Supergirl costume but the selection of that one character was surprising in that I didn’t know she even knew who Supergirl was. Being a fan of Supergirl’s cousin, Superman, I liked it. I was Superman for Halloween 20-some-odd years earlier and the fact that she still wears the costume around the house on occasion shows its longevity.

Lizzie was allowed to pick out her costume again this year and no one was surprised that she opted for a Little Mermaid costume.

On Oct. 31 the Demopolis Times will host a Trick or Treat event for local children beginning at 3 p.m. Parents are encouraged to bring their children by and have their photo taken in costume. That photo will be published in the Demopolis Times and each photo is $5.

And in the spirit of the day, we will have candy for the little ghouls and goblins.

We hope to see you here Oct. 31 for the beginning of a great and memorable Halloween.

Jason Cannon is the publisher of the Demopolis Times.